Kentuckians would vote on school choice issue under bill advancing in the House
A bill allowing people in Kentucky to vote on whether the General Assembly should pay for the educational costs of private school K-12 students was approved Tuesday by a House committee.
The legislation proposes to create a new section of the Kentucky constitution to authorize the General Assembly to provide for the educational costs of elementary and secondary school students outside of the public school system, provided that money from the state’s common school fund is not used. The bill provides ballot language that voters could ratify or reject.
The question allowed by House Bill 174, which will now go to the full House, would be introduced on voters’ ballots with: “To give families more educational choice, are you in favor of allowing the General Assembly to provide for the educational costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside of the system of common public schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky.”
It was approved 8-5 by the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
State Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, said the bill would put the amendment on the ballot in 2024. The proposed ballot question comes after the Kentucky Supreme Court last year struck down the Education Opportunity Account Act.
The Education Opportunity Account (EOA) Act narrowly became law in 2021 with the support of a majority of Republicans in the state legislature. The act created a privately funded needs-based assistance program to cover educational expenses for families.
The law also created a pilot program that would offer tuition assistance to help students attend pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade at non-public schools in counties with more than 90,000 people.
Calloway said the Supreme Court ruling took “a punitive approach to families who wanted more options for their children.”
“We want to meet the needs of every child in Kentucky,” he said.
He said the ballot language will be easily understood by voters. Calloway said House Bill 174 wasn’t an anti-public school bill.
State Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, said the language on the ballot was difficult to understand. She called the bill a “legislative temper tantrum.”
Calloway said every state around Kentucky offered some form of school choice.
Referring to public schools, Akia McNeary, a parent in favor of the proposed legislation who spoke while the bill was discussed, said “one size fits all” doesn’t work for every family. She asked the panel to approve the bill.
Andrew Vandiver, from EdChoice Kentucky, said a recent poll from his organization showed that a majority of registered voters in Kentucky would support a school choice constitutional amendment. Nearly 75% of Republicans and 60% of independents support an amendment. Among Democrats, 31% supported the amendment, 53% were against it and 16% were undecided, he said.
“Kentucky’s kids are counting on you,” Vandiver told lawmakers.
Kentucky Education Executive Director Mary Ruble spoke against the bill, saying at the meeting that the bill would nullify four sections of the Kentucky constitution.
