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Early election results show Colorado voters are rejecting a statewide ballot measure that would enshrine school choice in the Colorado constitution.

Amendment 80 is below the 55 percent approval rate needed for passage, according to the first wave of statewide returns released late Tuesday.

School choice is already guaranteed under Colorado law, but supporters said passage of Amendment 80 would protect that right from future attacks by state lawmakers. Opponents said it could lead to private schools being funded with public money.

Amendment 80 says that every child in K-12 “has the right to school choice.”

It defines school choice to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options and “future innovations in education.”

Amendment 80 also states that “parents have the right to direct the education of their children” and that “all children have the right to an equal opportunity to access a quality education.”

Amendment 80 was proposed by the conservative advocacy organization Advance Colorado. It has been supported by organizations including Colorado Private Schools AssociationTHE Colorado Catholic ConferenceTHE Independence Institute, Done Coloradoand Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University.

“It says, ‘Hey, as a family, we trust you to make the best educational choice for your child,'” Kristi Burton Brown, executive vice president at Advance Colorado, Chalkbeat said.

Amendment 80 was opposed by Colorado Education AssociationTHE ACLU of ColoradoTHE Democratic Party of ColoradoColorado PTA, Colorado Association of School Executives, lots of individual school districts, including Denver Public SchoolsTHE Christian Home Educators of Coloradoand several other organizations.

The Colorado Education Association argued that Amendment 80 was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that would lead to vouchers that use public money to pay tuition at private schools. Voucher programs in other states, such as Arizona, they turned out to be expensive.

“They’re using the innocuous word ‘choice’ as a vehicle for what clearly opens the door for a voucher scheme,” Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, Chalkbeat said.

Burton Brown denied that Amendment 80 was about private school vouchers. Advance Colorado originally proposed another amendment that was about vouchers, but decided not to continue gathering signatures to get it on the ballot, she said.

If Amendment 80 passes, experts said the measure will likely end up in court, with a judge deciding how it should be interpreted.

We will continue to update this story as more results are reported Tuesday evening.

Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at [email protected].