Kentucky Supreme Court reverses 2024 decision, altering the power in Louisville public schools

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a state law that took power from Louisville's school board and gave it to the district superintendent is unconstitutional, reversing a 4-3 decision the court made one year earlier.

The case centered around Senate Bill 1, which the Republican majority in Frankfort passed in April 2022. Among other things, the bill stripped power from the Jefferson County Board of Education and gave it to the district superintendent. And it requires a two-thirds vote to overrule any action of the superintendent.

While the legislation doesn't specifically mention Jefferson County, given how it's written, Jefferson County Public Schools is the only district it would apply to.

"The statute at issue without reason deprives the Jefferson County Board of Education of powers available to all other public school districts in the Commonwealth," Thursday's opinion reads. " The same statute, also without reason, deprives all other Kentucky public school superintendents of powers granted to the Jefferson County superintendent. We therefore agree with the holdings of both the trial court and the Court of Appeals that the statute is unconstitutional."

In December 2024, the state Supreme Court overturned rulings by the Jefferson Circuit Court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals that SB1 is unconstitutional.

In the dissent, Justice Angela McCormick Bisig argued 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."

But after the 4-3 opinion in December, there was change to the court. Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter decided not to seek reelection in 2024. In his place, Justice Pamela Goodwine became the first Black woman elected to Kentucky's highest court. And in agreeing to hear the case again in April, Goodwine signaled the opposite side of VanMeter, paving the way for Friday's decision.

"Reformulating the balance of power between one county's school board and superintendent to the exclusion of all others without any reasonable basis fails the very tests established in our constitutional jurisprudence to discern constitutional infirmity," Thursday's opinion reads. "This decision today upholds our founders' ideal of forbidding even well-intentioned but unreasonable special or disparate treatment of any one specific community."

In the dissent, Justice Christopher Shea Nickell the court's rehearing of the case was "improvidently granted" and the change in the makeup of the court "does not legitimize" a reconsideration of precedent.

"The Board's petition for rehearing failed to satisfy our Court's historic legal standard for granting such requests, and nothing changed other than the Court's composition, which resulted in a contrary holding on the merits by a new majority of justices," Nickell write. "Therefore, because the appeal should not have been reheard, I dissent."

Corrie Shull, chair of the school board, said in a written statement Thursday that he's grateful the state Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings.

"... JCPS voters and taxpayers should have the same voice in their local operations that other Kentuckians do, through their elected school board members," Shull said. "We look forward to working collaboratively with the legislature and all stakeholders to focus on policy solutions that work, so that ALL Kentucky schoolchildren will benefit."

Downstream effects

Given the scope of SB 1, Thursday's decision raises questions about what could happen next. Some backers of the bill, including Republican lawmakers, warn a reversal could open a Pandora's box of unintended consequences for laws tailored to Louisville, Lexington and elsewhere.

In an op-ed in August, Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, argued 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."

This story will be updated.

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