Current:Home > ScamsSchool choice measure will reach Kentucky’s November ballot, key lawmaker predicts-LoTradeCoin
School choice measure will reach Kentucky’s November ballot, key lawmaker predicts
View Date:2024-12-23 20:14:10
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers are likely to put a proposal on the November ballot allowing voters to weigh in on whether the state should offer support for enrollments in charter and private schools, a key House committee chairman predicted Thursday.
Republican Rep. James Tipton, who heads the House Education Committee, pointed to overall lagging test scores for minority and economically disadvantaged students in the state’s public schools as a driving force behind putting a school choice constitutional amendment on the ballot.
“I believe that is the reason we have so many parents who are frustrated with the situation they find themselves in, in public education, and they feel like they have no choice for their children,” Tipton said at a school choice rally at the state Capitol. “Well, you deserve a choice. You deserve an opportunity to help your children succeed, and that’s what we intend to do.”
Whether to put a school choice constitutional amendment on the ballot looms as a key issue for Republican supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature. Supporters of a ballot measure want to remove constitutional hurdles for school choice initiatives after suffering setbacks in the courts. Opponents say the measure would divert badly needed state money away from public schools.
With no election for statewide office on the Kentucky ballot this November, a school choice ballot measure would turn into a hard-fought campaign drawing considerable attention.
The Kentucky Education Association, a labor association representing tens of thousands of public school educators, warned Thursday that a school choice measure would hurt every public school in the state.
Lawmakers “could better serve the students and taxpayers across Kentucky by addressing the vital needs of our public schools, like the statewide teacher shortage, funding for universal pre-K and fully funding the transportation dollars Kentucky needs,” KEA President Eddie Campbell said in a statement.
Tipton predicted that a proposed constitutional amendment on school choice will gain enough support to clear the legislature and reach the general election ballot. If statewide voters ratified such a proposal, lawmakers could follow up as soon as 2025 with legislation to “move the effort of education and choice forward in Kentucky,” Tipton said. He didn’t offer any specifics about what that might include.
Since Republicans took complete control of Kentucky’s legislature after the 2016 election, school choice has loomed as one major issue they haven’t shaped to their liking, largely because of the court setbacks.
In 2022, Kentucky’s Supreme Court struck down a measure to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition. Opponents said the program would have diverted money from public schools.
Last year, a circuit court judge struck down another measure that set up a funding method for charter schools. The decision stymied efforts to give such schools a foothold in the Bluegrass State. Those schools would be operated by independent groups with fewer regulations than most public schools.
Those legal setbacks have further energized efforts to put a ballot measure before Kentucky voters in an effort to overcome constitutional hurdles. One school choice constitutional amendment was introduced in the early days of this year’s session but so far hasn’t advanced. Other measures could be forthcoming. Lawmakers this week passed the quarter pole of this year’s 60-day session, which ends in mid-April.
At the school choice rally Thursday, Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said Kentucky has “denied families one of their most critical choices.”
“We’ve denied families the ultimate power for freedom to decide how their children are educated,” he said. He said it’s time the issue was put before statewide voters.
“Parental choice starts with voter choice,” Adams said. “Kentucky voters ought to make this decision ourselves at the ballot box this fall as to who has the rights here, families or the government.”
Tipton made his case for school choice while pledging his continued support for public schools.
“I support education,” he said. “Now what does that mean? That means that I believe that we have to have a strong public education system in our state. It also means that I support parents and students and their families having the ability to make the choices that are best” for them.
Campbell signaled that the KEA is ready for the showdown in the legislature and perhaps in November.
“Once taxpayers understand the negative impact this bill and amendment could mean to their public schools, we are confident they will reject it,” he said.
veryGood! (61853)
Related
- My Chemical Romance returns with ‘The Black Parade’ tour
- Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese sets WNBA single-season rebounds record
- ESPN networks, ABC and Disney channels go dark on DirecTV on a busy night for sports
- California lawmakers pass ambitious bills to atone for legacy of racism against Black residents
- Wheel of Fortune Contestant Goes Viral Over His Hilariously Wrong Answer
- Is the stock market open or closed on Labor Day? See full 2024 holiday schedule
- NHL star's death shocks the US. He's one of hundreds of bicyclists killed by vehicles every year.
- 41,000 people were killed in US car crashes last year. What cities are the most dangerous?
- Taylor Swift touches down in Kansas City as Chiefs take on Denver Broncos
- Penn State-West Virginia weather updates: Weather delay called after lightning at season opener
Ranking
- Elon Musk responds after Chloe Fineman alleges he made her 'burst into tears' on 'SNL'
- Klamath River flows free after the last dams come down, leaving land to tribes and salmon
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Last Try
- What's open and closed on Labor Day? Details on stores, restaurants, Walmart, Costco, more
- Florida Man Arrested for Cold Case Double Murder Almost 50 Years Later
- Gaudreau’s wife thanks him for ‘the best years of my life’ in Instagram tribute to fallen NHL player
- New York Fashion Week 2024: A guide to the schedule, dates, more
- 2024 fantasy football sleepers: Best value picks for latest ADP plays
Recommendation
-
'SNL' stars jokingly declare support for Trump, Dana Carvey plays Elon Musk
-
Brionna Jones scores season-high 26 points as Sun beats Storm 93-86
-
Jason Duggar Is Engaged to Girlfriend Maddie Grace
-
Here are the average Social Security benefits at retirement ages 62, 67, and 70
-
Will Trump’s hush money conviction stand? A judge will rule on the president-elect’s immunity claim
-
Fire destroys popular Maine seafood restaurant on Labor Day weekend
-
'I'll never be the person that I was': Denver police recruit recalls 'brutal hazing'
-
Man arrested after crashing into Abilene Christian football bus after Texas Tech game