Amendment 80 could protect rights of parents, students – Canon City Daily Record

It was as predictable as the sunset in the west.

Every year that I have served in the state legislature, including during my term as Senate President, we have seen an annual influx of proposed bills on various aspects of school choice. Whether the goal was to unfairly make it harder for charter schools to be approved or easier to disapprove, to hinder greater transparency to help parents choose a school, or to unnecessarily increase the burden of homeschooling – to name just a few – education groups have been relentless .

If that weren’t enough, there would be a predictable influx of tired conversations fighting even the most commonsense bills aimed at expanding options for families within the public school system.

This siege against school choice has only grown stronger each year. That’s why we must protect Coloradans’ school choice rights in the state constitution and vote for the 80th Amendment.

Recent history at the State Capitol shows us why.

For years, there has been general, bipartisan agreement that our school choice system, which includes charter schools and other positive options for children, has brought enormous benefits to Colorado families and our education system. Even as the parties increasingly clashed on many issues, we were able to find common ground, powered by grassroots voter support, to protect school choice.

I fear that while the most serious attacks on school choice have left both sides shaking their heads at their shamelessness and backward-looking behavior, with each passing year that consensus erodes a little more.

For example, many observers cited this year’s bill, which would over time paralyze Colorado’s charter school movement. Others pointed to teachers unions’ successful opposition to compassionate, common-sense legislation that would have expanded school options for children with special needs.

When they don’t even want it in their hearts to help special needs families access the best school to meet their unique challenges, it’s clear that extremists are gaining more and more ground in the fight against school choice.

The needs of Colorado’s young people are too important, and access to a high-quality education is too important for independent and productive lives, for us to simply sit back and watch school choices being made brick by brick.

So we must vote for Amendment 80. Without changing school funding, without creating additional costs, or changing any educational programs, Amendment 80 simply states that the rights you have as parents today to consider your children’s education options are protected in the state constitution.

By raising the bar, this amendment means that the annual parade of anti-choice, anti-parent bills will not be able to harm or eliminate the school choice rights of Coloradans. Instead of simply finding a majority of legislators to pass the bill and a willing governor to sign it, the educational establishment will have to amend the constitution by a vote of the people to erase school choice.

Grassroots support for open enrollment, charter schools, homeschooling, and all the other options families value is strong, and teachers unions know it. That’s why they spend millions on highly deceptive ads designed to defeat Amendment 80.

I wish we didn’t need Amendment 80. I long for the days, not too long ago, when families could count on legislators of both parties to support school choice.

But of the many issues on this year’s ballot, Amendment 80 may be the most important because it can help ensure Colorado’s long-term prosperity, ensure high-quality education across the state and help students thrive.

Let’s stand up for good schools, good teachers, and families in Colorado by voting yes on Amendment 80.

Fremont County Commissioner Kevin Grantham served in the Colorado Senate from 2011 to 2018, including two JBC sessions and two as Senate President.