FRANKFORT, Ky. — A House member said he will now try to kill his own bill, State Representative Timmy Truett, R-McKee, sponsored House Bill 241 but said changes made Thursday by the state Senate make his “good bill” now harmful to public education.
Changes made by the Senate to House Bill 241 now include language from Senate Bill 268; a bill which aims to save an underperforming virtual school from closing as soon as next year because of a proposed enrollment cap from Kentucky Department of Education.
On Thursday, the Senate passed the measure with an amendment aiming to not limit enrollment of virtual academies to 10% of a district’s in person enrollment. State Senator Steve West, R-Paris, said the Senate made it a priority after parents and students of Kentucky Virtual Academy testified the cap would essentially close the school.
“With any new entity, any new experiment or process, you want to give it the right amount of time to try to survive and thrive,” West said.
The Kentucky Virtual Academy opened in 2023 as a partnership between Cloverport Independent Schools and Stride Inc. According to a KDE spokesperson, Cloverport has 275 kids receiving in person instruction but over 2,700 take part in the statewide virtual academy.
But KVA and Cloverport Independent have come under scrutiny by KDE for failing to comply with class size requirements, failing to administer required state assessments and poor student performance. The district’s state report card showed all levels of schools performing in the “red” or lowest performing rating.
“They [the students] arrived at the school not on level and no matter what you think about Cloverport, they are not miracle workers; they cannot turn these kids around in a three- or four-month period of time,” West said.
The final vote Thursday by the Senate was 23 “yes” votes to 14 “no” votes. Seven Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in the vote. Opponents of the amended House Bill argue the operator of the virtual academy, Stride Inc., mismanages funds and puts profits ahead of student performance.
“This manager, this virtual academy lies, cheats and steals. They’ve been sanctioned and removed from the states of Florida, California and Georgia,” said State Senator Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington.
The change to House Bill 241 happened at the Senate standing committee on education. Truett, an elementary school principal, sponsored the original House Bill 241, which would let the state education commissioner to grant five disaster relief days and allow districts to extend student attendance days to meet legally required instruction hours.
“We’ve got a district that is growing 300% and they’re the lowest performing district in the state and we say ‘hey three years we’re not going to touch them,’” Truett said.
Truett said his bill, as amended, is no longer a good bill.
“It’s going to harm public education; it’s going to harm my students; I will speak against my own bill and try my best to kill it. That’s how passionate I am about public education,” Truett said.
Senator West said Cloverport Independent School leaders have told lawmakers if they don’t improve by 2028, the state can shut the virtual academy down.
“If there’s something further that’s catastrophic, we have the ability to act and we have the ability to do something about it. This is not the end of the line or the end of discussion; I’m sure there will be much discussion in the future about these types of schools and the funding they receive,” West said.
West commended Truett for his work on the original House bill, but said bills being “hijacked” is part of the legislative process.
The Kentucky Department of Education sent Spectrum News 1 a statement that read:
“Maintaining the separation between House Bill 241 and Senate Bill 268 is important due to their distinct focuses. HB 241 addresses adjustments to school district calendars, allowing local districts to compensate for missed days by adding instructional time, and permits waivers for up to five student attendance days, if necessary, in response to the extreme weather and safety events that we have had this year. In contrast, SB 268 pertains to virtual education programs, prohibiting enrollment caps and the withholding of funds based on a district’s operation of such programs.”
