Members of the House approved legislation on Tuesday that would amend Kentucky’s public charter school laws to create a pilot program, make changes to the appeal process if a charter school application is denied by a local school board, and codify the funding mechanism for charter schools. Some legislators and state-level education officials are voicing concerns and opposition to the bill.
The measure clarifies that state per pupil funding through the SEEK funding formula follows the child. However, the measure includes a provision that specifically prohibits sharing any funding raised through a nickel tax levied to raise money to pay for new school construction bonds.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools authorized by local school boards that contract with local school districts to provide an alternative to the traditional learning experience.
House Majority Whip Chad McCoy, R-Bardstown, is the primary sponsor of the bill. He said HB 9 builds on charter school legislation from the 2017 legislative session.
Under current law, local school boards hold the power to authorize a charter school, and charter schools may appeal that decision to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). McCoy said HB 9 does not change that. Instead, the bill requires the department to explain its decision.
“(The bill) says that the KDE has to tell you why they’re denying you or approving you and say why this is or is not something good for the local community,” McCoy said. “In addition, we’ve changed and asked the KDE to offer technical assistance to an applicant.”
According to McCoy, another provision of HB 9 would give school districts with less than 7,500 students a way to “veto” a charter school appeal.
“If you are a school district with less than 7,500 kids, part of the application process requires that you submit a memorandum of understanding with your application from the local school district. If you can’t get that, then your application is deemed incomplete, thus you don’t have an appeal,” McCoy said.
Under HB 9, two charter school pilot projects would be authorized to open by 2023 in the West End of Louisville and in Northern Kentucky. McCoy said the hope is the pilot projects will reveal to the legislature what changes need to be made, if any, to how charter schools operate in the Commonwealth.
Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville), who is a public school educator, spoke in opposition to HB 9 on the House floor. She also proposed five floor amendments to make various changes to the measure. All five of the amendments failed to gain enough votes to be eligible for consideration.
In a House floor speech, Bojanowski criticized the charter school industry and said she believes “using public dollars to fund charter schools in Kentucky is unconstitutional.”
“The driving force here is not innovation. It is profits, and selling our children’s education for a profit is wrong,” she said.
Rep. Timmy Truett (R-McKee), who is a public school principal, said while school choice sounds “great,” he has also concerns.
“I’m all for parents having a choice, but I’m not for giving certain schools unfair advantages,” Truett said. “In my opinion, House Bill 9 is a vote against public education, and I encourage you to think about that before you make that vote.”
In a nearly two and a half hour debate, many legislators spoke against HB 9 on the House floor, including Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson (D-Lexington). In her speech, she cited data that showed out of 116 charter schools in Tennessee, only five have a success rate of more than 20%.
McCoy said he does not think the claim that charter schools have a high failure rate “holds water.” He cited data that shows the charter school failure rate at 2.8%. He also said he does not believe local school boards would allow a charter school to come in to a community and do the “horrible things” some lawmakers expressed concerns about.
“Look, I’ll be the first to tell you that there are bad charter schools out there, and I think everybody would agree with me that there are bad public schools out there too,” McCoy said. “That’s not an indictment on the whole process one way or another. This is about parents. Parents need choice, and this bill gives choice in our public school system.”
Rep. Kevin D. Bratcher (R-Louisville) joined several voices speaking in favor of HB 9 on the House floor. He said parents want a choice when it comes to their child’s education, and he believes the legislature should “give them a little bit of choice.”
The House approved HB 9 by a 51-46 vote. It will now go before the Senate for consideration.
Following the vote, Kentucky Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass said the bill was a rushed piece of school choice legislation that stands a good chance of making the education landscape even more challenging for students and families in Kentucky.
“Rather than taking the time to learn the important lessons of states around the country who made mistakes with their charter school laws and policies, HB 9 seems intent on repeating them,” he said. “Rather than ensuring that quality standards are in place for charter schools and their authorizers, this bill creates a vacuous space ripe for corruption and graft. Opening charter schools in Kentucky represents a seismic shift in school governance and operations. I urge the legislature to slow down and do this right and stop rushing through a fundamentally badly constructed bill.”
Kentucky Board of Education Chair Lu Young, a 31-year veteran of Kentucky public schools, signed up to testify against the bill, but the House Education committee ran out of time before she was able to do so.
After the meeting, Young echoed Glass’ concerns, stating, “We cannot and must not allow for-profit, out-of-state charter management companies to siphon local tax revenues away from those same locally elected school boards without their approval.”
Young said she understands that paving the way for charter schools in Kentucky is a high priority for some in the General Assembly, but she called on legislators to slow down the process and include the Kentucky Board of Education, the Kentucky Department of Education and other education partners in the framing of new charter school legislation.
“We experienced success when we rolled up our sleeves and worked together on teacher pension reform,” she said. “Let’s take a similar, measured approach to charters. Please do not bargain with the well-being and best interests of our 5-year-olds by withholding critical funding for their education. It is an unfair and uncharitable proposition. Instead, I urge you to work with Kentucky’s professional educational experts to reach consensus about the future of charter school legislation, to redouble your efforts to strengthen our public schools and, in turn, build better communities and a stronger workforce that will sustain us for many years to come.”
