LOUSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday in a case it decided late last year with implications for public education in Louisville and a raft of laws affecting the state's largest city.

At issue is the legality of a measure state lawmakers approved in 2022. Senate Bill 1 outlined new responsibilities for the Jefferson County Board of Education and shifted certain powers to the school system's superintendent.

The board then sued, arguing that SB 1 was "special legislation" that singled out the school district and should not be allowed under the Kentucky constitution. That legal challenge seemingly was resolved last December when the state's high court ruled in a 4-3 vote that the legislation was constitutional.

But the justices voted to rehear the case in April after the makeup of the court changed with Justice Pamela Goodwine replacing former Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter. Goodwine won election to the court in November 2024.

Beyond the scope of SB 1, the matter also raises questions about what could happen if the court changes its prior opinion. Some backers of the bill, including Republican lawmakers, warn that a reversal could open a Pandora's box of unintended consequences for laws tailored to Louisville, Lexington and elsewhere.

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In an op-ed this week, GOP Rep. Jason Nemes argued that the justices will be deciding if the General Assembly can write targeted legislation for communities or "if we must apply a one-size-fits all approach to crafting laws."

Nemes, the House majority whip who represents parts of Oldham, Shelby and Jefferson counties, cited the public subsidies for the KFC Yum! Center and a West End investment zone as examples of laws that could be in jeopardy.

"This case is about more than one piece of legislation," Nemes said. "It is about whether the General Assembly can continue tailoring solutions that meet the unique needs of communities or whether we will be forced to risk undoing decades of progress."

In a brief last year, attorneys for the Board of Education claimed their lawsuit "does not threaten statutes that are based on the powers or authority of a consolidated local government" – in other words, Louisville Metro government.

Responding directly to Nemes' commentary, the top Board of Education officials echoed that argument. 

"The outcome of the Board of Education’s lawsuit will have zero effect on the General Assembly's ability to legislate regarding forms of local government, whether in Jefferson County, Fayette County, or elsewhere," said chair Corrie Shull and vice chair James Craig. 

A Jefferson County court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals both found the legislation unconstitutional before the Supreme Court issued its narrow ruling last December.

"The argument that S.B. 1 is unconstitutional local legislation because the (JCPS) Board is currently the only existing member of the class is without merit," Justice Shea Nickell wrote in a majority opinion.

Justice Angela McCormick Bisig led the dissenting opinion, arguing that lawmakers now may pass legislation "that reaches only a single individual, object or locale, so long as it does so by adopting a class definition that is 'open,' no matter how remote or speculative the possibility that another might later join the class."

While court filings raise the possibility that some local Louisville or Lexington laws could be at risk, a new lawsuit does indeed challenge a prominent Louisville-only law: The legislation that consolidated Jefferson County and Louisville city governments.

Louisville businessman David Nicklies argues that the landmark combination of city and county governments was authorized in "special legislation" that isn't allowed under the Kentucky constitution. He is asking for merger to be undone, according to the suit filed Monday in Jefferson Circuit Court.

Asked why he sues this week, Nicklies said in a statement: "The Supreme Court's very unusual move to rehear SB 1 opens up all sorts of constitutional questions about merged government and many other Louisville or Lexington-focused statutes."

Nicklies' foundation filed an amicus, or friend of the court, brief in the Supreme Court case last year defending SB 1.

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