Denver Catholic

B2 JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 10, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC State Politics 2017 BY THERESE AAKER W hile political involvement on a national level gets more attention, it's important to be aware of how the Catholic com- munity can get involved at the state level with this year's upcoming legisla- tive issues. For the Catholic com- munity in Colorado espe- cially, one major concern is the End-of-Life Options Act (Prop 106), which legalized assisted suicide in the state, and what the next steps are. While it's not a legislative issue, its implementation is a major concern, as are the long-term eŠects of what it means for our state and culture overall. Jennifer Kraska, the executive director of the Colorado Catholic Con- ference and president of the National Associ- ation of State Catholic Conference Directors (NASCCD), shared her thoughts on the imple- mentation of End-of-Life Options Act and this year's most important legislative issues for the state. DENVER CATHOLIC: One major concern post-election is the legalization of assisted suicide. What do you think its implemen- tation will look like regarding Catholic healthcare providers and the state overall? JENNIFER KRASKA: The law o°cially went into eŠect in December. In terms of implementa- tion regarding Catholic healthcare providers, we've already witnessed a policy statement from the Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth (SCL), stat- ing that their facilities have opted out of partici- pating in assisted suicide, and if patients request a prescription for assisted suicide, they'll be oŠered the opportunity to trans- fer to another facility of their choosing. I fully expect that there will be a similar opt-out policies implemented at Catho- lic healthcare facilities around the state. DC: What other major issues will legislature face this year? Is there anything Catholics should especially be aware of ? JK: Two issues of impor- tance to the Catholic community that will arise this session are bills concerning a tax credit for educational scholar- ship granting organiza- tions (i.e., Seeds of Hope) and legislation that seeks to repeal the death pen- alty in Colorado. DC: How would you characterize the atmo- sphere at the State Capitol going into the 2017 session? JK: I would say there is an atmosphere of anticipation, mainly in anticipation about what will happen at the federal level and how those federal decisions/ policies will trickle down to the state level. There is also an atmosphere of understanding that we are operating with a divided government at the state level, and if things are going to get done, there will need to be real eŠorts, on the part of both parties, to reach across the aisle. DC: Is there anything you think Catholics should remember post-election? JK: There are many people, including Cath- olics, on both sides of the political aisle that are either happy or disappointed about the outcome of our national elections. I would say there is a third group of people that are uncertain about what the outcome of the presidential elec- tion will mean for them and their families. First and foremost, we must remember to keep all our elected o°cials in our prayers. Second, we must remain vigilant, which means we help our elected o°cials do the right thing, and when they don't, we must respectfully express our resistance. DC: How can people get involved? JK: I would encourage people to sign up to receive the Colorado Catholic Conference's Action Alerts via email: cocatholicconference. org/voter-voice/?vvs- rc=%2fregister. I would also urge people to visit the State Capitol, attend an elected o°cial's town hall meeting and most importantly, make sure you are registered to vote. Q&A: The most important legislative issues Colorado Catholics should keep an eye on this year For more information on the Colorado Catholic Conference, visit cocatholiconference.org/. i Jenny Kraska, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, shares her thoughts on the most important legislative issues of the year. For more info, visit their website cocatholicconference. org. PHOTO PROVIDED provide a huge impedi- ment for [public] money flowing to private schools," Kraska said. There are a few diŠerent options when it comes to school choice, includ- ing the popular voucher system and the more recent Education Savings Accounts. For Colorado, however, Kijewski and Kraska suggestª the best option is to implement a scholarship tax credit program, which has also been implemented in 17 other states. GIVING PARENTS CONTROL Brittany Corona is a national school choice advocate and former director of state policy for EdChoice. She is starting a National Catholic education reform non- profit organization, the vision for which is based on the Second Vatican Coun- cil's Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis. It will work primarily to unify the Catholic voice in education reform and advocate directly within the school choice network.ª According toª Gravissimum Educa- tionis, parents are the primary teachers of their children and should be free to choose which school their child goes to in conformity with their conscience. To that end, Corona said that school choice works in conjunction with the Church's teachings regarding education. "Allowing for public funds, or in the case of tax credit scholarships, charitable donations to scholarship granting organizations, to be directed toward families who direct those dol- lars towards school choice or education options in choice, is consistent with Church teaching," Corona explained. There are limitations to scholar- ship tax credits, however. Corona said that because they're funded entirely by charitable donations, there is a cap on the money that students are able to access. According to Corona, the ideal method for school choice would be to "allow parents to direct the dollars that are allotted for their children to an education option of choice." Education Savings Accounts are the best option to systematically change the system for school choice, she said. Still, she said that in the case of Col- orado, scholarship tax credits are the best way to go. "Scholarship tax credits diŠer from other school choice options because they're completely made up of chari- table contributions, so it's not coming out of the state pot of public funding at all," she said. Though results vary on a state-by- state basis, statistics show that atten- dance ratesªat private schools increase when parents are given choices of which schools to send their kids to. The state of Florida implemented a scholarship tax credit program in 2001, and recent statistics published by the Florida Department of Education show a steady increase in private school enrollment rates from 2011-2016. Competition also plays a factor when parents have a choice, which can increase the overall quality of education a school oŠers. "If parents are able to choose what school to send their kids to, you're going to have a healthy amount of competi- tion among all the diŠerent schools out there, including Catholic schools," Kijewski said.ª"Everyone needs to raise the bar, and school choice is the incen- tive to do so. "This is about empowering people, not only to go to Catholic school, but to go to whatever school they want. It's about empowering people to make choices for their kids." «B

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