GOP lawmakers call for special session on JCPS after disastrous first day with buses

Olivia Krauth, Louisville Courier Journal
Updated ·2 min read
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Following a disastrous start to the school year at Jefferson County Public Schools, several state lawmakers are promising a slate of legislation targeting the district and asking Gov. Andy Beshear to call a special session on the issues.

Twelve Louisville Republicans signed onto an open letter Thursday afternoon, saying JCPS "failed in its most fundamental obligation, which is to keep our kids safe."

"To begin with, this epic failure did not come out of the blue, as warnings were echoed across the county throughout the summer. This is the last straw," the letter reads. "This community has talked for years about the need for structural changes, but nothing has really changed."

JCPS, which is Kentucky's largest public school district, was forced to cancel the rest of the first week of school after its new bus route system caused some students to get home as late as nearly 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Thursday's letter proposed the following actions:

  • Rep. Kevin Bratcher will re-file a bill aimed at JCPS' student assignment plan to allow students the option of attend their "neighborhood schools." (Since the bill was initially filed, JCPS has radically overhauled how it assigns children to schools, undoing the forced busing the bill was initially targeting.)

  • The cohort will call for a commission to evaluate splitting up the district, arguing JCPS, which serves 96,000 students and includes 165 schools, is "too big to properly manage." (An eleventh-hour attempt to call for a similar commission during the 2023 legislative session was rejected quickly by a committee.)

  • They also call for "extensive changes to our school board, which has shown that it is not up to the task of managing our $2 billion school district." The lawmakers do not elaborate as to what those changes to the board, which is locally elected, could include.

  • They also support legislation to put a school choice constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot, which − if passed − would allow state dollars to follow students to private schools.

  • Finally, the group called on Beshear to call the legislature into special session "for the purpose of immediately enacting the above policies and to take other steps to protect students and support parents in Jefferson County."

Beshear spokeswoman Scottie Ellis said no legislators had reached out to the governor's office about a JCPS special session as of Thursday afternoon.

"A special session is an extraordinary step that costs significant tax dollars and should only be taken after full consensus is reached and legislation has been drafted and then agreed upon," she added.

JCPS did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

The following lawmakers signed onto the letter:

  • Rep. Jared Bauman

  • Rep. Kevin Bratcher

  • Rep. Emily Callaway

  • Rep. John Hodgson

  • Rep. Ken Fleming

  • Rep. Jason Nemes

  • Rep. Susan Witten

  • Sen. Matt Deneen

  • Sen. Adrienne Southworth

  • Sen. Lindsey Tichenor

  • Sen. Mike Nemes

  • Sen. Julie Raque Adams

This story may be updated.

Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Lawmakers seek special session after bus delays close JCPS schools