KY ‘school choice’ amendment advances, would allow tax dollars for private, charter schools

An effort to put “school choice” on the November ballot has cleared its first legislative hurdle.

Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, sponsored House Bill 2, which would give voters the choice of amending the state constitution to allow taxpayer dollars to go to non-public schools. It was approved Tuesday by an 11-4 vote in the House Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs.

All three Democratic committee members voted no, and all but one Republican — Rep. Scott Lewis, R-Hartford, former superintendent of Ohio County Schools — voted in favor.

Democrats objected to how quickly the meeting was called, saying it did not meet the 24-hour notice requirement of the state’s open meetings law.

Standing committee meetings are scheduled for Thursdays at 10 a.m. However, notice was sent at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday that a special meeting was to take place after the House adjourned for the day, beginning just after 4 p.m.

A committee substitute also was introduced at the meeting.

The original bill said lawmakers would be able to fund non-public schools, like charter or private schools, notwithstanding five provisions of the Kentucky constitution; in the substitute, that grew to seven sections.

The ballot question would read as follows:

“To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below?

“The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools. The General Assembly may exercise this authority by law, Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186, and 189 of this Constitution notwithstanding.”

Section 183 of the Kentucky Constitution currently requires the General Assembly “shall...provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.”

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In addition to Miles, the bill is co-sponsored by two other members of GOP leadership: Speaker of the House David Osborne, R-Prospect, and Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Middletown.

Three-fifths of members in both the House and Senate must approve of proposed amendments to the Kentucky Constitution in order for them to make it the statewide ballot.

When asked how confident she was that the bill would eventually make the ballot — the legislature is only allowed to put four constitutional amendments on the ballot per election year — Miles pointed to its bill number.

“It’s House Bill 2, so hopefully that’s an indication that we’re serious about this,” she said.

Miles said that if Kentucky doesn’t take this step, then its educational outcomes will remain stagnant.

“I think that we’ve gotten to the point where if we don’t modernize our education in some way, shape or form, we’re exactly where we’re going to be,” Miles said.

If given the OK by lawmakers, the issue will appear on the November ballot. It would then need to be approved by the majority of voters.

In late 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously struck down a 2021 bill that would have created a privately funded needs-based assistance program to cover educational expenses for families that would have been offset by tax credits.

Then, in December, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd struck down a law that would have set up a funding mechanism for charter schools in the state. Because charter schools are publicly funded but operated by independent groups, Shepherd said “the plain language of the Kentucky Constitution itself, yields the inescapable conclusion” that they do not meet the definition of public schools.

Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, said the GOP is pushing this bill in an attempt to “make their unconstitutional legislation constitutional.”

“We know that this is just that continued march toward public money to private schools.”

Raymond said that she believes the amendment won’t pass on the ballot.

“We never thought it would pass because the school systems are the largest employers in many of our counties,” she said . “Most of our counties don’t even have private schools. We know that this is something targeted specifically at Louisville and, to a lesser extent, Lexington… I don’t believe it’ll pass.

“Three out of the last four amendments that this Republican supermajority has passed have failed. The people of Kentucky are not aligned with the supermajority, and it’s time they get the message.”

The Kentucky Education Association released a statement saying it “vehemently” opposes the bill.

“This bill is an attack on our state constitution, our public school system, and the right of every Kentuckian to have their voice heard by the General Assembly,” KEA President Eddie Campbell said in the statement. “The Kentucky constitution states in clear language that taxpayer dollars should only go to fund public, common schools. Those public schools are open to and accept every child in the commonwealth.

“The constitution does not allow your tax dollars to be spent to subsidize tuition at private schools that can decide which students they want to accept or deny into their classrooms. HB2 wants the legislature to decide how to spend your money with no oversight or input from you.”

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who won reelection in November, has promised to fight any school choice effort.

“I’m opposed to any school choice amendment and any voucher program — anything that would take dollars from our public schools and send them to unaccountable private schools,” he told the Herald-Leader in October.