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[excerpted and edited from an AP report]

Oct. 1996

....a proposal to add the language to the Colorado Constitution has prompted a fierce debate between those who say it will protect families against government meddling and those who believe it will harm the children most in need of help.

Opponents,
including church groups, teacher unions, the national Parent Teachers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, say it will hamper the abilities of those agencies to do their jobs.

Educators in particular fear school board decisions may be stalled or overturned completely by parents who dispute them. They also say parents may obtain more decision-making authority over the hiring and firing of teachers, teaching materials and teaching methods.

The signatures of more than 80,000 registered voters were gathered to put the measure on the ballot -- an effort that began after Gov. Roy Romer vetoed a similar proposal last spring.

A poll of 482 voters, taken Sept. 3-5 by the Rocky Mountain News, found 76 percent in favor of the amendment. Eleven percent said they opposed the proposal, and 13 percent were undecided. The poll's margin of sampling error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Rep. Dave Owen of Greeley, a conservative Republican legislator,
said "I think it's going to cost the state a bunch of money in lawsuits," Owen said. "I think people are going to be suing schools, social services and other people."

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