Kentucky Judge Strikes Down Charter Schools Funding Measure

[TexasTowelie]

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky law aimed at setting up a funding method for charter schools was struck down by a judge on Monday, dealing another setback for school choice advocates.

The decision likely stymies efforts, for now, to give charter schools a foothold in the Bluegrass State. But it could further energize efforts to put a ballot measure before Kentucky voters next year that would seek to overcome constitutional hurdles for school choice initiatives. Such a proposed constitutional amendment would have to clear the GOP-dominated legislature before reaching the statewide ballot.

In his ruling Monday, Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd said the 2022 law creating the funding stream for charter schools violated Kentucky’s constitution. Such publicly funded charter schools would be operated by independent groups with fewer regulations than most public schools.

“This charter school legislation is effectively an attempt to bypass the system of common schools, and establish a separate class of publicly funded but privately controlled schools that have unique autonomy in management and operation of schools,” Shepherd wrote. “This `separate and unequal' system of charter schools is inconsistent with the constitutional requirements for a common school system.”

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kentucky/articles/2023-12-11/kentucky-judge-strikes-down-charter-schools-funding-measure