School choice debate gaining attention in Kentucky ahead of amendment vote in November

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- School choice is a contentious debate in Kentucky.

With no election for statewide office on Kentucky's ballot this November, school choice looms as the most hotly debated state issue during the fall campaign.

Tuesday, people against school choice vouchers launched the Protect Our Schools Kentucky campaign.

Dr. Corrie Shull, chair of the Jefferson County Board of Education, said the campaign is aimed at helping the public understand what is at stake.

Shull said the campaign is also focused on defeating Amendment 2, which is also on the November ballot.

"As we know, Amendment Two would allow, if voted in by the populace, would allow for public tax dollars to be funneled to private schools," Shull said.

Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, said Amendment Two would give Kentucky families more options.

"This is about educating our students, preparing them for a successful future," Waters said. "If that's a public charter school, if it's a traditional public school, if it's a micro school, if it's a learning pod, if it's a homeschool, if it's a voucher, if it's a tax credit scholarship, whatever works best for the student, that should be our focus."

Some parents, teachers and school board members said vouchers would divert critical resources and funding away from public schools.

"We see this is an attack on our communities or our ability to build strong communities by having strong public schools and by being able to offer critical resources to all kids that need them in our communities," Maddie Shepard said. "Less money means less funding for special programs, for opportunities that are extra-curricular or teachers in classrooms, bus drivers on buses, we will have less money to fund those things that we know are necessary."

Waters said school choice has been very successful in other states.

"I can't see how we would be opposed to that," Waters said. "Who would be opposed to doing something that has been proven to bring change in a positive way to public education."

Courts in Kentucky have ruled that public tax dollars must be spent on the state’s “common” schools and cannot be diverted to charter or private schools. School choice advocates are hoping to surmount those legal hurdles by getting the school choice bill ratified on the fall ballot.

The political fight over school choice has been waged for years in Kentucky, but it would ramp up significantly if the measure reaches the ballot.

In 2022, Kentucky’s Supreme Court struck down a measure passed by GOP lawmakers to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition.

Last year, a circuit court judge rejected another measure to set up a funding method for charter schools. The decision stymied efforts to give such schools a foothold in the Bluegrass State. Those schools would be operated by independent groups with fewer regulations than most public schools.

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