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A ballot measure that would have enshrined school choice in the Colorado constitution was defeated, according to unofficial election returns.

Amendment 80 he remained about 7 percentage points short of the 55 percent approval rating needed for passage when The Associated Press officially called the race Thursday morning.

Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, which opposed the amendment, said Tuesday when the first results were reported that he was encouraged that the measure appeared headed for defeat.

“I think the voters of Colorado saw this for what it really was, which is … a way to bring private school vouchers to Colorado,” he said. “I think this is a reaffirmation that the people of Colorado really value their public schools.”

Voters in Kentucky and Nebraska also defeated school choice measures on Tuesday.

Some experts predicted that passage of Amendment 80 would most likely lead to a legal battle and a judge deciding how it would be interpreted.

Amendment 80 would have established the “right to school choice” for K-12 students. It defined school choice to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options and “future innovations in education.”

The language said 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.”

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.

Advance Colorado, the conservative group that proposed Amendment 80, suggested that the measure seemed headed for defeat that it might make another attempt.

“It’s a certainty that we’ll see the same groups that spent millions against Amendment 80 back on Capitol Hill in a few weeks to renew their legislative attacks on charter schools and other forms of school choice,” Michael Fields, the group’s president, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“When those rights are attacked, we will be prepared to bring Amendment 80 back to the voters in the future,” he said. “Tonight marks just another round in the fight to protect school choice in Colorado.”

In addition to Advance Colorado, Amendment 80 was supported by Colorado Private Schools AssociationTHE Colorado Catholic ConferenceTHE Independence Institute, Done Coloradoand Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University.

Opponents also included 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.

Voucher programs in other states, such as Arizona, they turned out to be expensive.

Advance Colorado officials denied that Amendment 80 refers to private school vouchers. The group initially proposed another amendment that was about vouchers, but decided not to pursue signature gathering to get it on the ballot.

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].