The following op-ed is written by State Rep. Lisa Willner (D-Louisville)
The passage of House Bill 9 and Senate Bill 1 this legislative session marks the biggest changes to Kentucky public education since 1990’s Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Only this time, it’s not a step forward.
House Bill 9 would divert public funds to privately-operated, unaccountable charter schools, while Senate Bill 1 cobbles together several bills that would collectively erode parent voice and local control, insert politicians into curriculum decisions, and cast a chill over academic freedom.
It’s vitally important that we understand what is about to take place. Despite concerns raised by educators, advocates and legislators like me, the General Assembly is on track to finalize these two course-changing laws, putting public school policy on a path paved by private interests and politics.
This legislation is set to unravel the hard-fought gains our public schools have made since 1990’s KERA, arguably the single most important piece of legislation ever enacted in Kentucky.
KERA brought massive improvements to Kentucky public education. Before KERA, we were at or near the bottom of states in a host of academic and school-finance rankings, but last fall, Education Week’s latest “Quality Counts” study put us 28th and showed us tied for third in the South. A study by the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economic Policy found that only 17 states outperformed our public schools between 2015 and 2020.
This turnaround took a long-term commitment and some compromise along the way, but the reform’s building blocks are still largely in place. Sadly, much of that work will be dismantled if Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 9 become law.
It cannot be overstated how much work went into the KERA’s 900 pages. Legislators held hours of public hearings statewide, voted for a billion dollars in new revenue, and put their faith in innovative and sound programs to give Kentucky what our 1891 constitution requires: “an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.”
The way this year’s legislation was passed stands in stark contrast. It was written behind closed doors, without educators, and with barely any public hearings. Legislative leaders even siphoned away more than $1 billion for tax reform that has the potential to choke revenues for schools and other state programs for decades to come.
Senate Bill 1 undoes one of KERA’s reforms by removing site-based decision-making councils’ authority to hire principals and choose curricula at their individual schools, transferring that power to superintendents.
The bill also inserts the General Assembly in the classroom in ways it never has before, by dictating that middle and high schools teach a sanitized version of American history that must include a list of two dozen historical documents selected by politicians.
This legislation is also a broadside attack on Jefferson County Public Schools. It limits the meetings of the locally elected Board of Education, requires greater than a simple majority for board decisions, and establishes other rules that don’t apply to the boards of Kentucky’s 170 other public school districts.
House Bill 9 also takes direct aim at Jefferson County and Northern Kentucky by requiring both to authorize a privately run charter school, forcing those communities to give up their tax dollars to a business that will be free to ignore longstanding school laws and bypass safeguards guaranteeing accountability, transparency, and non-discrimination.
There are numerous stories about how charter schools have failed students in many other states, and their supporters even champion the fact that these schools can close if they are deemed a failure – the severe disruption in students’ and families’ lives apparently an inconsequential afterthought.
Even before House Bill 9 arrived at Governor Beshear’s desk, there were troubling stories about how Northern Kentucky was chosen. No other region of the state has as many public and private school systems, yet the bill’s sponsor called it an “education desert,” and the bill’s language seems oddly targeted to a specific project.
This is exactly the type of shady business that can happen when we let politicians and private interests run public schools.
Some hope remains that the General Assembly will not override the Governor’s vetoes – a possibility that will be stronger if constituents urge their legislators to vote against these bad bills. House Bill 9 passed with just 51 votes, for example, the minimum needed to override a veto. It is also possible that the courts will step in.
If neither occurs, however, it won’t be long before we find ourselves looking back at what great things we once had – and wondering why we let them go so easily.