Bill advances to let KY school boards skip charter school training

A bill received initial approval Tuesday that would allow local school boards to delay charter school training until they received an application from a group wanting to open a charter school.

House Bill 220, which would put into law a request that several school districts are now making to the Kentucky Board of Education, is sponsored by State Rep. Regina Huff, R- Williamsburg, the chair of the House Education Committee. The bill says that annual training would no longer be required by state law until local boards received an application from someone wanting to open a charter school. The training could occur during a 60-day application review period, the bill said.

House Bill 220 now goes to the full House. School board members have told state officials that the training has been a burden of time and financial resources, especially with no charter schools expected to open imminently.

House Bill 220 “saves a quarter of a million dollars annually statewide, “ Huff said Tuesday.

The Kentucky General Assemby approved charter schools in 2017 with the stipulation that a local school board would have to approve an application.

No charter schools have opened in the state and both supporters and opponents of charter schools don’t expect charter schools to open any time soon. That is in large part, because the General Assembly has not created a funding mechanism for charter schools and several would-be operators say that has thwarted them.

Also, Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, and the new Kentucky Board of Education that he appointed are not charter school supporters and teachers in Kentucky have protested charter schools the last few years. The first application ever filed in Kentucky to open a charter school was denied by the Newport Independent school board in December, which thought the application lacked specifics.

Lynn Schaber, a leader in the proposed River Cities Academy, told the Herald-Leader this week that her group has appealed the denial to the newly appointed Kentucky Board of Education.

Meanwhile, at least 11 school districts are asking the newly appointed Kentucky Board of Education to waive charter school training for local boards, a decision that could be made in February.

Former state school board members appointed by former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, a charter school proponent, in 2019 denied similar requests from school districts to waive charter school training, citing the mandatory state law.