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A ballot measure that would enshrine school choice in Colorado’s constitution has been defeated, according to unofficial election returns.
Amendment 80 remained at about 7 percentage points below the 55% approval rate needed for passage when the Associated Press officially called the race Thursday morning.
Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, which opposed the amendment, said Tuesday when initial results were reported that he was encouraged the measure appeared headed for defeat.
“I think the voters of Colorado saw this for what it really was, which is … a backdoor way of bringing private school vouchers into Colorado,” he said. “I just think this is a reaffirmation that the people of Colorado really appreciate their public schools.”
Voters in Kentucky and Nebraska also defeated school choice measures Tuesday.
Some experts predicted that passing Amendment 80 would most likely lead to a court dispute and a judge deciding how it would be interpreted.
Amendment 80 would have established “the right to school choice” for K-12 students. It defined school choice to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and “future innovations in education.”
The language said that “parents have the right to direct the education of their children” and that “all children have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education.”
School choice is already guaranteed under Colorado law, but supporters have said passing Amendment 80 would protect that right from future attacks by state lawmakers.
Advance Colorado, the conservative group that proposed Amendment 80, suggested as the measure appeared headed to defeat that it may make another attempt.
“‘It is a certainty that we will see the same groups that spent millions against Amendment 80 back at the Capitol in a few weeks to renew their legislative assaults on charter schools and other forms of school choice,” Michael Fields, the group’s president, said in a statement Tuesday.
“When those rights are attacked, we will be prepared to bring Amendment 80 back before voters in the future,” he said. “Tonight marks just another round in the fight to protect school choice in Colorado.”
Besides Advance Colorado, Amendment 80 was supported by the Colorado Association of Private Schools, the Colorado Catholic Conference, the Independence Institute, Ready Colorado, and the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University.
Opponents included the ACLU of Colorado, the Colorado Democratic Party, the Colorado PTA, the Colorado Association of School Executives, a slew of individual school districts, including Denver Public Schools, the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, and several other organizations.
Voucher programs in other states, such as Arizona, have proven to be expensive.
Officials from Advance Colorado denied that Amendment 80 was about private school vouchers. The group initially proposed another amendment that was about vouchers but decided not to pursue collecting signatures to get it on the ballot.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
