FRANKFORT, Ky. — The House needs 51 votes to override a potential veto from the governor, and that’s exactly what they got on House Bill 9. 

What You Need To Know

  • The House moved on a few education bills Tuesday

  • House Bill 9, which passed with 51 yes votes, would fund charter schools

  • Senate Bill 1 limits the power of SBDM councils

  • Senate Bill 138, which dictates how schools teach about history and racism, was rolled into SB 1

 

HB 9 puts a system in place to fund charter schools, which are public schools run by private businesses.

“I’m not telling you this is going to work everywhere,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chad McCoy (R-Bardstown), said. “I’m not telling you this is the answer, but folks, when we went through COVID, we had a lot of parents who wanted some choice.”

Every Democrat and several Republicans with a public education background voted against it.

“Our teachers are exhausted and demoralized. This doesn’t help,” Rep, Patti Minter (D-Bowling Green) said. “This will make it harder to give them those raises that they have earned and that they richly deserve.”

Rep. Timmy Truett (R-McKee) is the principal of McKee Elementary School and he echoed concerns about public schools not getting enough funding.

“House Bill 9 is a vote against public education,” he said.

Local school boards ultimately decide if a charter school can open, although Louisville and Northern Kentucky are required to have one.

McCoy said the bill isn’t about tearing down public schools.

“But this is another option for our public schools to give parents a choice; to send their kids somewhere that the parent thinks is a better option for their child,” he said.

Charter schools have been allowed in Kentucky since 2017, but none have been approved.

The House also passed the Teaching American Principles Act, which limits how schools teach history and racism.

GOP leaders tied the language of Senate Bill 138 to a bill limiting the power of school-based decision-making council (SBDM) on curriculum and hiring decisions, Senate Bill 1.

“There is nothing in the bill that tells an educator what you can, cannot, teach. It does not discipline a teacher. It does not tell a student what you can and cannot say,” Sen. Max Wise (R-Campbellsville), the sponsor of SB 138, said in committee Tuesday morning. “It simply looks at the foundations of our country and allows educators to go back and use those documents.”

The bill also includes a list of 24 required teachings, including several founding documents, civil-rights era speeches, and a 1964 speech by Ronald Reagan in favor of then-presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

Opponents argued the proposal was just hiding the bad parts of history.

“It makes absolutely no sense, and it really is a double-down on classroom censorship, erasure, and divisiveness,” Rep. Attica Scott (D-Louisville) said.

SBDM councils were created with the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 to give parents more direct input on their schools. SB 1 takes away their power to hire principals and decide on curriculum.

“This simply puts (hiring power) back in alignment with where it should be,” Rep. Ed Massey (R-Hebron) said.

HB 9 goes to the Senate next, where SB 1 will also go for a concurrence vote. Gov. Andy Beshear has voiced opposition to both measures. 

Related Stories