BACKGROUND
Recent attempts have been made in 2022 and 2023 to pass legislation that would fund private schools and homeschools in Colorado with public funds. Amendment 80 is trying to secure public funding for private schools and homeschooling, but this time as a Colorado constitutional amendment.
2022 Legislative Session:
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SB22-039 Funding for Educational Opportunities that would have required funds from the elimination of the budget stabilization factor to create the Hope Scholarship Program that would have siphoned state per pupil funds from public schools for:
(a) tuition or fees at a nonpublic elementary, middle, or high school, including a nonpublic online school;
(b) costs incurred for nonpublic home schooling; and
(c) costs or fees for tutoring by an approved supplemental educational services provider. This bill was indefinitely postponed in the Senate.
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HB22-1203 Income Tax Credits for Nonpublic Education was also introduced in the 2022 legislative session. It would have granted a private school tuition income tax credit for enrolling a qualified child in a private school or providing a private school scholarship. The bill also would have granted an income tax credit for homeschooling. Both tax credits would have decreased state income. HB22-1203 was indefinitely postponed in the House.
2023 Legislative Session:
2024 Legislative Session:
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HCR24-1003 School Choice in Kindergarten Through 12th Grade Education System would have created a constitutional right for parents or guardians to direct their children’s education through school choice, defined to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education. It was indefinitely postposed in House committee.