What you need to know Kentucky lawmakers heard an update on a law passed earlier this year that allows school boards to apply for waivers for “schools of innovation” and subcontract their management to outside entities such as charter school operators. The discussion before the Budget Subcommittee on Education comes nearly a week after the Kentucky […]
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
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Plan to outlaw sexual grooming of children in Kentucky gains bipartisan support
What you need to know A Kentucky Republican is hoping to define grooming of a child in state law and criminalize it under a proposal she presented Thursday. Rep. Marianne Proctor, of Union, said the goal of her bill would be to define what a “groomer” is, as there is no state law that has a definition […]
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Trump officials nixed his security clearance. Now, this Kentucky Democrat is running for US Senate
A former CIA officer from Kentucky had his security clearance revoked by the Trump administration earlier this year. Now, he’s a Democratic candidate for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Joel Willett, who is also a veteran and former CEO, launched his campaign Wednesday. Last month, he was one of 37 current and former intelligence […]
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Former Secret Service agent, now Ky. attorney launches Democratic bid for US Senate
A former U.S. Secret Service agent turned attorney from West Kentucky is joining the field for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary. Logan Forsythe announced his bid for the seat Tuesday. In a phone interview with the Kentucky Lantern, he said his time in the Secret Service serving under multiple presidents was “disheartening” to his view […]
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Charter schools in KY aren’t dead yet. Supreme Court hears arguments pro and con.
Voters might have thought they settled the question of charter schools in Kentucky last year when a “school choice” amendment failed in all 120 counties. But the state Supreme Court was told Thursday that no change in the state’s 1891 Constitution is necessary to allow charter schools under a law the Republican-controlled legislature approved in […]
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Kentucky Republicans at the center of duel over releasing Epstein files
Two Kentucky Republicans are playing conflicting roles in a drama that threatens to divide President Donald Trump’s political base. U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie and James Comer are central players in the controversy over releasing investigative files in the case of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Massie, who had already gained Trump’s ire, is leading a […]
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Domestic violence is linked to other violent crime, recidivism in Kentucky, study finds
Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. Domestic violence drives other violent crime in Kentucky and contributes to criminal recidivism all while draining law enforcement and court resources across the commonwealth, reports the Council of State Governments. Over the past two years, the council’s Justice Center dug into Kentucky’s […]
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Early learning sets kids on life trajectory, Kentuckians hear, as Beshear keeps pushing for pre-K
A Republican legislator from Alabama made the case for state-supported early childhood education Wednesday during a meeting of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s Pre-K for All Advisory Committee in Kentucky. Rep. Jeana Ross, a former educator and former secretary of her state’s Department of Early Childhood Education, said Alabama’s pre-K program “has survived Democratic and Republican governors” […]
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Alleged fraud in issuing driver’s licenses under investigation in Kentucky, officials say
Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman say investigators have been looking into a whistleblower’s allegations that immigrants paid temporary contract workers to illegally obtain state driver’s licenses. Louisville TV station WDRB reported last week that a former clerk at a Kentucky driver’s licensing office said co-workers sold, for $200 each, state driver’s […]
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Kentucky community colleges working to meet students’ ‘severe’ need for mental health support
About two-thirds of Kentucky community college students surveyed last year say they have experienced depression or anxiety while 1 in 5 reported engaging in “self-injurious behavior.” In response, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System is launching a Mental Health Strategy for its roughly 100,000 students. KCTCS President Ryan Quarles told LINK’s media partner, the […]
