In the Colorado Sun, Kevin Welner and Kathy Gebhardt remind their governor that signing up for federal school vouchers is not a great– or popular– idea.
For over 50 years, the verdict has been consistent: U.S. voters have rejected school vouchers all 17 times they’ve appeared on state ballots. Here in Colorado, we rejected a “school choice” initiative in 2024, and voucher initiatives in 1992 and 1998.
Yet, at the insistence of President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, vouchers are again being pushed on Colorado, this time through a program that dangles federal money like a shiny lure. The Colorado Sun reports that Gov. Jared Polis plans to bite, opting into that program, which is part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That would be a mistake.
The new program funnels taxpayer money through “Scholarship Granting Organizations,” or SGOs. It invites taxpayers who owe taxes up to $1,700 to divert that money to SGOs instead. SGO leaders can pocket 10% and then must send the rest to students for eligible expenses.
Those expenses include tutoring and extended day programs, but the 800-pound gorilla is private school tuition — the primary beneficiary and the reason why Trump and his allies created the SGO program.
Moreover, the money will likely come with strings attached, blocking our ability to protect children from discrimination and undermining public education. The law itself doesn’t forbid states from shaping the program to focus on, e.g., tutoring. But Trump’s Treasury Department is writing rules likely to require taxpayer funding for deregulated private schools — denying Colorado crucial flexibility.
A program sold as adaptable will then become a Trump-branded straitjacket and a devil’s bargain.
The decision of whether to opt in Colorado currently lies with Polis. But any Colorado politicians tempted by this Trojan horse should set clear conditions: The state will not join any program that limits our right to use funds according to our own priorities — accountability, equity and evidence-based support for all students.
Colorado’s underfunded public schools are where more investment is needed. Leaders should insist on directing any SGO funds toward strategies like high-quality tutoring that lift children up — not vouchers proven to drag them down.
Read the full op-ed here.