Kentucky voters to consider school choice amendment for tax funding of private schools
Voters in Kentucky will soon have a say on a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would allow the state to provide public funding for private schools.
Known as Amendment 2, the proposal will go before voters in November and would allow the legislature to fund educational institutions not within the public school system.
"The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools. The General Assembly may exercise this authority by law, Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186, and 189 of this Constitution notwithstanding," reads the amendment.
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Originally known as House Bill 2, the proposal passed the Kentucky General Assembly in March with a vote of 65-32, with one abstention in the House and 27-8, with three abstentions in the Senate.
HB 2 passed both houses of the General Assembly in a largely party-line vote. Nearly all Republican members voted in favor, while all Democratic members either voted against it or abstained.
During the House debate on the bill in March, Democratic Rep. Rachel Roarx of Louisville argued that the bill is a "Pandora's box" that could give lawmakers the power to pass all sorts of laws that voters cannot predict.
"Without knowing what those things could be, I think it's really difficult to grant confidence to (this) constitutional amendment," Roarx said, as quoted by The Louisville Courier Journal.
Republican Rep. James Tipton of Taylorsville rejected those concerns, believing that state voters would be fully aware of what would happen should the amendment pass.
"Are we fearful that they might not agree with us, that they might agree with whatever the particular position is?" Tipton asked, as reported by The Courier-Journal. "My thought today is going to be to put my faith and trust in the voters of the Commonwealth Kentucky to make this decision."
Progressives have also voiced concern that allowing public money for private schools could equate to less money going to public schools. The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy estimates that if Kentucky were to establish a school voucher program comparable to the one in Florida, it would cost $1.19 billion annually from the Kentucky state budget, or the equivalent of employing 9,869 Kentucky public school teachers and employees.
In December 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a law passed in 2021 allowing for the government to collect funds for non-public education through a voucher program violated the state constitution.
Known as House Bill 563 or the Education Opportunity Account Act, the high court unanimously ruled that the law "violates the proscription in Section 184 of the Kentucky Constitution on the raising or collecting of 'sum[s]' for 'education other than in common schools.'"
