Bluegrass Institute files amicus brief urging Kentucky Supreme Court to overturn ‘flawed’ school choice ruling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jim Waters

September 10, 2024 270-320-4376

Bluegrass Institute files amicus brief urging Kentucky Supreme Court to overturn ‘flawed’ school choice ruling

FRANKFORT, Ky – A Bluegrass Institute amicus brief authored by former Solicitor General Chad Meredith in support of expanding education opportunities in Kentucky urges the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that legislation funding public charter schools passed by the General Assembly in 2022 is unconstitutional.

The brief calls Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd’s ruling overturning House Bill 9 “flawed because it focuses on whether charter schools are common schools” rather than addressing whether lawmakers are constitutionally empowered to fund such schools with dollars from the state’s General Fund.

Section 184 of the Kentucky Constitution – the primary section at issue being used by opponents in legal arguments meant to stymie lawmakers’ ability to fund school-choice programs – places no limitation on General Fund appropriations and is “merely a taxpayer-protection provision that limits new ways of raising revenue but says nothing about appropriations.”

According to this summary of the brief:

● Delegates to the 1891 constitutional convention – where the current Kentucky Constitution was ratified – believed that Kentuckians were taxed enough already and included a provision in Section 184 to limit the power to tax, not the power to spend.

● No matter whether charter schools are viewed as “common schools” or not, nothing in the constitution prohibits the General Assembly from funding them with General Fund appropriations.

● This interpretation is consistent with both historical and current appropriations practices, and notes that since the constitution was ratified the legislature has appropriated funds for all manner of educational endeavors, including those that don’t align with Shepherd’s definition of a common school like magnet schools, the Gatton and Craft academies, and many others.

● Public charter schools are consistent with the constitution’s directive in Section 183 that the General Assembly create “an efficient system of common schools.” They provide competition in the educational market, which has been remarkably successful in improving public education in other states.

“We urge the Supreme Court to carefully consider the arguments in our brief,” said Bluegrass Institute President Jim Waters. “The constitution empowers lawmakers to create and fund school-choice programs like charter schools, which are available to parents in most other states and are producing better educational outcomes for students."

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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.

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