Across America, parents are demanding greater transparency and a stronger say in their children's education. Colorado is moving in the opposite direction. What began as debates over textbooks and classroom materials now extends to whether parents are notified when their children ask to use a different name at school to reflect a gender identity different from their sex at birth. Parents should not be the last to know about decisions affecting their own children.

A parent should not need an attorney, a public-records request, or hours spent digging through a district website to understand what their child is being taught. Nor should parents be left wondering what policies govern sensitive decisions involving their children, who makes those decisions or when families will be informed. These are basic expectations for institutions entrusted with our children every day.

By the time I was 17, I had lived in 17 homes and attended 14 schools. My childhood was marked by abuse and instability. I know how much a child's future can depend on the decisions of adults entrusted with their care.

That experience shaped my work with vulnerable children and families through All Things Possible Ministries. As a father of five, I also know that parents make difficult decisions every day. They need schools that communicate with them, not institutions that make basic information difficult to obtain.

That is why, as a candidate for governor of........

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