The school’s choice was heated debate in Kentucky on Thursday, with the state’s Supreme Court hearing amid a daunting dispute over a measure to fund charter schools in public.
The measure, known as Bill 9, was formulated by the Republican-led legislature in the Democratic government in 2022. Andy Beshear veto. It will remit taxpayers’ funds to support charter schools. The lower court judge removed it and the Kentucky Supreme Court conducted a climax review.
The result can determine whether the charter school has a foothold in Bluegrass State.
Proponents say charter schools offer another option for parents looking for the best education for their children. The goal is to close the gap in student achievement, they say. Opponents say such schools will need to transfer funds from existing public schools and have the option to accept students.
Charter schools are run by independent groups with less regulations, rather than most public schools. They have been legal in Kentucky since 2017, but no one has been open due to the lack of ways to fund them. Controversial laws enacted a few years later were intended to fill this funding gap and required charter schools to be opened in Louisville and Northern Kentucky.
Kentucky is one of the few states where charter schools do not operate.
“So, Kentucky kids do see outside, especially in urban areas, have had a huge success,” state Attorney General Matt Kuhn said in a defense of the controversial law at a hearing in Danville, Kentucky.
Byron Leet, one of two lawyers for the education group targeting the measure, objected to “nothing is out of reach than the consensus that charter schools are a great thing.”
The argument focuses on whether charter schools meet the constitutional standards of public schools.
Coon said charter schools will have to comply with student attendance standards, hire certified teachers, meet state standards for student performance, and comply with open record and open meeting laws.
“I think Bill 9 is very much in our public schools tradition,” he said.
Leet replied that charter schools will be “autonomous in finance, personnel, curriculum and teaching matters – four very important areas of any school.”
He added: “In terms of how they operate, they are on an island themselves.”
The Supreme Court Justice raised a series of questions to lawyers on both sides. Some issues go deep into charter schools’ accountability and oversight.
Leet said the basic test for public schools is whether they are controlled by elected officials in the district, based on decades of legal precedent. At the same time, the charter school will be run by an independent board of directors and its members will not be elected by local voters, he said.
Kuhn noted that in most cases, the local school board will serve as the authorization body for a proposed charter school in the area, resulting in significant local control.
It will be up to parents to decide whether to send their children to charter schools, he said.
“Their children go there only if they choose,” he said. “Our submission is the best accountability – given that we think parents know the best about their children.”
The pending case is a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow state lawmakers to tax appropriate educational opportunities outside the public school system. In the 2024 general election, the vote measure was defeated by voters across the state.
“Will this affect our decision or should we ignore nearly two-thirds of voters who do not want to use taxpayer funds in this way?” asked Judge Pamela R. Goodwine.
Attorneys defending charter school laws say the result does not apply to charter schools because they will not be outside the public school system.
The Justice did not indicate how long they would make a ruling on the matter.
Two of the state’s top leaders praised the court hearing.
BeshearThe state’s two-term governor, widely regarded as a potential White House contender in 2028, said the way to improve student performance is to increase state education funding and consider offering existing public schools the types of regulatory flexibility envisioned for charter schools.
“The answer can’t just transfer some students to some different systems.” Beshear said at a press conference in Frankfurt, the capital of the state. “The answer has to be to improve everyone’s answer, which is better investing in our public school system.”
The office of Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman is defending the charter school funding law, and he said Kentucky parents should get the same choice as states where charter schools operate.
“Kentucky kids deserve every opportunity to succeed and we are honored to be fighting for this opportunity with our partners,” he said in a statement.
