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Kentucky families face limited school choices due to restrictive public education policies. A 2022 court ruling blocked tax-credit scholarships, hindering educational freedom. Expanding enrollment options could enhance academic outcomes and empower parents to choose the best schools for their children.
For too long, Kentucky’s families have faced a public education system that limits their ability to choose the best schools for their children. In 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled the state’s newly minted tax credit scholarship program unconstitutional, upending efforts to expand school choice.
However, state policymakers can expand students’ schooling options by strengthening Kentucky’s open-enrollment law, which allows students to transfer to public schools other than their assigned ones. Enacted in 2021, this law required school districts to adopt cross-district transfer policies. But it falls short in removing barriers and enabling parents to choose a public school in another district that best fits their children’s needs.
For instance, the current policy allows districts like highly rated Anchorage Independent to establish enrollment policies that accept no transfers even when seats are available. Other districts, such as Jefferson County, permit transfers only under restrictive conditions, such as living in a specific geographic area or having parents employed by the district.
A stronger policy would ensure Kentucky students can transfer to any public school with open seats, prohibit districts from charging tuition and improve transparency, making the process more family-friendly.
Kentucky’s reluctance to fully embrace this policy by prioritizing district control over parental choice has resulted in one of the nation’s weakest open-enrollment policies. According to a 2024 Reason Foundation report, only eight states have weaker policies than Kentucky.
Despite these barriers, parents across the Bluegrass State are seizing upon the limited choices available. A recent Bluegrass Institute report shows nonresident transfers have increased by 10% since the passage of HB 563 in 2021, with over 2,500 additional public-school students enrolling in a different district. In addition, enrollment at the Kentucky Virtual Academy (KYVA) more than doubled to over 3,000 students in the 2024-25 school year, its second year – up from 1,300 in 2023-24. Combined, Kentucky’s nonresident student enrollment has grown by more than 16% since 2022, signaling strong parental demand for public-education alternatives.
About 5% of Kentucky’s students currently attend public schools other than their assigned ones. However, states with robust open-enrollment laws see higher participation rates, averaging one in ten students, compared to just 5% in states with weak policies, according to a 2025 Reason Foundation report. In Colorado and Arizona, for example, 28% and 14% of students, respectively, attend traditional public schools other than their assigned ones.
In December, the Kentucky Board of Education approved a regulation that would have immediately closed the fast-growing virtual academy, forcing thousands of students to return to schools that had failed them or to find other options. Lawmakers responded during this year’s General Assembly by passing legislation pausing the regulation for at least three years, allowing the KYVA to demonstrate academic improvement.
Strengthening Kentucky’s student-transfer policies would further empower families with the freedom to choose public schools – whether traditional or virtual – that best meet their children’s unique needs.
Legislation introduced in recent General Assembly sessions offers a blueprint to improve Kentucky’s student-transfer policy by:
- Ensuring students can transfer to any public school with available seats.
- Eliminating tuition for nonresident students to ensure access for all families, regardless of income.
- Requiring districts to publish clear information on capacities, vacancies and application processes, alongside detailed reports on enrollment and denials.
- Establishing a fair appeals process for transfer denials to protect parental rights.
By removing barriers and embracing transparency, Kentucky can join 16 states like Arizona and Florida in leading on open-enrollment policies, ensuring every child in our commonwealth has access to a public education that sets them up for success.
Jude Schwalbach is a senior policy analyst at the Reason Foundation. Jim Waters is president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions.
