LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Jefferson County school board filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to overturn a Kentucky law funding charter schools and requiring that charters be established in Louisville and in northern Kentucky.
The Jefferson County board, the Dayton Independent Board of Education — which oversees two traditional public schools in Campbell County — and a nonprofit group are seeking to block the implementation of House Bill 9.
"The Kentucky Constitution demands that public money go to public schools, and not to unaccountable schools operated outside the management and control of the schools district's elected board of education," according to the lawsuit filed in Franklin Circuit Court.
The Council for Better Education, an organization representing Kentucky school districts, joined the Jefferson and Dayton districts in challenging the law.
The Republican-controlled state legislature passed HB 9 in April 2022, overriding the veto of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
Charter schools — which would receive public funding but would be exempt from regulations and curriculum standards that apply to traditional public schools — have been legal in Kentucky since Republicans took control of the legislature in 2017. None have been established, because lawmakers did not provide a means for charters to obtain public funding until last year's bill.
HB 9 would allow for charters to receive state funds on a per-student basis just as traditional public schools are funded. The Jefferson and Dayton school districts said the charters would illegally "siphon" resources from public school districts.
"Unable to reduce fixed costs, local school districts will be forced to reduce other expenses, such as teaching staff, academic resources, or after-school programs," according to the lawsuit. "Each student the General Assembly urges to leave to attend a charter school will leave behind a system with fewer resources to educate the remaining students."
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop HB 9 from taking effect.
The bill mandates that the Jefferson County board solicit and approve an application for an "urban academy" charter school by July 1, which means JCPS would be "required to publish charter school application guidance, to submit a notice of intent to act as an authorizer, and to conduct a charter school technical assistance session" in the coming months, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit names Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass and the chair of Kentucky Board of Education as defendants.
But neither the state education department nor the board, whose members are appointed by Beshear, will spend resources defending HB 9, Glass said in an emailed statement to WDRB News on Tuesday.
"(T)here are many constitutional questions surrounding HB 9 and we look forward to the courts clarifying those," Glass said in the statement.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron, whose office was served with the lawsuit on behalf of the state education officials, is reviewing the case.
"While the Attorney General’s office has not been named as a party in this lawsuit, we have been notified about it and are reviewing the case to determine next steps," said Krista Buckel, Office of Attorney General Daniel Cameron communications director.
Glass said it would be up to Cameron to defend the law. Cameron is seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a long-running clash between GOP-backed school choice advocates and proponents of traditional public schools.
In December, the Kentucky Supreme Court sided with public school advocates by striking down a 2021 law relating to education scholarship incentives. The Republican-backed law would have allowed Kentuckians to get tax credits for donating to funds that pay for private school tuition.
The state high court said the scholarship tax credits amounted to an unconstitutional diversion of public funds from traditional public schools.
