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Guest Columnist – Stand Up for Parents and Kids and Support Amendment 80

Defiende a los padres y niños apoyando la Enmienda 80

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by our guest columnists do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of this publication.

By Maria Carmen Guzman-Weese

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Coloradans value the freedom to choose the best school for their children, and that fundamental freedom must be protected in our state constitution. For me, safeguarding our freedoms, including school choice, is intensely personal.

When I was 10, my family made the difficult decision to flee the tyranny of Casto’s Cuba and legally immigrate to the United States. In Cuba, our family learned that the flame of freedom can never be taken for granted. It can be snuffed out quickly, often with little warning.

One precious freedom we have here in Colorado is school choice. A quality education is the foundation for building a successful and productive life. That is a lesson I took to heart when I was growing up in America as a Cuban immigrant.

It is a blessing that families have such a wide range of choices to consider. Throughout Colorado, many families opt to send their children to a different public school than the one geographically assigned to them. Colorado also has 261 charter schools that enroll approximately 135,000 students. Other families may choose to homeschool or a nonpublic school.

This is a wonderfully dynamic system that provides two important benefits for Colorado families.

First,itoffersanalternative. Perhapsthelocalneighborhoodschoolisn’tofthequalitythat parents expect for their kids. Or a different school may offer a specific program or an overall curriculum that suits certain students better than others. Being able to consider alternatives is an essential tool to empower Colorado parents.

Secondly,schoolchoicesparkscompetition. Asabusinessowner,Icantellyouthatwhile competition is challenging, it also makes me work harder and offer a better product than my competitorsdo. Successfulcompetitionamongtraditionalpublicschools,charterschoolsand magnet schools, for example, is a source of pride for high-quality schools – and makes these schools better.

There is a reason why so many families – including many Hispanic and Black families – so strongly valuetheirschoolchoicerights. Theywanttofindthebesteducationatatimewhenthesystemis failing too many children of color. For example, did you know that just 17 percent of Black students and 16 percent of Hispanic students are performing at expected levels in 8th grade math? These sad numbers are seen throughout all grades in state standardized testing.

It’s sad that there are still organizations that don’t like parents exercising freedom. For well-funded education organizations, including teacher unions, choice and competition is a threat, not an opportunity. Everyyear,seriouschallengestoschoolchoice,especiallycharterschools,emergeat the State Capitol and in some local school districts.

Why would they want to close school doors in the face of Colorado families?

In my view, based on their track record, their desire is to return to the days when every student was assigned to a school based on their home address – their interests, aptitudes or needs notwithstanding. A guaranteed student body for every school with no competition.

We are just one pro-teacher union governor and a few more anti-school-choice legislators from our freedoms being taken away.

That’s why we need Amendment 80 which would protect our existing school choice rights in the state constitution. Once school choice is in the constitution, it can’t be changed or damaged by passing a simple law.

Instead, those who would seek to neuter charter schools, for example, would be required to pass a constitutional amendment, which requires a vote of the people.

Asking people to rescind their own school choice rights would not be popular at the ballot box.

Let’s end these annual threats to educational freedom – rights that Coloradans value and have benefited generations of our young people. Please join me in voting for Amendment 80 to protect school choice.