As the 2024 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly comes to a close, many education-related bills and resolutions have been considered and passed through this 60-day legislative session, especially since the 2024-26 fiscal year’s budget was also being appropriated.
The piece of legislation that got the loudest buzz across Frankfort, the Commonwealth, and the nation, however, was House Bill 2 (HB2). HB2 is a bill requiring a ballot measure to be placed on Kentucky voters’ ballots this November, asking voters if public tax dollars should be sent to private schools or institutions. In accordance with a new change to the Kentucky constitution, if this measure is to pass, it must be by the consent of the voters.
This bill has been in the making for years though, predating Governor Beshear’s first term in office, and the educational policies of former Republican Governor Matthew Bevin (2015-2019). In fact, measures similar to House Bill 2 have been unanimously ruled unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2018, 2020, 2022, and finally last year, similarly, in the Franklin County Circuit Court.
Kentucky’s constitution states that every child is entitled to a quality education, regardless of family income, zip code, or personal background. This is due to the 1989 Rose v. Council For Better Education case, which ruled Kentucky’s entire public education system was not only fiscally inequitable, but entirely unconstitutional due to systemic indifference in regard to a rural versus urban divide.
In looking at Carter County and countless other Eastern Kentucky counties, such as my home in Johnson County, we see they often heavily rely on their public schools to ensure a quality education is attainable for ourselves, our children, families, and communities. According to the latest US News & World Report analysis of every public school in the United States in 2024, Carter County reports that 47.5% of its student population is “economically disadvantaged”, meaning that they require vital assistance in free and reduced lunch, school transportation, and family resources to a heightened level compared to their peers in more affluent districts.
If charter vouchers are to become a welcomed practice in the Commonwealth after November 5 of this year, it would mean your tax dollars would be reallocated to fund another child’s private education in Lexington, Louisville, or another urban or suburban private school district, rather than funding the public education of your child in Carter County.
House Bill 2 was passed by a margin of 65 yes votes to 32 no votes on March 13th, notably getting the approval and a “YES” vote from State Representative Patrick Flannery (R) of Olive Hill who has served State House District 96: Carter, Lewis, and a portion of Boyd counties since 2020. In contrast, State Senator Robin L. Webb (D) of Grayson voted “NO” on HB 2 when it was considered in the Kentucky State Senate on March 15. Senator Webb has served State Senate District 18: including Carter, Greenup, Boyd, and Lewis counties since 2010.
As this bill was structured to place a ballot measure onto Kentuckians’ ballots this November, the bill couldn’t receive a veto from Governor Andy Beshear, which he stated he would do, but was instead sent to Secretary of State Micheal Adams. Adams office was then tasked with the process of printing and constructing the language of this referendum.
As to how Kentuckians should vote, especially those like us in the Eastern part of the Commonwealth; I urge you and your families to cast a “NO” vote on or before November 5 to Constitutional Amendment 2. The action of voting “NO” on this measure is endorsed by the Kentucky Education Association (KEA) as well as the Beshear-Coleman administration, to ensure Kentucky’s public schools do not lose vital funding for our children, in all aspects, to unregulated, uncertified, and untested charter or private schools.
Nicholas Hazelett is a current senior at Paintsville Independent Schools, a Kentucky Department of Education’s Student Advisory Council member, and a Kentucky Student Voice Team (KSVT) member.