Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey

Colorado Amendment 80, Constitutional Right to School Choice Initiative (2024)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png
U.S. House • Congressional special elections • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • Municipal • Recalls • How to run for office
Flag of Colorado.png


Colorado Amendment 80
Flag of Colorado.png
Election date
November 5, 2024
Topic
School choice policy and Constitutional rights
Status
Defeatedd Defeated
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
Citizens

Colorado Amendment 80, the Constitutional Right to School Choice Initiative, was on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported the following:

  • providing in the state constitution that "each K-12 child has the right to school choice;"
  • providing that “all children have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education,” and that “parents have the right to direct the education of their children;" and
  • defining school choice to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.

A "no" vote opposed creating a constitutional right to school choice, which would include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.


Election results

See also: Results for education and school choice ballot measures, 2024

Amendment 80 needed to receive a 55% vote to be approved.

Colorado Amendment 80

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 1,507,236 49.32%

Defeated No

1,548,679 50.68%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Overview

What would the measure have done?

See also: Text of measure

This initiative would have provided in the state constitution that "Each K-12 child has the right to school choice." The amendment would have stated that “all children have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education” and that “parents have the right to direct the education of their children.” Under the amendment, school choice would have been defined to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.[1]

Does Colorado have a school choice law?

See also: Background

Colorado's 1994 Public Schools of Choice law allows students to attend any public school (including neighborhood schools, charter schools, and some online schools) for free, even if they do not live in the school district.[2] Each school district has policies allowing parents to enroll students in the public school of their choice. If a parent wishes to send their child to a school in a district other than their zoned district, they can fill out an application on the district's website. Acceptance is generally based on the school's capacity and is awarded either on a first-come-first-serve basis or through a lottery. Many public schools do not provide public busing for students attending a school outside of their district.[3]

Private schools and home schools do not receive any public funding.[4]

Do other states have school choice laws?

See also: School choice in the United States

Primary and secondary education—kindergarten through grade 12—in the United States includes both public and private schools. Some states have implemented policies that provide families with taxpayer funding for private education or homeschooling.[5]

As of 2024, 17 states did not have any private school choice programs providing taxpayer funding for private educational expenses. Twelve states with Democratic trifectas, including Colorado, had not enacted school choice programs using taxpayer funds for private education. Idaho, North Dakota, and Texas were the only states with Republican trifectas that had not enacted a private school choice program.

What did supporters and opponents say about the measure?

See also: Support and Opposition

Amendment 80 was sponsored by Advance Colorado. Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado Action, said, "We’ve had broad bipartisan support of school choice for decades here, but I feel like that might not be the case in the future. We’ve seen legislation this year going after charter schools. I think that will continue in the future from some legislators. This is strictly locking in what we already have in place. I just think that parents should be in charge of education. I think it’s easier when they have resources to send their kid to the school that they want to. I believe that there’s good fits for kids in all different types of education. I just think that the options should be available for everybody."[6]

The Colorado Education Association opposed the measure. Kevin Vick, president of the CEA, said, "They’re using the innocuous word of ‘choice’ as a vehicle for what opens the door clearly for a voucher scheme. There’s no other reason to include private schools in [the initiative] unless that is their ultimate intent. ... We’re definitely concerned about the implications of this ballot measure. It has the potential to do tremendous damage to already fragile school funding, and we’re also extremely worried about the lack of transparency built into this measure with public funds."[7]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for the initiative was as follows:[1]

“ Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution establishing the right to school choice for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, and, in connection therewith, declaring that school choice includes neighborhood, charter, and private schools; home schooling; open enrollment options; and future innovations in education?

[8]

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article IX, Colorado Constitution

The ballot measure would have added a Section 18 to Article IX of the Colorado Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added.[1]

Section 18. Education - School Choice

(1) Purpose and findings. The people of the state of Colorado hereby find and declare that all children have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education; that parents have the right to direct the education of their children; and that school choice includes neighborhood, charter, private, and home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.

(2) Each K-12 child has the right to school choice.[8]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state board wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 18, and the FRE is 15. The word count for the ballot title is 28.


Support

School Choice for Every Child led the campaign in support of Amendment 80.[9]

Supporters

Officials

Former Officials

Organizations

  • Advance Colorado Institute
  • Catholic Education Partners
  • Colorado Association of Private Schools
  • Colorado Catholic Bishops
  • Colorado Catholic Conference
  • Independence Institute
  • Ready Colorado

Individuals

  • Michael Fields (R) - President of Advance Colorado and sponsor of the initiative


Arguments

  • House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese (R-14): "[The initiative] would provide essential protection against ongoing attacks on this fundamental principle and is a vital step in securing the ability of parents to make the best educational decisions for their children, regardless of future political pressures."
  • Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado Action: "We’ve had broad bipartisan support of school choice for decades here, but I feel like that might not be the case in the future. We’ve seen legislation this year going after charter schools. I think that will continue in the future from some legislators. This is strictly locking in what we already have in place. I just think that parents should be in charge of education. I think it’s easier when they have resources to send their kid to the school that they want to. I believe that there’s good fits for kids in all different types of education. I just think that the options should be available for everybody."


Opposition

Public Schools Strong led the campaign in opposition to the ballot initiative.[10]

Opponents

Officials

Political Parties

Unions

  • AFSCME Colorado
  • Colorado Education Association

Organizations

  • ACLU of Colorado
  • Advocates for Public Education Policy
  • American Association of University Women
  • Bell Policy Center
  • Colorado AFL-CIO
  • Colorado Association of School Executives
  • Colorado Fiscal Institute
  • Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
  • Colorado WINS
  • League of Women Voters of Colorado
  • New Era Colorado
  • One Colorado
  • Stand for Children
  • United for a New Economy


Arguments

  • Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association: "They’re using the innocuous word of ‘choice’ as a vehicle for what opens the door clearly for a voucher scheme. There’s no other reason to include private schools in [the initiative] unless that is their ultimate intent. ... We’re definitely concerned about the implications of this ballot measure. It has the potential to do tremendous damage to already fragile school funding, and we’re also extremely worried about the lack of transparency built into this measure with public funds."
  • Lisa Escárcega and Kathy Plomer of the Colorado Board of Education: "We can all agree education shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. It should be tailored to each individual child and, thankfully, in Colorado parents already have the option to send their kids to the public or charter school of their choosing. Amendment 80 is not about choice, it’s about hurting our public schools. Don’t be fooled by this backdoor attempt to push money to private schools at the expense of our kids in public schools. Our mission, just like Colorado parents, is to ensure all kids have equal access to a high-quality education — not just the few."


Media editorials

See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

  • Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board: "Colorado’s innovative charter schools have been raising the bar for public education in our state — and setting the pace nationwide — for over three decades. They also have been winning parents’ hearts and minds along the way. The wildly popular charter school movement now serves some 137,000 K-12 public school students at 268 public charter schools across Colorado. Charter students in fact account for over 15% of total public school enrollment in our state. Charter schools haven’t been the only game changers in public education, of course. There also are all-online programs and homeschooling. Both work well for some students and further complement Colorado’s public education landscape. What all such choices have in common is they give a meaningful option to families stymied by failing neighborhood schools. Amendment 80 on this fall’s statewide mail ballot would ensure the right to such educational options, placing that right in the state’s constitution. It would do so not merely to celebrate the obvious strides of school choice — but to protect them."
  • Colorado Springs Gazette and Denver Gazette Editorial Board: "While there is public enthusiasm for charter schools and other school choice among Coloradans — regardless of race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status or political allegiance — there remains narrow but influential opposition. And those special interests — like teachers unions, which don’t like the competition — have clout. Their powerful lobby at the state Capitol attempted yet again just last spring to push through legislation that would have undermined charter schools. Amendment 80 would protect such important school-choice options by safeguarding them in the state constitution."


Opposition

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.


Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Colorado ballot measures
The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through December 5, 2024.


School Choice for Every Child registered as a political action committee (PAC) to support the ballot initiative. The committee had not yet reported campaign finance activity.[9]

Public Schools Strong registered as a political action committee (PAC) to oppose the ballot initiative.[10]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Oppose $4,921,247.21 $66,996.33 $4,988,243.54 $4,923,853.20 $4,990,849.53
Total $4,921,247.21 $66,996.33 $4,988,243.54 $4,923,853.20 $4,990,849.53

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee supporting the measure.[9]

Committees in support of Amendment 80
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
School Choice for Every Child $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Donors

The following were the top donors to the support committee.[9]

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions

Opposition

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in opposition to the initiative.[10]

Committees in opposition to Amendment 80
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Public Schools Strong $4,921,247.21 $66,996.33 $4,988,243.54 $4,923,853.20 $4,990,849.53
Total $4,921,247.21 $66,996.33 $4,988,243.54 $4,923,853.20 $4,990,849.53

Donors

The following were the top donors to the opposition committee.[10]

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions
National Education Association $4,037,500.00 $2,060.00 $4,039,560.00
Colorado Fund for Children & Public Education $255,000.00 $36,885.16 $291,885.16
Colorado Education Fund for Children and Public Education $250,000.00 $0.00 $250,000.00
Stand for Children $250,000.00 $0.00 $250,000.00
Colorado Education Association $175,000.00 $24,592.70 $199,592.70
American Federation of Teachers $100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Background

Colorado school choice laws

Colorado's 1994 Public Schools of Choice law allows students to attend any public school (including neighborhood schools, charter schools, and some online schools) for free, even if they do not live in the school district.[2]

Each school district has policies allowing parents to enroll students in the public school of their choice. If a parent wishes to send their child to a school in a district other than their zoned district, they can fill out an application on the district's website. Acceptance is generally based on the school's capacity and is awarded either on a first-come-first-serve basis or through a lottery. Many public schools do not provide public busing for students attending a school outside of their district.[11]

State law also permits parents to choose non-public education options, such as private schools or home schools. Private schools and home schools do not receive any public funding.[12]

Types of schools in Colorado

Colorado offers public funding for public schools, charter schools, online and blended school programs, and innovation schools. Private schools and families that homeschool do not receive public funding.[13]

Charter schools are a category of tuition-free, publicly-funded, independently run schools. These schools are exempt from many of the requirements imposed by state and local boards of education regarding hiring and curriculum.[13]

Colorado offers single-district online programs for students in their own district zone and multi-district online schools that accept students from across the state.[13]

Since 2008, Colorado has had innovation schools, which are a type of school that receives special waivers from state and local policies allowing the schools to operate at different times and on different calendar schedules than typical public schools. These schools have greater autonomy over budget, schedule, staffing, and operations.[13]

School choice in the United States

See also: School choice in the United States

Primary and secondary education—kindergarten through grade 12—in the United States includes both public and private schools. Some states have implemented policies that provide families with taxpayer funding for private education or homeschooling.[14]

As of 2024, 17 states did not have any private school choice programs providing taxpayer funding for private educational expenses. Idaho, North Dakota, and Texas were the only states with Republican trifectas that had not enacted a private school choice program. Twelve states with Democratic trifectas, including Colorado, had not enacted school choice programs.

Education funding in Colorado

For the 2023-24 fiscal year, K-12 education funding made up 18% of the state operating budget and 30% of the general fund budget.[15]

The following chart shows the state and local shares of the state's K-12 funding. Local school district funding is funded through property taxes.[15]

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Colorado

The state process

In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. For initiated constitutional amendments, signature gathering must be distributed to include signatures equal to 2 percent of the registered voters who live in each of the state's 35 senate districts.

State law provides that petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. State statutes require a completed signature petition to be filed three months and three weeks before the election at which the measure would appear on the ballot. The Constitution, however, states that the petition must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. The secretary of state generally lists a date that is three months before the election as the filing deadline.

Constitutional amendments in Colorado require a 55% supermajority vote to be ratified and added to the state constitution. This requirement was added by Amendment 71 of 2016.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2024 ballot:

The secretary of state is responsible for signature verification. Verification is conducted through a review of petitions regarding correct form and then a 5 percent random sampling verification. If the sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required valid signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required signatures, the initiative is certified. If less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.

Details about this initiative

  • The initiative was filed by Suzanne Taheri and Michael Fields.[1]
  • The initiative was cleared to circulate on February 26, 2024, with signatures due by July 25, 2024.[1]
  • Proponents submitted nearly 200,000 signatures on July 25, 2024.[16]
  • The Colorado Secretary of State's office announced that the measure had qualified for the ballot on August 23, 2024.[17]

Signature gathering cost

See also: Ballot measures cost per required signatures analysis

Sponsors of the measure hired Victors Canvassing to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $1,350,000.00 was spent to collect the 124,238 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $10.87.


How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Colorado

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Colorado.

How to vote in Colorado


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Colorado Secretary of State, "Initiative Filings," accessed April 21, 2023
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gazette, "30th anniversary of school choice in Colorado: Here's how it works," accessed September 13, 2024
  3. ↑ Chalkbeat, "School choice: What is it and how does it work in Colorado?" accessed September 13, 2024
  4. ↑ Colorado State Legislature, "Amendment 80 Ballot Analysis," accessed September 13, 2024
  5. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "Trends in the Use of School Choice 1993 to 2003," November 2006
  6. ↑ Colorado Sun, "Should Colorado’s constitution protect school choice? Voters will decide in November," accessed September 13, 2024
  7. ↑ Chalkbeat, "Initiative 138: Colorado voters to decide on putting school choice in the state constitution," accessed September 13, 2024
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Colorado TRACER, "School Choice for Every Child," accessed September 3, 2024
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Colorado TRACER, "Public Schools Strong," accessed September 3, 2024
  11. ↑ Chalkbeat, "School choice: What is it and how does it work in Colorado?" accessed September 13, 2024
  12. ↑ Colorado State Legislature, "Amendment 80 Ballot Analysis," accessed September 13, 2024
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Colorado Department of Education, "Choice," accessed September 13, 2024
  14. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "Trends in the Use of School Choice 1993 to 2003," November 2006
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Colorado State Legislature, "Explore budget," accessed September 13, 2024
  16. ↑ Denver Gazette, "Parole eligibility, school choice initiatives submit signatures for Colorado's November ballot," accessed July 26, 2024
  17. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Proposed Initiative #138 Qualifies for General Election Ballot," accessed August 23, 2024
  18. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Mail-in Ballots FAQs," accessed August 6, 2025
  19. ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Revised Statutes, § 1-7-101," accessed August 6, 2025
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQs," accessed August 6, 2025
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Voter Registration Form," accessed August 6, 2025
  22. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Go Vote Colorado," accessed August 6, 2025
  23. ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
  24. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Acceptable Forms of Identification," accessed August 6, 2025
v • e
2024 ballot measures
I&R States
 • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • South Dakota • Utah • Washington • Wyoming
Non I&R States
Other
Flag of Colorado
v • e
State of Colorado
Denver (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Colorado_Amendment_80,_Constitutional_Right_to_School_Choice_Initiative_(2024)&oldid=10388377"