During a recent interview on Independence Institute’s* public affairs tv show “Devil’s Advocate with Jon Caldara,” Ross Izard, founder of Xiphos Strategies, lays out the state of educational choice in Colorado—what’s working, what’s missing, and how politics shapes the limits of reform.
Izard explains that Colorado parents enjoy a variety of what he calls “public-school choice” options: charter schools (about 260 statewide, serving roughly 15% of students), magnet programs, innovation schools, homeschool enrichment options, and other alternatives inside the public system.
But Colorado has not adopted larger-scale choice that includes private school options–vouchers or other, similar programs–despite decades of efforts. Izard argues the main barrier is political, with proposals that include private schools blocked in the legislature, tied up in regulation or litigation, or constrained by rules that make participation impractical—especially for religious schools. He describes how some state lawmakers in the Democrat majority may personally support helping low-income families access private options, but fear political retaliation, especially from teachers’ unions.
A major Colorado-specific obstacle, according to Izard, is “exclusive chartering authority,” by which new charters must be approved either by the local school district or by the state Charter School Institute (CSI). Yet, to apply to CSI, a district often must first “release” the applicant—meaning the same district that rejected the charter can block any appeal.
The conversation also touches on homeschooling, microschools, and Colorado’s participation in a new federal tax-credit scholarship program, projected to begin in 2027.
You can view the entire interview here, or watch it below.
