Gov. Jared Polis has mixed feelings about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
On one hand, he often referred to it as the “big, cruel bill.” Yet, hidden inside the controversial 887-page piece of legislation is a new program that excites the governor. And his wishy-washiness will complicate his future presidential ambitions.
Most media buzz about President Donald Trump’s signature legislation focuses on tax cuts and Medicaid. However, the sweeping legislative changes also include the Education Choice for Children Act, or ECCA, a first-of-its-kind federal voucher-style program.
Under ECCA, individuals can make tax-deductible donations up to $1,700 to scholarship organizations. These organizations will provide dollar-for-dollar scholarships for students who cannot afford private tuition.
And since the scholarships derive from private donors, the hackneyed “vouchers syphon money away from public schools” argument doesn’t apply. “This is literally free money,” says Jorge Elorza, CEO of Democrats for Education Reform.
But before students can benefit, their respective governors must opt in. Each state executive must approve a list of qualifying scholarship organizations the year before the donations can flow.
Whether Polis opts in is yet to be seen. Through a spokesperson earlier this month to Education Week, the governor said he was “excited by the possibility of unlocking new federal tax credits for donations to help low-income kids achieve.”
However, if his record is any indication, Polis can be a bit of a wild card.
Polis has bucked party orthodoxy on education in the past.
He has always been a strong ally of charter schools — a sore spot for many on the Left. In addition to founding several Colorado charter schools, he was the only congressional Democrat to oppose federal reforms to the national grant program for startup charter schools. Last year, he sided with Republicans to oppose legislation that would have significantly restricted charter schools.
But when it comes to vouchers, Polis has been less bullish.
He opposes educational savings accounts or refundable tax credits, claiming such programs provide “no accountability” for private schools. “It can be Joe’s Taco Shop and K-8 academy, and they’re getting taxpayer money,” said Polis during an interview with longtime national reporter John Stossel.
Yet, during the same interview, Polis revealed his ideological inconsistency when the conversation shifted to his universal preschool program.
“Private providers are fully able to participate in that,” said Polis, when pressed to validate his free-market bona fides with the libertarian pundit.
Private preschool providers include 60 faith-based programs and other organizations outside the public sphere. This program helped my youngest son attend a Lutheran preschool, which offered a drastically better education than our public option. That’s right — public money for a religious school. (Thanks, Jared.)
Polis’ paradoxical views also apply to higher education. The governor once called Pell Grants the “linchpins of educational access in our country.”
But college-bound students can use this government aid at private colleges. Pell Grants help low-income students afford tuition at private Colorado colleges, such as Regis University (a Catholic Jesuit institution) and Colorado Christian University.
If school choice is good enough for preschool and college, surely the same principle applies to K–12, no?
Polis must tread lightly. Colorado’s participation in ECCA puts him between a progressive rock and hard-Right place. The ever-ambitious Polis has his sights set far beyond the Boettcher Mansion, as pols often float him as a possible presidential candidate in 2028.
However, Polis’ ideological divergence may cost him.
Just ask Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Shapiro, who once rhetorically supported vouchers, faced significant backlash — especially from teacher unions — when Kamala Harris considered him for her presidential ticket. This vitriolic response belied the fact that the Pennsylvania governor hypocritically vetoed the very same voucher program he had advocated. Nevertheless, Harris passed on Shapiro.
The lesson was clear: Any Democrat expressing even a modicum of support for vouchers must face the party’s circular firing squad.
Polis cannot kick this can down the road. ECCA goes into effect in 2027, and governors must approve the list of approved scholarship organizations by the end of 2026. Opting into this program will be one of the last decisions the term-limited Polis will face before leaving office in January 2027.
And the choice reveals the fissures inside the Democrats’ big tent. School choice, including vouchers, enjoys widespread support among Black and Hispanic families, who disproportionately endure more piss-poor schools than most demographics. Meanwhile, teacher unions — which have bought and paid for the party’s education plank — and white progressives remain intransigently opposed.
“It’s a tough dilemma,” writes Michael Petrilli in The Wall Street Journal.
Considering his on-again, off-again relationship with his party’s platform, Polis may anger his fellow partisans one last time by opting into ECCA.
“Democrats can and should lean into choice,” says the Colorado governor.
Hopefully, the governor follows his own advice.
Jay Stooksberry, of Delta, is a freelance writer and editor
