Kentucky Supreme Court will hear new arguments over bill that shifts power from JCPS board

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court agreed to take a new look at its ruling over a law Jefferson County Public Schools argues is unconstitutional.

The fight centers around Senate Bill 1, which the Republican majority in Frankfort passed in April 2022. Among other things, the bill strips power from the Jefferson County Board of Education and gives 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, JCPS is the only district it would apply to.

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

"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," Judge Shea Nickell wrote in a majority opinion.

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."

The difference from the 4-3 opinion in December came with a recent 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. This week, Goodwine took the opposite side of VanMeter, leading the court to take up the case again.

You can read the full order below:

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