(COLORADO SPRINGS) — With less than a week until election day, FOX21 News continues to take a deeper look at the questions on the ballot this year, including a measure surrounding school choice in Colorado.
Colorado Amendment 80 proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to create the right to school choice for children in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12). The amendment allows parents to direct the education of their children; and defines school choice to include public neighborhood and charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.
Those against the initiative fear if passed, it could open the door to private school and charter school families getting access to taxpayer dollars meant for public schools.
“It potentially opens the door to a statewide voucher program for private schools, and we’ve seen that happen in other states, “Kevin Vick, President of the Colorado Education Association explained. “In those states, it’s taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of the public school system and giving it to people who are basically or already attending private schools, but now get a nice hefty tax break to do so.”