When the Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 9 in 2022, we took a step toward delivering real education options to families seeking more from their public schools.
Due to a pending legal challenge before the Kentucky Supreme Court, however, we remain one of a handful of states without a single operating public charter school. Public charter schools operate in 44 states and serve 3.7 million students. Not a single Kentucky student is among them.
These schools, chosen voluntarily by families, often serve higher proportions of low-income students and students of color than traditional public schools. They are also held to increased accountability for performance. Between the 2010–2011 and 2021–2022 school years, national charter enrollment more than doubled from 1.8 million to 3.7 million students. Families are voting with their feet.
As a legislator and an attorney, I take Kentucky’s constitutional responsibilities seriously. I believe our charter school law fully aligns with those principles. In fact, it is because of the constitution, not despite it, that we must give families greater access to high-quality public school options.
Our charter school law was designed to complement Kentucky’s “common school” system, not compete with it. Charter schools are tuition-free, publicly funded, and held to rigorous academic and financial standards. It is not a private option. Rather, it is an innovative public option created through legislative authority to serve students better.
The legal foundation is strong. Section 183 of the Kentucky Constitution directs that “the General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the State.” Kentucky’s highest court has previously described this language as granting the legislature the broadest possible authority to address public education. That duty was further defined in the Rose decision, which outlined nine criteria for a constitutionally valid system. Charter schools meet every one, from being open to all students to operating with public dollars to maintaining strong standards of accountability.
Some have claimed that charter schools cannot be part of the common school system because not every student can attend when demand exceeds capacity. However, this argument would disqualify many of Kentucky’s most respected programs, including magnet schools in Jefferson and Fayette Counties, and the Gatton and Craft academies. Those schools are public, selective, and limited by space, but no one disputes their constitutional standing. The same should apply to charter schools, which rely on lotteries when applications exceed capacity.
There is also a fiscal angle. Since 1994, when President Bill Clinton signed the federal Charter Schools Program into law, the federal government has distributed billions in grants to support charter school start-up and innovation. In each of the past three fiscal years, Congress has allocated $440 million to support charter development. Kentucky has received none of this funding, not because we are ineligible, but because the General Assembly’s charter school legislation has been blocked by the courts. In effect, Kentucky taxpayers are subsidizing education innovation in other states while reaping none of the benefits at home.
No single school model can solve every challenge, but charter schools are a valuable part of the public education landscape. They should be available to Kentucky families, particularly in communities where traditional options are not meeting student needs.
Charter schools help meet the diverse needs of students by allowing more flexibility and innovative delivery methods. When our children succeed, the whole of Kentucky succeeds.
Our priorities should not be shaped by politics or pressure from entrenched interests. They should be guided by performance. That means honoring our constitutional duty to provide every Kentucky child with access to an adequate, equitable, and efficient education.
The legislature is not asking for new funding streams or higher taxes. We are asking for the flexibility to use existing public dollars more effectively and to allow parents to choose what is best for their children.
The case before the court is about more than legal definitions. It is about the future of public education in our state and the legislature’s constitutional authority to lead on that future.
Kentucky families have waited long enough.
Kentucky Senator Steve West represent Kentucky’s 27th district, including Bourbon, part of Fayette, Fleming, Harrison, Mason, Nicholas, Robertson and Rowan Counties