A school voucher story
Colorado voters will decide a ballot measure that would amend the state’s Constitution to allow school vouchers. And, well, it does a lot of other stuff. Or, it could.
It’s not clear the drafters understood the full implications of the proposed change.
The wording essentially makes school choice the right of every child in the state. It also explicitly gives parents the right to “direct their child’s education.”
As Peter Greene notes, this presents some interesting challenges:
Wouldn’t this language amount to a state takeover of all charter and private schools?
And that’s not all. Wouldn’t this amendment also allow parents to intrude into every classroom? If I have a constitutional right to direct my child’s education, does that not mean that I can tell my child’s science teacher to stop teaching evolution? Or start teaching evolution? Can I demand a different approach to teaching American history? How about prepositions? And how will a classroom teacher even function if every child in the classroom comes with a parent who has a constitutional right to direct their education?
It’s not clear there’s momentum for the proposed changes to pass. But, if they did, Colorado schools – both public and private – could be in for some unpleasant surprises.
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