There’s a lot of proposals on the Colorado ballot for the November midterms. Several of them directly concern students, such as Proposition NN, Proposition 134 and Proposition 135. Every proposition on a ballot will eventually impact students, but these three are the major ones. So what are these propositions about?
Proposition NN
Proposition NN would aim to increase the TABOR (Tax Payers Bill of Rights) cap, which would allow 4.6 billion surplus funds to k-12 education. This proposition would increase funding for k-12 by 2% every year for the next 10 years, and this funding will be independently audited and made available for all voters to see where the money is going. The funds will directly go to “increasing teacher pay, improve teacher retention, and lower class sizes,” all without raising taxes. With the redirecting of TABOR surplus revenue, some future tax refunds may decrease or not happen.
Proposition 134
This proposition concerns school sports and it would force transgender athletes to only play on a team that correlates with their biological sex from kindergarten up through college. Despite the fact that only a very small minority of student athletes are transgender, this proposition would completely clamp down on trans student athletes playing on a team that doesn’t match their sex. This proposition would allow schools to ensure and check a student playing is on the right designated team for their gender. It would also not allow penalties or prohibitions to be put on schools that have female only teams.
Proposition 135
Proposition 135 would ban gender affirming surgery on minors. It would ban private, federal money, Medicaid reimbursements, and private health insurance to pay for a minor’s surgery. Despite the three major pediatric hospitals in Colorado stating that they didn’t perform any gender affirming operations on minors, this proposition would delay treatments that are “for the purpose of altering biological sex characteristics,” that both medical providers, parents, and the minor would agree is necessary.
There are other propositions that are important that are being voted on in the Colorado general election November 3rd, such as Proposition 137 that directs tax revenue from sporting goods sales to conversation, and Proposition 136 that would set a 4.4 percent limit to income tax. So if you can personally vote, or if you know someone who can vote in the Colorado general election, do your part and either vote, or encourage other people to vote!
