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Facing concerns from Gov. Jared Polis’ office, lawmakers indefinitely postponed a bill requiring Colorado to place nondiscrimination rules on its use of a federal education tax credit program.
The move during Thursday’s House Education Committee effectively ended the hopes of bill sponsors to place limits on the state’s use of the President Donald Trump-backed tax credit this year.
Governors are required to opt into the President Donald Trump-backed program, with widespread support from Republican governors nationwide. Polis was one of the first Democrats to announce he would support it. However, Colorado’s next governor will get a say next year on whether the state stays opted into the tax credit program.
The federal program would allow up to $1,700 in annual tax credits for donations made to scholarship-granting organizations. Those organizations could distribute the money for various education-related expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, or after-school programs.
State Rep. Lori Goldstein, a Westminster Democrat, and other sponsors filed House Bill 1292 to place what they called state “guardrails” that would protect students from disability, race, or gender expression discrimination by organizations accepting the scholarship funds. The bill’s passage might have prevented some religious private schools from participating.
Colorado’s nondiscrimination laws safeguard against discrimination in places of public accommodation based on an individual’s characteristics such as disability, race, or gender expression.
Polis has said he doesn’t want to leave federal money on the table.
A Polis spokesperson had said the governor believed House Bill 1292 “would hamstring the state’s ability to bring new funding for much-needed services” like after-school programs.
Goldstein said after the hearing that the bill faced criticism from private school groups and on social media. But she added the federal government hasn’t released rules that would govern the program and believes there’s an opportunity to revive the bill next session.
“I look forward to continuing this conversation to ensure that these public dollars are truly benefiting public schools and the students that they serve,” she said.
Colorado Democratic governor candidates have diverged on the use of the tax credit.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has taken a similar approach to Polis. Meanwhile, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has said he opposes the tax credit.
A Bennet spokesperson said the senator doesn’t support private school vouchers or public funds going to private or religious schools. The spokesperson also said Bennet believes rejecting the program before final guidance is issued “could be short sighted and put millions of dollars that could help kids in Colorado at risk.”
Wesier has said he would opt the state out of the program if elected, because he believes it represents a plan to take money away from public education.
“The next governor will have the authority to decide,” he said in a recent forum. “I will fight it as fiercely as I can.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
