Can public tax dollars go to private schools? Kentuckians will answer on November ballot

The Kentucky Senate has passed a controversial “school choice” bill, setting the stage for Kentucky voters to decide if they want taxpayer dollars to go to private and charter schools.

House Bill 2, sponsored by House Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, cleared the House Wednesday on a 65-32 vote, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats in opposing the measure.

The Senate voted 27-8 to pass the bill, with two Eastern Kentucky Republicans joining six Democrats in opposition.

It is the first constitutional amendment bill to pass both chambers of the legislature during the 2024 General Assembly.

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who opposes the measure, cannot veto amendment bills.

Miles’ bill does not fund charter or private schools. Instead, it asks voters if they want to amend the Kentucky constitution to give lawmakers the options to fund such schools in the future.

The ballot question put forth in HB 2 would read as follows:

“To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below?

“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.”

Constitutional amendments have a higher threshold for passage in the legislature. Rather than a simple majority, they need a vote of three-fifths of members of both chambers.

Beshear has promised to campaign against this bill, as has Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman.

Only four amendments can make it to the November ballot.

If lawmakers pass four or fewer amendment bills, then all will appear on the ballot.

If lawmakers pass more than four amendment bills, the process is less clear.

A spokesperson for Secretary of State Michael Adams’ office says nothing in state law dictates what happens in that event, and to their knowledge, it’s never happened before.

Should it happen, Adams has said “he would seek input from legislators on their desired course of action.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 2:39 PM.

Tessa Duvall

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-334-0430

Tessa has been the Herald-Leader’s Politics and Public Affairs Editor since March 2024, after acting as Frankfort Bureau Chief since joining the paper in August 2022. A native of Bowling Green and a graduate of Western Kentucky University, Tessa has also reported in Texas, Florida and Louisville, where she covered education, criminal justice and policing.