We officially crossed the halfway point of the 2022 60-day Regular Session. Week 7 of the session included a lot of legislative activity as consequential bills were introduced and others moved through the process. I want to update you on three significant matters: motor vehicle taxes, legislation introduced to address the state’s nursing shortage, and the Teaching America’s Principles Act, which cleared the Senate Education Committee last week.
First, I’m happy to say that Senate Bill (SB) 98, a bill I sponsor, was passed in the Senate in week 7. The bill would require the governor to reopen the Capital Avenue roadway between the State Capitol Building and legislative offices. The route has been enjoyed by Kentuckians and tourists visiting our beautiful Capitol for decades. I previously wrote a letter to the governor requesting he not close the roadway.
As the Senate unanimously passed Senate Joint Resolution 99 (SJR 99), chamber members strongly pressured Governor Andy Beshear to do the right thing and exempt Kentucky taxpayers from increased motor vehicle taxes, driven by artificial, pandemic-related inflation. For over a month, the governor simply denied he had the authority to do so. In fact, his administration sent out a memorandum acknowledging and detailing the reason for the tax increase, yet took no action to provide relief. SJR 99 was prepared to force the governor to take action he had the authority but not the will to do until directed by the Senate.
Fortunately for Kentucky taxpayers, the governor relented and finally signed an executive order that used the precise language in SJR 99. Thanks to public pressure placed on the governor by the state Senate, Kentuckians will now be relieved from their inflated vehicle taxes, and those who have already paid them will be issued a refund. See your local county clerk for more information.
One of the most headline-dominating topics since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has been education, primarily deriving from parents’ concerns about the quality of their children’s education and fears that students are being taught what to think rather than how to think. The behavior of special interest groups to not only ignore parents’ concerns but even mock and ridicule them has heightened attention on school curriculums and educational standards. The groundswell from the public has been so strong that even places like San Francisco are recalling school board members.
Elections across the nation, most notably the gubernatorial election in Virginia, are demanding lawmakers take parents’ concerns seriously. That is why I sponsored Senate Bill (SB) 1, which passed out of the Senate earlier in the session, to give parents and citizens a better way to have their concerns addressed. That bill gives superintendents authority over curriculum and school principals. Superintendents answer to school boards, which answer to you.
SB 138 seeks to educate students on the foundations of America’s principles of equality, freedom, and personal agency. It extends existing elementary history standards to middle and high school to create alignment. SB 138 establishes a baseline required study of 24 primary source documents referencing key people, events, struggles, challenges, and continued successes. This bill reflects concerns and feedback from educators and parents alike.
In addition to upgrading history standards, SB 138 prohibits students from being required or incentivized to complete political or socially ideological assignments or projects if deemed to be against the values or objections of the student or their family. Tasks assigned must be age-appropriate and relevant to the knowledge level, maturity, and understanding of the students, along with being nondiscriminatory and respectful.
Also included in the bill is a provision that allows educators to opt out of professional training that pushes specific narratives of racial, ethnic, or gender stereotyping. The bill intends to give teachers the ingredients required for instructing American history in a well-rounded manner while allowing them to design the recipe by which to do so. Students should be encouraged to think critically about America’s founding. Despite our past and present challenges, America is still the greatest nation ever to exist.
The 24 core historical American documents are proof of this. They are recognized by the non-partisan Ashbrook Center, which includes work from various social studies scholars and promotes introducing young people to the real story of America — the good and the bad — through primary documents. The bill does not limit study beyond these baseline documents so long as it remains in line with the bill’s other provisions. Lawmakers spend time over the interim reviewing the concerns of constituents. We heard from the non-partisan 1776 Unites organization, which has received high marks from Johns Hopkins University. 1776 Unites encouraged us to include tenants in the legislation that teach students to strive toward upward mobility, become free critical thinkers, and create their own destiny.
In closing, SJR 150 was introduced on Friday to finally end the governor’s near two-year COVID-19 state of emergency. It would affirmatively end it on March 7, one day past the two-year anniversary of its original declaration. I will strongly support this measure.
If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, I can be contacted by phone in Frankfort at 502-564-8100, ext. 617, or at home at 859-384-7506. Please direct all responses to me through my page on the Legislative Research Commission website: www.legislature.ky.gov, where you can also access the bills outlined in this legislative update.
Senator John Schickel (R-Union) represents the 11th District in Boone County. Senator Schickel is chair of the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee. He also serves as a member of the Senate Standing Committees on Judiciary, Banking and Insurance, Natural Resources and Energy, and is a liaison member of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary.
“Elections across the nation, most notably the gubernatorial election in Virginia, are demanding lawmakers take parents’ concerns seriously. That is why I sponsored Senate Bill (SB) 1, which passed out of the Senate earlier in the session, to give parents and citizens a better way to have their concerns addressed. That bill gives superintendents authority over curriculum and school principals. Superintendents answer to school boards, which answer to you.”
Senator Schickel…why are you deliberately seeking to remove the authority of the established Site Based Decision Making Councils, which already includes parents elected by parents in their child’s school, and placing ALL authority back in the hands of the superintendents? Isn’t your SB1 completely counterproductive to what you claim you want to see happen through your proposed legislation? SB1 makes a complete mockery of the only positive thing to come out of KERA 30 years ago! SBDM councils gave voice to parents and teachers in a partnership for making critical decisions about their particular schools. Your SB1 will relegate the councils to merely window dressing…nothing more! You have not stated one thing through print or other media sources to convince me otherwise. I am strongly hoping your Bill will be left aimlessly floating in Committee, never to see the light of day in the House Chamber.