Organizations sound off following passage of House Bill 2

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

Mar. 18—House Bill 2 made its way through the Kentucky House and Senate during the legislative session late last week and organizations favoring of public education are sounding off.

"The passage of HB 2 represents a grave misstep for our state," Tom Shelton, spokesman for the Council for Better Education, said. "It paves the way for public dollars—funds meant to support the education of every child in Kentucky—to be funneled into unaccountable, private institutions that are not held to the same standards of accountability and transparency as our public schools."

Shelton tells the press that passing this and putting it on the ballot is not good public policy.

"Starving public schools of the critical resources they need to operate effectively not only compromises the quality of education available to every child in our state but also erodes the principle of equitable access to education for all," he said.

Shelton states that some leaders in other states who have passed a bill that supports charter schools, like neighboring Tennessee, deeply regret it.

"[These schools] present runaway budgetary costs well above projections and fiscal notes, as seen in states that have gone down this road — essentially bankrupting Arizona for example. They mostly subsidize existing private school students, and in many cases exacerbate teacher shortages that are already at crisis levels. Some leaders who have pushed this failed policy in Tennessee now openly regret it," Shelton said.

The Council for Better Education says they are focused primarily on the potential implications of HB 2 for rural and underserved communities.

According to the Council, public schools often serve as the backbone of educational opportunity and the foundation of our communities.

"Diverting funds to private schools will disproportionately affect our most vulnerable students, putting our rural and underserved areas at a disadvantage," Shelton emphasized.

The Council has said with the passage of HB2, they are planning further action, but didn't state what that action would be.