The Colorado education establishment is peddling school choice myths. Here’s the truth.

The Colorado Board of Education is peddling myths about school choice as voters weigh a constitutional amendment in November’s election.

Lisa Escárcega and Kathy Plomer, both members of the Colorado Board of Education, published an op-ed Wednesday in which they paraded the tired tropes of school choice opponents.

“There is a threat to our students and schools looming on our November ballot,” they wrote for coloradopolitics.com. “Amendment 80, brought by wealthy, in and out-of-state organizations is part of a nationally coordinated master plan to go around voters in states where voucher proponents have been unsuccessful in passing state voucher laws.”

Amendment 80, which will be on the ballot on Nov. 5, reads:

“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 homeschools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.”  

It adds, “each K-12 child has the right to school choice.”  

In the eyes of Escárcega and Plomer, parents choosing the best education for their children is just a hop, skip and a jump away from a vast conspiracy to undermine public schools everywhere.  

“What this purposely misleading ballot measure is really about is dismantling public schools and taking a first step toward a voucher program to funnel already limited state dollars away from public schools to private schools,” they claim.  

Let’s pump the brakes.  

School choice doesn’t defund public schools. In fact, it’s actually cheaper on a per-pupil basis for the government to fund such programs. 

According to the Education Data Initiative, the average K-12 private school costs about $13,000 per student. Elementary schools are closer to $12,000 while high schools are about $15,800.   

But when it comes to public education, the average K-12 student costs a whopping $16,410 to educate. 

No wonder Colorado’s K-12 budget exceeds $40 billion dollars.  

Escárcega and Plomer cite Arizona’s billion-dollar school choice program – the first universal one in the nation – as evidence for their fearmongering. 

But Arizona’s education savings account (ESA) spending is on par with public school costs.  

According to EdChoice, the average ESA was $9,782 in the 2023-24 school year. Arizona’s per-pupil public school spending – which is one the lowest in the nation – was still higher ($10,090). 

And despite being condemned by critics as “unsustainable,” the ESA program came in under budget for fiscal year 2024. 

However, cost isn’t the Colorado state school board’s only complaint. 

“These private schools have no requirements to meet widely accepted education standards, teach scientifically sound curriculum, or be transparent and accountable to the taxpayers footing the bill,” Escárcega and Plomer argue. “They can openly discriminate against children with special needs or a disability or families that don’t fit their economic, religious, or racial or ethnic standards.” 

But the public education system that Escárcega and Plomer oversee is obviously ineffective at serving those very students. 

According to 2023 state testing data, less than half (44%) of 8th grade students are proficient in English and only 33% in math.  

Those numbers are even worse for racial minorities.  

Black students score 30% and 17% in ELA and math, respectively; Hispanics, 26% and 16%; American Indians and Alaska Natives, 27% and 14%; and Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, 29% and 19%. 

And low-income and special needs students score a dismal 30 points or more below the statewide average. 

So Colorado’s “widely accepted education standards” and “scientifically sound curriculum” may not be all they’re chalked up to be.  

“We can all agree education shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all,” Escárcega and Plomer conclude. “It should be tailored to each individual child and, 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.”  

While a two-size-fits-all system is a vast improvement from a one-size-fits-all system, it’s still not enough.  

Students in Colorado – and nationwide – need a multiplicity of options to best serve their diverse needs. Public and charter schools may be the best option for some, but right now those two options are leaving many students behind. 

School choice is meant to give each child a chance to thrive – even if they don’t fit the public school mold.