top 10 Victor marx policies to help students statewide

1.Persistent low academic proficiency despite record funding and a #1 U.S. News ranking

Majority of Colorado students (often 50%+) fail to meet grade-level standards in reading and math on CMAS and NAEP tests. Third-grade reading proficiency remains weak (around 42% meeting expectations recently, below pre-pandemic in key grades); math is worse in many grades. Funding per pupil rose over 45-50% under Polis, yet gaps for low-income and minority students persist.

Victor Marx policy: Prioritize phonics-based reading, math recovery, accountability for results over inputs, and transparent reporting of proficiency over composite rankings.

2.COVID-era school closures and lingering learning loss
Statewide closures contributed to lasting declines in math and reading that have only partially recovered, withelevated absenteeism continuing.
Victor Marx policy: Prioritize in-person learning, expand education savings accounts and open enrollment so parents can choose settings that accelerate recovery, and restore parental oversight of instructional decisions.

3.State protections for medical gender-affirming interventions (puberty blockers, hormones) for minors

Laws mandate insurance coverage and shield providers; courts have ordered hospitals to resume care. Irreversible effects on developing bodies raise serious concerns.

Victor Marx policy: Protect children’s physical and developmental integrity by reinforcing parental authority over medical decisions and ending state facilitation of experimental interventions on minors.

4.Juvenile violent crime trends and soft-on-crime reforms

Crimes against persons (murder, aggravated assault) rose in periods coinciding with reduced detention capacity and emphasis on diversion; youth firearm involvement increased.

Victor Marx policy: Restore common-sense law and order—back police, require monetary bail for violent offenses, expand secure capacity for serious youth offenders, and prioritize accountability and victim safety.

5.School policies on preferred names/pronouns with limited or no mandatory parental notification

State rules require schools to honor chosen names reflecting gender identity, often without requiring parental notification, creating secrecy between school and family.

Victor Marx policy: Enact a statutory Parents’ Right to Know framework requiring full, timely parental access to curriculum, materials, policies, and notification on identity-related changes so parents—not schools—direct their child’s upbringing.

6.Fentanyl and overdose risks for youth

Elevated adolescent overdose rates driven by fentanyl, including incidents in schools and detention centers.

Victor Marx policy: Elevate fentanyl enforcement to a statewide emergency priority, coordinate interdiction and targeted investigations, and create a Border-Related Crime Strike Force to dismantle trafficking networks harming Colorado kids.

7.School system strain from rapid migrant student influx

Denver-metro districts absorbed thousands of new-arrival students, adding tens of millions in costs while overall enrollment declined and absenteeism spiked.

Victor Marx policy: End sanctuary policies, require state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities (ICE), and establish a Border-Related Crime Strike Force so schools and budgets are not overwhelmed.

8.Foster care and vulnerable children outcomes

Foster youth graduation rates lag dramatically; aging-out youth face high rates of homelessness and incarceration.

Victor Marx policy: Draw on his All Things Possible ministry experience rescuing and restoring children from trauma—prioritize permanency, kinship care, educational supports, and practical outcomes that protect and empower vulnerable kids.

9.Parental involvement limited to notification (not consent) for minor abortions

Colorado requires only 48-hour parental notification with judicial bypass; no consent requirement.

Victor Marx policy: Strengthen parental rights so parents guide critical medical decisions for their children, consistent with the principle that parents raise children—not government.

10.Resistance to broader school choice and private options

Democrats have constrained or conditioned scholarship/tax-credit programs and opposed stronger constitutional protections for choice. Public enrollment has declined.

Victor Marx policy: Expand school choice so education dollars follow the student—public, charter, private, online, or homeschool—through education savings accounts (ESAs) and open-enrollment options.