FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) – — Proponents of school choice were back at it in Frankfort on Thursday morning, rallying outside Governor Andy Beshear’s office as a years-long debate shows no signs of simmering down any time soon.
“Just sending the message across the state that school choice is for Kentucky,” said Kylee Price, a staunch supporter of a parents’ right to choose their child’s school.
Price is hoping our state legislators adopt an amendment to the state’s constitution so that a bill like HB-9, last year’s charter school bill, would be immune to legal scrutiny. It was overturned by a Franklin County Circuit Court judge late in 2023.
“Certainly I think that’s the direction this is going is a constitutional amendment, so that parents can choose where to send their kids to school,” Price said, who then added these schools would not be reserved for those from higher income backgrounds.
“There’s no reason kids from a lower income house shouldn’t have the same opportunities,” Price added.
Tod Moore is the founder and director of the Dream Academy Christian School in Louisville. He says in the two years they’ve been in operation the difference in he’s seen his students, who previously attended Jefferson County Public Schools, is substantial.
“I had ninth graders on a fifth grade reading level. Third graders who couldn’t read at all, or couldn’t do math at all. We took 30 kids, started in January 2022, and now they’re doing 3-D coding,” Mr. Moore said.
The governor is not supportive of using public funds to support Charter Schools and he’s likely to veto any bill that suggests as much. The court’s ruling noted that a Charter School isn’t a “common school” according to the Constitution. But its supporters don’t think this has to be an us-versus-them-scenario as it relates to having school choice.
“As we’ve seen in other states, a rising tide lifts all boats so public schools increase their scores and performance as well. It’s not choosing one or the other, it’s saying the school system in Kentucky doesn’t have to be a one size fits all,” Price stated.
