Kentuckians will have a choice this November. Voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to allow state funds to be spent on non-public schools. Local legislators and school officials are in stark opposition with one another on the motive behind the bill and the effects the amendment would have.
House Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles is the primary sponsor of House Bill 2 and first introduced it in January.
“HB 2 is the purest form of democracy,” Miles said. “It provides the people of Kentucky (the chance) to vote on whether or not they want to see the legislature take additional steps to expand educational options. Those in favor of and against parental choices in educational opportunities will have an opportunity to vote.”
House Bill 2 cleared the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Friday. Because constitutional amendments are not subject to gubernatorial veto, Gov. Andy Beshear has no official power to block the bill, though he’s promised to campaign against the amendment. Ultimately, it is now solely up to voters to decide whether to pass the amendment this November.
The proposed ballot language will read:
“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?”
If passed, the constitutional amendment will read:
“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.”
While the amendment will ask voters if they want to give the legislature the ability to fund non-public schools, such as charter and private schools, it does not address any specific policies or funding mechanisms.
“This is not a policy decision,” Miles said earlier this week. “There is no funding in this bill whatsoever. There is no enabling legislation. This is solely a constitutional amendment to put on the ballot.”
Rep. DJ Johnson, a co-sponsor of the bill, similarly said passage of the amendment would not guarantee that any specific actions would be taken and that it would only allow for the conversation regarding what direction Kentucky education should go.
“If and when — and I’m hoping when — this amendment passes, we will then be able to have conversations about options,” he said. “At that point, we’ll hear all the opinions, all the positions, and decide what’s best for sure. Until we do this, we can’t even have a conversation about options.”
Johnson added, “Having those conversations about exactly what an option would look like if there is one is premature at this point. Until this constitutional amendment passes, based on Supreme Court rulings, we can’t even have a conversation.”
Those in opposition of the bill argue that while the amendment doesn’t technically address specific policy, there are signs that show what legislators have in mind.
Daviess County Public Schools Superintendent Matt Robbins, who is also the president of the Kentucky Council for Better Education, has voiced strong opposition to the constitutional amendment.
He said House Bill 2 comes on the heels of the legislature’s passage of House Bill 563 in 2021 concerning private school tax credits and House Bill 9 in 2022 concerning private charters. Kentucky’s Supreme Court ruled both of those measures unconstitutional by a unanimous decision.
“The passage of HB 2 represents a grave misstep for our state,” Robbins 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, both financially and academically.”
Robbins continued, “HB 2 became necessary to change Kentucky’s Constitution (because the two previous bills were struck down). It is clear the direction the Legislature wants to take Kentucky and the path looks just like the other voucher states.”
Owensboro Public Schools Public Information Officer Jared Revlett echoed Robbins.
“What legislators are conveniently omitting is that should the amendment pass on the ballot, they would immediately jump on the opportunity to fund private schools with public taxpayer dollars; a measure they have attempted in each of the last two years that has been struck down not once, but twice by the Kentucky Supreme Court,” he said. “If this amendment were to pass, taxpayers should ask themselves what accountability will there be for private and charter schools.”
Miles and Johnson are adamant in saying such discussions about vouchers, private schools, or other specific policies and funding are premature.
“That conversation could be for another time, another place. But there’s a long path before we get to that place. This is the first step in that,” Miles said earlier this week.
On Friday, Johnson said: “The opponents of the constitutional amendment are going to attempt to make it very complicated, but it’s not. It’s a very simple thing: Do you want us to have the conversation for options or not?”
David Kessler, Superintendent of Owensboro Catholic Schools, said he hopes voters approve the amendment.
“I am really happy that we now have the opportunity for voters to voice their opinion,” he said. “This is just the beginning of what we hope is a lot more dialogue on future educational opportunities for students and their parents. Without that amendment, there can’t even be really a conversation about any of it. So this just allows there to be some dialogue and allows there to be some work done to decide what could be possibilities for the state of Kentucky, which we’re excited about.”
Chris Holmes, Head of School at Grace Christian Academy, said he’s also thankful the proposal will be on the November ballot.
“Our state will benefit as more educational choices and methodologies are made available for those families who want them,” he said. “Unfortunately, as long as discussion on the matter is stifled by the present constitutional language, many will never experience the advantages of these options. I am pleased that a real opportunity for positive change is in the hands of Kentucky voters.”
Rep. Scott Lewis, former superintendent at Ohio County Public Schools, represents a portion of east Daviess County. He said he supports school choice, but not this bill.
Lewis said he’d like to see more attention put toward providing more money for public education — such as increasing teacher salaries and fully funding transportation. He’d also like to see a specific plan laid out rather than just trying to pass a generic bill that would allow state money to fund private education.
“I think we need to have a direction of where we’re going. … Before we have discussions on sending money to private schools or church schools or whatever, I do think there are some areas in public education that I know for myself, having been school superintendent, are not adequately funded,” he said.
Beyond the funding debate, another point of contention is the current availability of “school choice.”
“There are many success stories coming out of our current education system, but we also know that the one-size-fits-all approach is leaving many students behind,” Miles said. “More than half of our students can’t read at grade level and fewer than half are proficient in math. We know that providing more options can foster personalized learning, accommodate diverse needs, enhance competition, empower students, and promote parental engagement. However, our hands are tied by our state’s 133-year-old constitution.”
Lewis, Robbins, and Revlett said there are plenty of educational opportunities already.
“I feel like we already have school choice,” Lewis said. “Parents do not have to send their kids to public school now. It is a choice that parents already get to make.”
Robbins added, “We have a lot of choices that are available now in our community. We have a number of private, homeschool, and virtual options. I’m for that. I think that’s a good marketplace for parents to choose what’s best for them and their children. However, that’s not what this bill is about. This is about the government funding that choice.”
Revlett said that Miles is correct in saying public schools are no longer a “one-size-fits-all” system but said districts such as OPS are already providing other methods of education to students who learn in different ways.
“For example, the Owensboro Innovation Middle School and Innovation Academy provide project-based learning options to students rather than the traditional instruction many of us grew up with,” he said. “This is being done in public schools all across the state, not just here in Owensboro.”
Sen. Gary Boswell said he supports the bill and commends Miles for her “historic effort to give the voters of Kentucky a ‘choice’ in how their children are educated.”
See the approved version of House Bill 2 and other details about its passage on the Kentucky Legislature’s website here.
