Board proclaims National School Choice Week; school-choice advocates and charter leaders speak

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 14 adopted a proclamation recognizing National School Choice Week (Jan. 26—Feb. 1, 2025) and heard multiple presenters from local and statewide school-choice organizations.

Steve Schuck (Parents Challenge) and Deborah Hendricks (executive director, Parents Challenge) described the group—s 25-year work supporting parental access to a range of education options and noted that Parents Challenge serves families across more than 25 ZIP codes in El Paso County. Hendricks said the organization is "agnostic" about particular school types and supports parents choosing public, charter, private, online or homeschool options to match each child—s needs.

Rob Moulton, founder and president of the Education Alliance of Colorado, told the board that his coalition represents charter schools and parents statewide and that recent legislative fights over charter school autonomy have been active in the past year. He said House Bill 1363 (referred to in public remarks) was defeated in committee last year but sponsors indicated they will return with revised legislation.

Commissioners commented in support of educational choice, noting the variety of local options and the role of choice in tailoring education to individual students. The board voted 5-0 to adopt the proclamation.

Hendricks and Parents Challenge announced a School Choice Week school fair on Jan. 25 at Great Wolf Lodge and said the fair and related events would be free and open to the public. The proclamation text was entered into the record and the board recessed for a photograph after the vote.