House Bill set to provide a constitutional amendment for Charter Schools passes legislature

Spencer Mahon, Richmond Register, Ky.
·2 min read

Mar. 15—A house bill presented back in January to the Kentucky General Assembly has made its way through the legislature and voters are set to decide on charter school funding this November.

House Bill 2, or HB2, would allow a constitutional amendment for charter school funding.

The bill had its third reading on Friday in the Senate and passed the Senate, 27-8.

The bill passed through the House with 65 yes votes and 32 no votes on Wednesday. The bill was also read in the Senate for the first time on Wednesday.

The movement of HB2, along with several others including HB5 (known as the Safer Kentucky Act, which also passed through the senate today 26-9), HB6 (the state's biennial budget, which is in the House for the second time), and HB 367 (SNAP Funding), is something that a lot of people throughout the state have been watching.

Kentucky is one of only a few states to have a charter school law on the books, but not have a charter school.

Primarily here in Madison County, Gus LaFontaine, the owner of LaFontaine Preparatory School has been trying to open a charter school in Madison County for some time now.

Back in December, Madison County Schools voted against LaFontaine Charter School's application.

In December of last year, HB9 was struck down by Judge Phillip Shepherd. The bill set up a permanent funding mechanism for charter schools. About a week prior, the Madison County Board of Education held a public forum on the matter.

The prospect of this year's HB2 is something that he's very excited about seeing.

"The prospects of HB2 are exciting to me, it aligns with my hope and goal that we can improve access to education options for Kentuckians," he told the Register in a January interview.

He also spoke about the many states have options that have charter schools already. States like Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, and Tennessee all have charter schools. West Virginia has had a law on the books since 2019, but no charter schools operate there.

"It's exciting to think that Kentucky could offer similar options to every state that borders us," LaFontaine said back in January.