Constitutional Amendment to allow Ky. to fund non-public schools introduced
A bill that would amend the Kentucky constitution to allow for the state to help fund non-public education was filed Tuesday by Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington.
The amendment, House Bill 208, marks the first proposal filed to advance the “school choice” movement in Kentucky’s goal of allowing state money to help fund charter schools and private school enrollment.
It would amend Section 183 of the Kentucky constitution in a way that requires the legislature to “provide for a portion of the educational costs for parents of students outside of (the) common school system.”
Amendments to the Kentucky Constitution require passage by three-fifths of each legislative body to make the statewide ballot in even-numbered years.
The amendment is then made final if a majority of Kentucky voters approve it.
Calloway’s amendment comes partially in response to state courts dealing blows to major initiatives by school choice advocates.
In late 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously struck down a bill that would have created a privately funded needs-based assistance program to cover educational expenses for families that would have been offset by tax credits.
Last month, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd struck down a law that would have set up a funding mechanism for charter schools in the state.
The original text of Section 183 of the state constitution dictates that the General Assembly shall “provide for and oversee an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.”
Calloway’s amendment changes the document to ensure that Section 183, as well as other sections of the Kentucky Constitution related to education — many of which were cited in the Kentucky Supreme Court’s opinion as well as Shepherd’s do not hinder such efforts.
“Sections 184 to 189 of this Constitution shall not prevent, nor require a further referendum for, any provision for the educational costs of students outside of the system of common schools for parents of limited financial means, as determined by law, so long as no such funds are taken directly from the common school fund,” the amendment reads.
Legislative leaders have signaled repeatedly that they intend to pass such an amendment this session to make the General Election ballot this November.
In 2022, both GOP-sponsored amendments — including an anti-abortion amendment — failed at the ballot.
Last year, Calloway filed a similar bill but it did not receive a committee hearing. This year’s version of the bill has an additional portion that orients the amendment toward “parents of limited financial means.”
“We want everybody to benefit from it, but we also want to make sure that the people that cannot currently afford educational freedom for their children, that it hits them first and targets them first,” Calloway said.
In a statement responding to Calloway’s bill, the House Democratic caucus said that Kentucky students already have “a variety of options” and that constitution should not change on thise score.
“We strongly believe in the current constitutional requirement that says only public schools can receive public tax dollars. That provision has served us well for more than 130 years, and we believe it should remain unchanged for at least another 130. Our public schools, the students they teach and those who have dedicated their careers to them deserve the General Assembly’s full attention and resources, not another effort to undermine them.”
No constitutional amendment bills passed the legislature last year, and a maximum of four are allowed on the ballot per even-numbered year.
In an interview after the legislative session ended Tuesday, House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said he needed to review the bill before knowing whether or not it would be the chosen vehicle for House Republicans to amend the constitution in a pro-”school choice” way.
Amendments to the Kentucky Constitution require passage by three-fifths of each legislative body to make the statewide ballot in even-numbered years.
The amendment is then made final if a majority of Kentucky voters approve it.
