Three States Put School Vouchers On The Ballot

From Forbes.com

In a few weeks, Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska are giving voters a chance to vote on taxpayer-funded school vouchers.

Colorado

Colorado voters will have the chance to amend the state constitution to enshrine school choice. The proposed amendment is short and sweet, asserting that “parents have the right to direct the education of the children” and “each K-12 child has the right to school choice.”

Colorado is no stranger to school choice. Students can travel across district boundaries to other school districts, and in 1993, Colorado became the third state to pass a charter school law.

Advance Colorado, a conservative anti-tax group, pushed the amendment. Supporters insist that the intention is simply to preserve the thirty-year-old charter program. But the wide-open language of the proposal, which specifies that ”school choice includes neighborhood, charter, private, and home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education,” clearly covers more than just the charter school program.

In fact, in addition to opening the door to school vouchers, the proposal seems to open up some other possibilities. If a student is denied admission to a private school for any reason, can the student’s family demand their constitutional right to school choice? If a parent disagrees with any element of a school’s curriculum, can the parent demand their constitutional right to “direct the education” of their child?

Read the full piece here.