Vote Yes on Amendment 2

In 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court suggested that a constitutional amendment be put before the people of Kentucky, allowing them to vote on changes to the Kentucky State Constitution’s provisions on education funding and school choice, originally written in the 1800s. This will authorize funding educational venues outside of and in addition to the traditional public school system. The Amendment bill was passed in the 2024 General Assembly, and the question will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024.

Amendment 2 will empower parents to choose the educational path that best serves their children.

In the other 48 states where parents have the freedom to choose educational opportunities, public schools remain unharmed. This approach has proven to enhance competition while allowing students to find the schools that best fit their needs. More importantly, the Amendment prioritizes students’ well-being, regardless of their economic status, and ensures that schools are there to serve the students, not the other way around. These programs help cover the cost of non-public school educational opportunities for eligible families and sometimes cover educational expenses beyond classroom education, including special needs therapies, textbooks, and technology.

 

An update to Kentucky’s Constitution will allow for more educational opportunities for parents, students, and teachers. This will keep Kentucky’s public-school funding and structure protected. While helping to focus on what the best education looks like for each child. 

 

Why Support Amendment Two?

  • The Amendment positions Kentucky to compete more effectively with neighboring states, which have already implemented educational choices, by attracting businesses and providing in-state jobs for their youth.
          • More importantly, the Amendment places the students’ well-being at the forefront, regardless of their economic status, and relegates schools to serving students, not vice versa.
          • The Amendment can be the catalyst needed to transform education in Kentucky as it has in other states where academic achievement has increased for both public and non-public schools. This is a beacon of hope for our entire education system. It should be embraced, not feared.
          • Teacher Pay and Satisfaction—In all surrounding states that have school choice, teacher pay has increased because of the competition for services. Equally as important, teaching satisfaction increases when students want to be in the school of their choice.

How does Kentucky Compare?

REGIONAL+SNAPSHOT+-+EdChoiceKentucky and one other state (North Dakota) in the United States are the only states that do not have educational opportunities and programs in place. Refer to the School Choice Regional Snapshot image, courtesy of EdChoice.

Click here to see a school choice snapshot 

To better understand why an Amendment is required, please allow us to frame the issue. Kentucky
has lagged behind surrounding states in educating our children for many years. The lack of education alternatives has not only been a disservice to our children; it has been detrimental to Kentucky’s ability to attract and retain professionals and businesses, resulting in many of our children leaving the state for better opportunities. Further, Kentucky’s education outcome reputation reinforces why companies look elsewhere when considering a location for expanding their businesses.

More than 25 years ago, other states realized the possibility of improving education by providing parents with school choices that best fit their child’s needs. In so doing, they also improved public education through competition for excellence. Florida is an excellent example: The choice program now serves more than 300,000 students, and at the same time, the public system has improved its academic outcomes. Everyone wins!

In 2021, Kentucky passed a privately funded ESA-styled School Choice Act, ruled unconstitutional just a year later by a seemingly biased Kentucky Supreme Court heavily influenced by the public school establishment and related associations. Similarly, the Franklin Circuit Court ruled that the Charter School funding bill passed in 2022 was also ruled unconstitutional, and this ruling is now under appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court. In addition to the activist judiciary, the constitution’s restrictive language, written in the late 1800s, is why a constitutional amendment is needed to ensure our Legislators can pass common-sense educational choice alternatives so that parents have the ultimate choice in educating their children.

Opposition and Reality

OPPOSITION – “The amendment takes money away from public schools.”
REALITY – This criticism is generally so vague that it is difficult to understand how it takes money from public schools. The constitution remains unchanged concerning the mandate for the state to fund public schools adequately. The amendment allows, not requires, for funding “in addition to,
not instead of” funding for public schools.
OPPOSITION – “Public dollars are only for public schools.”
REALITY- Public funds go to private hospitals, grocery stores, housing buildings, childcare centers, and universities across the Commonwealth. These funds include Pell Grants, KEES money, Tuition Equalization Grants, pre-K programs, the GI Bill, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Section 8, and Social Security. These aren’t public funds either; they come from the taxpayers’ wallets.
OPPOSITION – “The amendment does not require accountability of any new programs.”
REALITY – Ultimately, accountability is to the parents for academic achievement; parents will choose a different school if poor academic performance persists. The constitution “as is” also does not require accountability; accountability is an administrative issue, not a constitutional issue. Therefore, the amendment does not change the existing accountability structure.
OPPOSITION – “The amendment will take children out of public schools.”
REALITY – If a child leaves a public school, it is likely not meeting the parent/student needs. Second, if a student’s needs are being met, there would be no need to change. Nationally, about 87% of students remain in public schools. Public schools will continue to play a significant role in our society.
OPPOSITION –  “An amendment opens the door for school programs that do not address all the special needs of children.”
REALITY- The amendment allows the legislature to create a program that gives parents the most flexibility to choose a school that best meets their child’s needs.
OPPOSITION – “We do not need a constitutional amendment.”
REALITY- In a December 2022 court decision on a school choice program, the Kentucky Supreme Court strongly suggested putting a constitutional amendment before the people of Kentucky to settle the issue. This particular section of the constitution has not been changed in 133 years, when education was being delivered in a one-room schoolhouse. Parents need and deserve choice.

Get Involved

Are you passionate about educational choice? Do you want to help support a ballot measure to amend the Kentucky State Constitution and provide financial support for students in addition to public school?

Join our grassroot efforts to do everything we can to get Amendment 2 passed!

 

This November Vote YES on Amendment 2