New education committee means more focus, but not necessarily money, for K-12 schools
Legislators on both sides of the political aisle are celebrating House Republican leadership’s decision to split its former education committee in two — one focusing on K-12 and the other on higher education.
Education is often the most discussed topic in a given legislative session. Earlier this year, a discussion over diversity, equity and inclusion programming in higher education took up a lot of the oxygen, and two years ago the debate over alleged Critical Race Theory in K-12 schools roiled Frankfort.
House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said the split was called for given the volume of legislation and discussion on education. The K-12 and higher education systems are also inherently different from thematic and financial perspectives, he said.
“The main reason is just to allow us to focus on education. There are so many differences between higher education and primary and secondary education. It’s all education, obviously, but they’re so, so different,” Osborne said.
Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, a working teacher and perhaps the Democrats’ top public education expert in the legislature, agrees with Osborne.
“I’m very grateful that it’s happening because I think we can really focus on K-12 education and not let anything slip,” Bojanowski.
But what the split means for state education policy is unclear. Republicans, who rule the roost in Frankfort with four-fifths legislative majorities, are licking their wounds from the blowout 30-point election loss this year of a constitutional amendment that would have allowed taxpayer dollars to help fund private schools.
For now, at least, the discussion of pushing another amendment on the matter — as the state constitution is clear that public dollars can only go to public schools — is not a live one in the Republican caucus.
But one thing is clear, per Osborne: the move does not mean that more money will be spent on schooling, as Democrats and other advocates have called for.
“Accountability” was the key word Osborne used when describing the action he expects Republicans to take in the coming year, particularly when it comes to addressing schools the legislature thinks are failing students.
He cited the fact that well under half of all Kentucky students meet the “proficient” standard in reading and math.
“To continue to allow it, to continue to throw money at it — which is something we have done at record levels — is something that we will not continue to do,” Osborne said.
Last session, Republicans increased per-pupil funding by 3% and 6% over the next two years, though total spending is set to increase much more modestly due to decreasing numbers of students. To the chagrin of Democrats like Gov. Andy Beshear and other education spending advocates, the budget did not include a direct raise for teachers.
Osborne said that Rep. Scott Lewis, R-Hartford, is the right man to chair the new elementary and secondary education committee. A former state trooper and educator, Lewis served two six-year stints as superintendent in the districts serving rural Ohio and Hancock counties’ systems before joining the legislature in 2019.
“He’s not averse to doing some pretty dramatic things to change education. He understands accountability and that we’ve got to do more to reach those kids that are failing. You might see some legislation on those, so I’m not going to spoil the suspense,” Osborne said.
Unlike most other Republicans in the House, Lewis voted against the bill that put the school funding amendment on the ballot. He joined a handful of other rural or education-connected Republicans in doing so.
Bojanowski is excited about the prospect of Lewis becoming chair of the new committee given his background. However, she’s not certain she’ll support GOP-backed legislation on accountability for schools falling behind.
She wants to see more teachers in schools — but that requires money.
Bojanowski’s wary when she hears of her GOP colleagues wanting accountability for failing schools. She said she likes the basic idea, but is concerned about the metrics that lead to a school being considered “failing.”
“What it means, to me, is that we’re judging schools because they have schoolkids who are in a lot of poverty because the correlation between socioeconomic status and test scores is very strong,” Bojanowski said.
Whatever policy it leads to, the discussion around it won’t take time in meetings away from a bill limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programming and practices in higher education. That effort is widely viewed as a high priority for Republicans in this coming legislative session.
With the new House Higher Education Committee, chaired by former Education Chair James Rep. Tipton, R-Taylorsville, that issue could get even more airtime in the more niche committee.
