KY’s education system could face a shift if these 3 bills pass. Here’s the breakdown

Controversial Republican education bills around opening charter schools in Kentucky, Critical Race Theory and shifting power in running public schools all advanced through in the General Assembly Tuesday.

The bills were approved by the House Education Committee and were largely passed by the House on Tuesday night.

Charter schools have been legal in Kentucky since 2017 but none have opened, with potential operators saying there were no funding mechanisms.

Abby Piper, the Fayette school district’s lobbyist for the 2022 General Assembly, told school board members at a meeting Monday night that House Bill 9, which would create a funding mechanism for charter schools, did not have the votes to be approved by the House Appropriations and Revenue committee last week. It was taken off the agenda just prior to a meeting.

On Tuesday, the bill was moved to the House Education Committee where some lawmakers said the legislation had been rushed.

Piper said, at the least, the bill would force school districts to send a proportionate share of students’ state school funding, called SEEK, local property and tax revenue, and federal funds with them if they went to a charter school.

“It would be a big drain on school district coffers,” Piper said.

State Rep. Chad McCoy, R-Bardstown, said Tuesday that charter schools are created with a contract with local school boards. Under changes to the bill on Tuesday, local school boards would continue to authorize charter schools and appeals would still go to the Kentucky Department of Education.

In school districts under 7,500 students, local school boards would have absolute veto power, said McCoy.

“If they don’t want a charter school, they are never going to have a charter school,” he said.

The bill also calls for two pilot programs — in Northern Kentucky and in Louisville — that McCoy hopes would show the rest of the state that charter schools would be successful.

The Fayette school board is opposing the charter school legislation and other legislation described as school choice.

Following a closed session Monday, members of the Fayette board of education voted unanimously to authorize the board attorney to file a brief in support of the Council for Better Education suit against the education opportunity accounts created by the 2021 General Assembly.

Board chair Tyler Murphy said in opposing charter schools and other privatization efforts by the legislature, board members believe public funds should go to public schools.

House Bill 9, approved 11-9 by the House Education Committee and 51-46 on the House floor, still must move through the Senate.

Senate Bill 138

Sen. Regina Huff, R-Williamsburg, on Tuesday ejected a man from the House Education Committee she chairs who loudly objected to her limiting testimony on an anti-Critical Race Theory bill, Senate Bill 138. The man’s identity was not immediately known. Opponents on Tuesday criticized the bill for classroom censorship.

The bill passed out of committee 15-6.

Sen. Max-Wise, R-Campbellsville, said the aim of Senate Bill 138, called The Teaching American Principles Act , is to preserve the alignment of middle and high school standards with American principles of equality, freedom and personal agency.

Under the bill, Wise said instruction would align with state social studies standards. It creates a list of historical documents that must be taught.

The bill says defining racial disparities solely on the legacy of slavery is destructive to the unification of our nation.

Kate Miller of the ACLU of Kentucky said Senate Bill 138, even though its been amended, censors speech and “will chill ... discussions in the classroom.”

“This bill will limit this generation and future generations opportunities to repair the harm that we have caused,” she said.

Donnie Wilkerson, a teacher from Jamestown, said a vote for the bill was a “vote for systemic racism.” He said the bill should enrage all who cherish academic freedom and would restrict what teachers say in the classroom.

Wise, however, said the bill does not preclude instruction about controversial aspects of history or cause oppression of any ethnic group by another. He said it extends 24 core historical documents used in elementary school to middle and high school.

“There is nothing in the bill that tells an educator what you can and can not teach,” said Wise. “It does not discipline a teacher. It does not tell a students what you can and can not say.”

Some of the points under the bill, Wise said, include:

• Parents can object to a field trip, rally, assignment or extra credit.
• A teacher can not require a student to advocate for a cause or political candidate if the student or parent disagrees with it.
• A school employee can’t be required to engage in training that causes a school employee to stereotype a group of people.

State Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, said she had concerns that women weren’t represented in the core documents.

Scott also asked why the bill said the presentation of certain topics, such as slavery, is destructive to the unification of the nation. In addition to passing on its own, elements of Senate Bill 138 were folded into Senate Bill 1 Tuesday.

On the House floor, only Senate Bill 1 was taken up for a vote, and it passed 67-29.

Senate Bill 1

Sponsor State Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, said Senate Bill 1, which would give superintendents authority to hire principals after consultation with the school and would give superintendents authority over the selection of curriculum, had been seven years in the making. Currently staff and parents on the school council make those decisions.

Opponents to the bill said Senate Bill 1 diminishes parent voice and family engagement.

Eddie Campbell, president of the Kentucky Education Association, said the bill is a step backward in Kentucky education.

Some Kentucky superintendents are in favor of the bill, which was approved 13-7 with one pass vote.

This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 12:53 PM.