Kentucky Supreme Court rules that charter schools law is unconstitutional

Kentucky Supreme Court Strikes Down Charter School Funding Law as Unconstitutional

The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that a 2022 law establishing public funding for charter schools violates the state constitution, dealing a significant blow to school choice advocates in the state.

In the court’s opinion, Justice Michelle M. Keller wrote that Kentucky’s constitution is unambiguous on this matter: public education funds must remain within the common public school system and cannot be diverted elsewhere.

“The Constitution as it stands is clear that it does not permit funneling public education funds outside the common public school system,” Justice Keller stated in the ruling, which upholds a lower court’s 2023 decision.

The struck-down legislation was originally passed by Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature over Democratic Governor Andy Beshear’s veto. The ruling represents the latest setback for charter school proponents in Kentucky, who have struggled for years to establish these alternative educational institutions in the state.

The decision follows Kentucky voters’ rejection of a constitutional amendment in the 2024 election that would have explicitly allowed lawmakers to allocate public funds to private and charter schools. This double defeat—both at the ballot box and in the courts—highlights the significant obstacles charter schools face in Kentucky’s educational landscape.

Charter schools have technically been legal in Kentucky since 2017, when the legislature passed a law authorizing their creation. However, none have opened because until the 2022 law, there was no funding mechanism in place. With the Supreme Court’s ruling, the financial pathway for these schools remains blocked.

The court emphasized that its decision wasn’t a judgment on charter schools’ potential effectiveness. Justice Keller explicitly noted that the ruling makes “no predictions about the potential success of charter schools or their ability to improve the education of the Commonwealth’s children,” leaving policy evaluations to the legislature.

Instead, the ruling centered on constitutional interpretation. Keller pointed to Kentucky’s century-long tradition of treating education as “a constitutional mandate,” one that has been “challenged again and again.” The justice concluded that this mandate dictates that “state education funds are for common schools and for nothing else.”

The debate over charter schools in Kentucky reflects a broader national discussion about school choice and education funding. Supporters argue that charter schools provide important educational alternatives and increase competition, potentially improving outcomes for all students. They contend that parents should have more options to find the best educational environment for their children.

Opponents, however, maintain that charter schools divert crucial resources from traditional public schools that serve the majority of students. They also express concerns that charter schools might selectively admit students, potentially leaving public schools with higher concentrations of students who have greater educational needs or are more expensive to educate.

The ruling preserves Kentucky’s current educational funding structure, which focuses resources exclusively on its public school system. Kentucky ranks 36th nationally in per-pupil spending according to recent data from the National Education Association, making questions about resource allocation particularly significant.

For now, charter school advocates in Kentucky will need to pursue alternative strategies if they hope to establish these schools in the state—potentially including a more successful constitutional amendment in the future or developing funding models that don’t rely on public education dollars.

The decision reaffirms Kentucky’s constitutional commitment to its public education system while highlighting the ongoing tension between traditional public education and school choice initiatives in American education policy.