Gov. Jared Polis deserves real credit for being the first Democrat to opt his state into the Trump administration’s federal school choice program. Even as activists in his own party howled in protest, Polis ignored the noise and chose what’s best for Colorado kids.

Beginning in 2027, the program — part of last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” — will allow donors in participating states to receive a tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions made to qualified scholarship nonprofits. Eligible expenses will include support for both private and public schools.

The quintessential example is Colorado Springs-based Parents Challenge, which provides financial support to families for virtually any educational choice — private, charter or traditional public school, homeschooling or hybrid models.

“Gov. Polis deserves great credit for standing tall for all children, but especially those poor, Black and brown students trapped in schools that continue to fail them,” Parents Challenge founder Steve Schuck told me. “By opting in, he’s prioritizing the interests of kids and their futures above politics.”

Polis has always had a soft spot for school choice. He founded two charter schools and got his political start on the state Board of Education. As The Gazette editorialized, it “only made sense” for him to embrace a new law “to fund scholarships through federal tax credits for K-12 students to attend schools of their choice.”

Colorado is already strong on school choice, with more than 260 charter schools serving 15% of public-school students.

That’s to the chagrin of left-wing activists, a coalition of which sent Polis a letter complaining the program amounts to “siphoning off students” from traditional K-12 schools.

Nonsense. True school choice has nothing to do with advancing only specific choices and everything to do with giving students a better shot at education through many options.

Schuck put it bluntly: “Shame on those carrying water for the teachers’ unions, who choose to protect the status quo that keeps failing kids and imperiling the future of our communities.”

Ultimately, this program allows individuals to decide whether they want to give up to $1,700 in taxes to the federal government or to a scholarship program for low-income kids — but only if their state’s governor opts in.

“I mean, I would be crazy not to,” Polis said. He’s not wrong.

There’s money on the table for Colorado — and no reason to refuse it simply because it’s a Trump policy. That’s called burying your head in the sand over pure politics. Thankfully, Polis isn’t doing that.

For national school choice activist Corey DeAngelis, author of “The Parent Revolution,” it boils down to parental rights — “being able to choose the school that’s aligned with your own values.” It’s about making the best educational choice for your child.

“Your kids don’t belong to the government, and that money that you’re paying in taxes doesn’t belong to the government schools,” DeAngelis, with the American Culture Project, told me on KOA radio. “It should follow your child to the school that works best.”

So yes, Polis deserves kudos for opting in. But let’s be clear: He didn’t fight for this.

Because it’s a federal program, there’s no skin off his back — just a few chirps from his left flank over an issue Coloradans resoundingly support.

It’s reminiscent of the Independence Institute’s tax cut initiatives. Polis talks a good game about eliminating the state income tax, yet he’s done nothing about it himself. The rate has been cut twice — from 4.63% to 4.4% — thanks to two voter-approved ballot measures, not the governor. Conservative organizations did the work and put them on the ballot.

Thus, Polis reaps political benefit from claiming support for tax cuts while signing countless new “fees” into law — without a vote of the people — on deliveries, gasoline and oil and gas production.

The pattern repeats here. The feds handed him a no-brainer on a silver platter, with no cost to Colorado taxpayers.

Polis doesn’t support full “voucher” programs that would attach state dollars to each child regardless of where they go to school. He failed to back Amendment 80 in 2024, which would have enshrined a constitutional right to school choice. And he’s never advanced state-level education tax credits.

While Polis has butted heads with the Colorado Education Association over charter school “accountability” legislation, he’s largely aligned with the unions on education funding bills and anti-parental rights legislation.

That’s where the contradiction becomes glaring.

Polis has signed laws that undermine parental rights, including HB24-1039, which mandates schools use a student’s chosen name and pronouns, even if parents disagree — branding refusal “discrimination.” You can’t champion parental rights in school selection while stripping parents of their voice inside the school.

Polis took the easy win. He embraced a federal program built by the Trump administration, weathered mild criticism from his left flank, and now gets to take credit for expanding educational opportunity.

That may qualify as courage in today’s anti-school choice Democratic Party. But don’t confuse accepting an opportunity with fostering one. When conservatives do the heavy lifting, Polis is happy to sign on. When it requires spending his own political capital? Not so much.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.