School choice is one of the most important foundations of Colorado’s education system — as it has been for decades. With this fundamental freedom annually under siege, the only way to protect it for future Coloradans is to place it in our state constitution.

Here’s why:

Much of my career, and my research work, has focused on special education and meeting the needs of children with developmental challenges. A key to the success of these young people is to develop educational strategies that meet their unique needs. 

If we believe every child is different, with varying levels of skills and gifts, then we cannot serve them well with an education system that is one-size-fits-all.

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

It wasn’t very many years ago your address determined where you went to school. In many cases, a kindergartener knew precisely where he or she would go to middle school and high school. If you wanted a different public school, you needed to move.

What progress Colorado has made.     

Today, families often spend time examining other public schools in their districts, and education leaders work to accentuate the benefits of individual schools, hoping to attract more students. That is the benefit of a competitive choice system.

In the mix of those choices are charter schools, which design their own curricula and empower teachers to innovate. Colorado is blessed with a wide array of charter schools that serve different interests and learning styles. 

Of course, families can choose to homeschool their children or select a non-public or religious school. 

In every aspect of our lives, we appreciate having a wide range of choices, and we know competition — not monopoly — is broadly beneficial. Education is no exception. 

Most parents I have met during my years in education, including my years on the state Board of Education, deeply value our system of choice and competition. And I can tell you as a teacher of teachers high-quality educators love competition and the creativity and innovation that come with it. 

This is why for decades there has been a strong, bipartisan consensus at the Capitol backing school choice, including our open enrollment system and charter schools. There is really no ideology, or political party, when it comes to parents wanting to be able to choose the best school for their children. 

So if school choice is so popular, why is it also under threat?

Each year, more and more bills are introduced to limit, or eliminate, pillars of our school choice system. Among several this year, for example, was a measure designed to ultimately end charter schools. 

The bipartisan consensus held  —and Gov. Polis, a charter school founder himself, spoke out early against this measure — securing its defeat.  

But legislators come and go, and Gov. Polis could easily be replaced with a new governor who’s hostile to competition and choice, wanting to support education special-interest groups over parents and energetic educators. 

The right to school choice is too important, and has benefited so many children over the decades, to be left to the political winds.

With a constitutional amendment, which will appear on the November ballot, our rights cannot be taken away by legislators enacting a statute. Amending the constitution in Colorado requires a 55% vote of the people, a high hurdle. And if current polling is any indication, a strong majority of Colorado voters not only support school choice — but support constitutionally protecting these bedrock rights. 

As with any good ballot initiative, this measure is easy to understand. It doesn’t add any rights, create any new programs or cost taxpayers a dime. It simply protects the rights Colorado families enjoy today.   

As a longtime education leader and policy maker, I believe — and the research backs me up — school choice is the key to better schools, better teaching and better outcomes for Colorado kids. I strongly back placing school choice in the state constitution, and I urge all my fellow Coloradans to do the same.

Dr. Debora Scheffel is dean of the School of Education at Colorado Christian University, and represents the 4th Congressional District on the state Board of Education.