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FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pivotal case that could enable the creation and funding of public charter schools in the commonwealth, offering families here an educational option available in 45 other states.
The case, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Ex Rel Attorney General Russell Coleman and Gus LaFontaine V Council for Better Education, Inc. et al., is scheduled for September 11 at 10 a.m. EDT in Newlin Hall at the Norton Center for the Arts. The proceedings will be live streamed on Kentucky Educational Television’s website here.
“It’s extremely heartening that the Kentucky Supreme Court will finally hear this monumental case,” said Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute. “After years of waiting, parents may finally gain access to charter schools, allowing them to choose the education that best fits their children’s needs.”
The case originates from a lawsuit filed in January 2023 by the Council for Better Education, a group of school superintendents opposed to education freedom, along with two local school boards. They argue that House Bill 9, passed by the General Assembly in 2022 to fund public charter schools and mandate pilot charters in Jefferson County Public Schools and Northern Kentucky, is unconstitutional.
In December 2023, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled against the legislation, a decision the Bluegrass Institute’s amicus brief, authored by former state Solicitor General Chad Meredith, considers flawed because it focuses on whether charter schools are “common schools” under Section 184 of the Kentucky Constitution, rather than addressing the legislature’s authority to fund such schools using the state’s General Fund.
Key points from the brief include:
- Section 184, established during the 1891 Constitutional Convention, limits the power to raise new taxes but does not restrict General Fund appropriations.
- The Kentucky Constitution does not prohibit funding charter schools with General Fund dollars, regardless of their classification as “common schools.”
- Historical and current legislative practices support funding diverse educational programs across Kentucky, including magnet schools and the Gatton and Craft academies, which do not align with Shepherd’s definition of a “common school.”
- Public charter schools align with Section 183’s mandate for an “efficient system of common schools” by providing competition and are remarkably successful in improving public education in other states.
In April 2024, the Kentucky Supreme Court granted the Attorney General’s request to transfer the case, bypassing the Court of Appeals.
“A favorable ruling would mark a new era for education freedom in Kentucky,” Waters said. “It would empower families and enhance educational opportunities across the commonwealth.”
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Bluegrass Institute works with Kentuckians, grassroots organizations, and business owners to advance freedom and prosperity by promoting free-market capitalism, smaller government and defense of personal liberties.
