The state constitution would be amended by a bill introduced by a member of the Republican leadership in the Kentucky House of Representatives, allowing public funds to be allocated to private and charter schools.
House Bill 2, the second “school choice” amendment to be offered in the House this year, was filed Thursday afternoon by Suzanne Miles, a Republican from Owensboro and chair of the Majority Caucus.
Currently, the General Assembly is mandated by Kentucky Constitution Section 183 to “provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.”
However, Miles’ plan would change it such that enrollment at private and charter schools might be partially funded by public funds. Laws supported by Republicans in the past that sought to accomplish the same thing have been overturned in court.
“We’ve been having this discussion for several decades now. Miles stated, “I believe it’s time for us to allow the voters to make the decision.
Proposed changes to the Kentucky Constitution must receive the support of three-fifths of members in both the House and the Senate to be placed on the state ballot. Should parliamentarians approve the matter, the matter will be included on the ballot in November. At that point, the majority of voters would accept it.
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During the second week of this legislative session, Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, submitted House Bill 208, which would modify the constitution to mandate the state to provide funding for education outside of the traditional public school system. Despite not being assigned to a committee, it has 28 co-sponsors.
According to Miles, her bill did not “go as far as dictating” specific government activities, but rather was a “cleaner version” of the amendment.
“It merely elucidates our jurisdiction to take such action,” stated House Speaker David Osborne, a Republican from Prospect. We keep circling back and forth between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. This merely states that we can establish policy. Although it does not create any policies, it makes it quite clear that we can do so.
Osborne declared that he was “confident” the bill would clear the House and that this year’s ballot would include a constitutional amendment that would assist the school choice movement. Miles’ bill was allocated House Bill 2, which he said was a “pretty good indication” that it would pass the house.
Many Republican lawmakers made it plain that school choice will be one of their main concerns going into the 2024 General Assembly. Legal setbacks for the school choice movement have demonstrated that amending the constitution is necessary to make progress.
A 2021 measure that would have established a privately funded needs-based assistance program to pay for educational costs for families that would have been offset by tax credits was unanimously overturned by the Kentucky Supreme Court in late 2022.
Then, in December, Judge Phillip Shepherd of the Franklin Circuit Court overturned a bill that would have established a public financing source for charter schools. According to Shepherd, “the plain language of the Kentucky Constitution itself, yields the inescapable conclusion” that charter schools do not fall under the definition of public schools as they are privately run but publicly funded.
Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has vowed to oppose any school choice initiative after winning reelection in November.
He declared in October to the editorial board of the Herald-Leader, “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.”
This is a work in progress and might be modified.
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