KY GOP leaders blast charter school ruling. Others call it victory for public education

Response from groups for and against charter schools in Kentucky came in fast and furious Thursday after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a Republican-backed bill establishing a statewide public charter school system was unconstitutional.

In a unanimous opinion authored by Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller, the state’s high court struck down 2022’s House Bill 9, which would have allowed approved groups to create and oversee charter schools funded with public education dollars.

Officials from the Kentucky Education Association were thrilled with the outcome and said it aligned with the results of last year’s election on rejecting putting taxpayer money toward school vouchers.

“The voters of Kentucky voted by a 2-to-1 margin (in the) last election rejecting a constitutional ballot amendment that would have allowed taxpayer dollars to be spent on school voucher schemes to pay for private school tuition,” KEA said in a statement.

KEA Director of Communications David Patterson said voters and judges both “have clearly spoken on this issue.”

“Hopefully, legislators will focus on investing in our public schools to provide the best quality public education for Kentucky students now and in the future,” Patterson said.

Gov. Andy Beshear who opposes charter schools said in a Facebook post, “The Kentucky Supreme Court sided with our people, public education and the law today by ruling that the 2022 Republican-led House Bill 9 allowing charter schools is unconstitutional. Taxpayer dollars should stay with our already underfunded public schools, and now they will. This is a win for our kids and our future.”

Republicans, charter school advocates blast ruling

In a statement, House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said the ruling was misguided. He argued it usurped “the clear, delegated authority of the General Assembly,” and “protects the failed status quo.”

“The measure of success in education should not be whether we have preserved institutions and bureaucracies, but whether a child can read at grade level, graduate prepared, and pursue a meaningful future,” Osborne said. “This ruling hits hardest on low-income families in communities like Louisville, condemning children who already face significant barriers to remain in underperforming schools that quite simply fail to educate them. With this opinion, the Court attempts to slam the door on alternative approaches, and it is those children who pay the price.”

The speaker also said that the General Assembly will “continue our efforts to ensure each Kentucky child has a chance to reach their full potential” going forward.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools said the ruling called into question the constitutionality of several Kentucky schools.

“Today, in the most poorly reasoned legal opinion in the 35 years of the charter school movement, the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned the state’s charter school law,” the charter schools alliance said. “As a result, Kentucky students will have fewer high-quality public school options, a tragedy in a state where only one-in-three fourth grade students can read at grade level. The results are even worse for low-income students and students of color.”

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools also raised question over whether this ruling “imperils some of the state’s highest-performing public schools and specialty schools.”

“The Court’s reasoning for blocking charter schools calls into serious question the constitutionality of the Gatton Academy at Western Kentucky University, the Craft Academy at Morehead State University, the Model Laboratory School at Eastern Kentucky University, magnet schools serving nearly 50,000 students, the Kentucky School for the Deaf, and the Kentucky School for the Blind because of their admissions policies,” the statement said.

Americans for Prosperity Kentucky called the ruling “a massive blow to Educational Freedom in the Commonwealth. “

“The children of Kentucky, who no longer have the opportunity to better their education, are the ones who have lost the most in today’s shameful decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court,” AFP Director Heather LeMire said. “All children in Kentucky deserve educational freedom, and families must have the ability to choose the best path for the educational future of their child. We will continue to fight for Kentucky students, parents, and freedom right here in the Commonwealth. This is far from over.”

The Bluegrass Institute, a nonprofit organization, said the ruling raises “serious questions that extend well beyond charter schools.”

“For well over a century, the General Assembly has routinely appropriated General Fund dollars to educational programs that plainly do not satisfy the court’s definition of a “common school,” said Caleb O. Brown, CEO of the Bluegrass Institute. “These include the Kentucky Schools for the Blind and Deaf, the Governor’s Scholars Program, the Governor’s School for the Arts, the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs, the Craft and Gatton Academies, Bluegrass and Appalachian Youth Challenge Academies, and Kentucky Adult Learner Programs.”

Brown said those programs get millions of dollars in General Fund money, and the court’s reasoning could raise questions about the constitutionality of that funding.

Gus LaFontaine, the cofounder of LaFontaine Preparatory School in Richmond, which previously unsuccessfully filed an application to open a charter school in Kentucky, also was “disappointed” in the ruling.

“We’re disappointed that Kentucky children cannot participate in an educational opportunity that is already operating in 46 states. We will continue to offer opportunities to the many families who seek out the educational options that best fit their needs,” LaFontaine told the Herald-Leader Thursday.

Attorney General Russell Coleman, a proponent of “school choice” initiatives like HB 9, said the decision marked “a sad day for Kentucky’s children.”

“The General Assembly has repeatedly passed bold initiatives to help our kids succeed. But once again, Kentucky is on the outside looking as families in 45 other states get the very real benefits of charter schools,” Coleman said.

‘Victory for students, for educators, for public education, for taxpayers’

Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence President and CEO Brigitte Blom said the Kentucky Supreme Court decision was the correct one.

“Today, the Kentucky Supreme Court rightly struck down House Bill 9, upholding the Kentucky’s forward-thinking constitution that rightly protects from the dismantling of public education as an essential public good,” Blom said. “The promise of Kentucky’s Constitution is clear: to serve every child through a system of local decision-making.”

Fayette County Public Schools Board Chairman Tyler Murphy said in a Facebook post that “today’s unanimous decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court declaring HB 9 and its scheme to fund charter schools unconstitutional is a victory for students, for educators, for public education, for taxpayers, and for all who recognize the value and impact of public schools in communities across our Commonwealth.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 6:00 AM.