LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Using public dollars to fund schools outside of traditional public schools is what some Kentucky lawmakers are pushing to do, and the decision could be left up to voters.

House Bill 208 would put a question on the ballot asking for a constitutional amendment about funding school choice. The goal would be to remove constitutional hurdles for school choice initiatives.

Republican lawmakers want qualifying families to receive vouchers, or a credit, to attend alternative schools, like private schools.

"There's no such thing as a one size fits all in anything in our society," said Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington. "It's allowing the people of Kentucky to weigh in."

The proposed bill's question currently reads, "To give families more educational choices, are you in favor of allowing the General Assembly to provide for the educational costs of students outside of the system of common (public) schools, by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below?"

How to fund school choice has been a polarizing topic.

The Council for Better Education challenged Republicans' first attempt to fund school choice. In 2021, lawmakers passed House Bill 563 and overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's veto.

The bill dedicated up to $25 million annually for five years toward tax credits for donors to organizations that award education opportunity accounts. Donors could recoup up to $1 million per year in state tax credits.

The flexible spending accounts could help students in counties with at least 90,000 residents pay tuition for private schools.

Later that year, Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled it unconstitutional, because the $25 million pool of tax credits could not be collected for educational purposes “other than in common schools until the question of taxation has been submitted to the legal voters.”

"Our constitution says that, you know, no public funds should be sent for private spent for private purposes," Tom Shelton, executive secretary for the Council for Better Education, said Friday. "This particular bill that you've contacted me about to speak to today ... if you look at where these situations have happened in other states, is this money doesn't go to bring new students into private schools or to charter schools or on schools, it goes to pay for students who are already there."

Jim Waters, president of The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, favors the proposed House Bill 208.

"The dollars are not for the system, the dollars are for the students so it's the system that has to adjust," Waters said. "We're one of only a few states now that do not have the education freedom policies that will allow those children and all children really to have the best education that fits their needs, and what they what they aspire to do in life."

In 2022, Kentucky courts also struck down a bill to set up a funding mechanism for charter schools. Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled it violated the Kentucky constitution.

“This charter school legislation is effectively an attempt to bypass the system of common schools, and establish a separate class of publicly funded but privately controlled schools that have unique autonomy in management and operation of schools,” Shepherd wrote in his ruling. 

If House Bill 208 passes, the question could appear on ballots in November. Lawmakers could then create new laws related to school choice funding during the 2025 legislative session.

Calloway said what that could look like is up for discussion, but House Bill 563 is an example.

"We would seek that out and would fit the needs for our constituents," Calloway said.

To read HB 208, click here.

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