Kentucky's Amendment 2: A Deep Dive into the Education Funding Debate

Amendment 2, a proposed constitutional amendment on the Kentucky ballot, has ignited a passionate debate about the future of education funding in the state. While framed as a school choice measure, it essentially asks Kentucky voters to grant the legislature broad new authority to allocate public funds to schools "outside the system of common (public) schools." This article delves into the complexities of Amendment 2, exploring its potential impacts, the arguments for and against it, and the broader context of school choice in Kentucky.

Understanding Amendment 2: The Basics

Currently, Kentucky's constitution prohibits the use of public tax dollars to fund private schools and other nonpublic education providers, as demonstrated by recent court decisions striking down legislation that attempted to do so. Amendment 2 seeks to change this by amending the Kentucky Constitution to give the state legislature broad new authority to send public funds to schools “outside the system of common (public) schools.” As written, Amendment 2 seeks to create exceptions/loopholes for seven different sections of the Kentucky Constitution and allow public dollars to fund private schools and other private education providers.

How will Amendment 2 appear on the ballot?

Voters will decide whether to amend Kentucky’s constitution to give the state legislature broad new authority to send public funds to schools “outside the system of common (public) schools.” Voters will answer “Yes” or “No” to providing “financial support” to pay for kids in K-12 schooling to be educated outside of the public school system.

The School Choice Landscape: What's at Stake?

School choice allows families to decide where their children will attend school, often opting for alternatives to their designated public school. These alternatives can include:

Charter Schools: Publicly funded but independently run schools, often exempt from many state regulations.
Private Schools: Schools that charge tuition and are not publicly funded.
Homeschooling: Education provided by parents or tutors at home.
Magnet Schools: Public schools with specialized programs designed to attract students from across district lines.
Public Schools in Different Districts: Utilizing open enrollment policies to attend a public school outside of the student's residential district.

Proponents of school choice argue that it empowers parents to choose the best educational environment for their children, fostering competition and innovation within the education system. Opponents, however, worry that it could drain resources from public schools, leaving those who remain behind with fewer opportunities.

The Constitutional Question: A History of Legal Challenges

The debate over Amendment 2 is rooted in Kentucky's constitutional history. The state's constitution currently mandates that public dollars be spent on public schools. In 2022 and 2023, the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down the Education Opportunity Account (EOA) portion as unconstitutional based on Constitutional provisions that public dollars must be spent on public schools and the fact that it was considered “special legislation,” or legislation enacted only for one part of the state.

Amendment 2 seeks to create exceptions/loopholes for seven different sections of the Kentucky Constitution. One key section, Section 183, mandates the General Assembly to fund an efficient system of common schools throughout the state. Another, Section 59, prevents the General Assembly from enacting legislation pertaining to a particular “individual object, or location,” preventing special favoritism or harm to particular localities or interests.

Arguments in Favor of Amendment 2: Expanding Educational Opportunities

Advocates for Amendment 2 argue that it will provide families the freedom to choose an educational environment that best suits their child’s individual needs and interests. They believe that the current system, where the government assigns students to their schools based on where they live, limits options and can be unfair to families who cannot afford private education.

Empowering Parents: The Kentucky Students First “Yes on 2” Initiative supports the amendment, advocating for parents to have the right to choose the best educational path for their children and reinforcing the belief that every child deserves access to an education that meets their unique needs.
Legislative Flexibility: The Bluegrass Institute of Public Policy asserts that passing Amendment 2 will empower legislators to implement education policies that reflect the desires of their constituents.
Removing "Handcuffs": Proponents argue that this reform would remove the 130-year-old “handcuffs” binding legislators today and prevent them from funding alternative schools or school choice.
Competition and Innovation: By allowing public funds to support various educational options, Amendment 2 could foster competition among schools, leading to innovation and improved outcomes for students.
Addressing Individual Needs: School choice advocates say families use school choice policies to attend schools that are a better fit, reflect their religious convictions, are safer, or have better academics. Kentucky should ensure that families have a diverse array of choices for how to use state funding for their child’s education, even if that is to send them to a religious school.
Positive Outcomes: Private school choice programs offer an array of benefits, such as access to safer schools, better academics, or increased graduation rates. As of 2023, 84% of the 187 studies on private school choice programs showed positive effects, 10% showed null effects, and only 6% showed negative effects. Moreover, a 2021 analysis of Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program traced the program’s effects on students for 15 years. Most notably, the report found that the private school choice program benefitted public school students’ behavior and academics. While all students benefitted, low-income students showed the most improvement.

Concerns and Opposition: Protecting Public Education

Opponents of Amendment 2 express serious concerns about its potential to undermine public school funding. They fear that diverting public funds to private schools could weaken the public education system, particularly in rural areas that depend heavily on state funding.

Diversion of Funds: Protect Our Schools KY, a coalition of public education advocates and partner organizations, shares concerns about diverting public funds and that vouchers do little to expand access for low-income families.
Impact on Rural Schools: They underline the harmful impact vouchers would have on rural public schools, which depend heavily on state funding.
Financial Costs: The KY Center for Economic Policy reinforces these concerns in a report estimating that a voucher program similar to Florida’s could cost Kentucky $1.19 billion annually-the equivalent of employing nearly 10,000 public school staff.
Benefiting the Affluent: The report also confirms that the bulk of voucher funds would benefit families already using private schools, whose incomes are 54% higher than those of public school families.
Lack of Accountability: Opponents argue that Amendment 2 would let policymakers divert funds from public schools, investing in private schools that are unaccountable to taxpayers.
Undermining Public Education: Critics argue that, ultimately, the amendment would undermine K-12 public education, the backbone of Kentucky’s communities.
Cherry-Picking Students: Traditional school advocates also say new private schools won’t be held to the same financial and academic accountability standards as public schools, and they will be able to cherry-pick the students they enroll.

The Fiscal Impact: A Point of Contention

The potential financial impact of Amendment 2 is a major point of contention.

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Cost Estimates: The KY Center for Economic Policy estimates that a voucher program similar to Florida’s could cost Kentucky $1.19 billion annually.
Proponents' Argument: Proponents say that those attempting to estimate a cost for the amendment are getting ahead of themselves. Because the amendment does not include any enacting legislation, some Republican lawmakers and advocates say it doesn’t make sense to try and attach a cost.
Uncertainty: Jason Bailey, the executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, notes that the amendment is very broadly written, and it has no guardrails for how much money can be spent or who could benefit from whatever results.

Impact on School Districts: A Divided Perspective

School districts across Kentucky have taken varying stances on Amendment 2, reflecting the diverse perspectives on its potential impact.

Concerns from Superintendents: Rob Clayton, superintendent of Warren County Public Schools, says Amendment 2’s passage would further strain the state’s educational funding after over a decade of lackluster support and that the movement behind the proposal appears to be “an attempt by some to privatize public school education.”
Rural vs. Urban: There is some disagreement on the effect Amendment 2 could have on rural families. Some proponents say that the amendment is aimed largely at the state’s urban school districts and simply won’t affect rural school districts. But a number of superintendents in rural districts disagree, fearing large-scale school choice programs would suck money from their budgets and deposit it in urban areas that abound with private school options.

Examining School Choice Models: Vouchers, ESAs, and Charter Schools

Amendment 2 could pave the way for various school choice models in Kentucky, including:

Vouchers: The state essentially agrees to pay some set amount of money for a student’s private school tuition.
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs): The government sets up a state-funded savings account for parents that they can withdraw from for any number of educational purposes.
Tax Credit Scholarships: Individuals and corporations contribute to scholarship funds in exchange for tax credits, which families can then use to pay for educational expenses like private school tuition.
Charter Schools: Tuition-free schools that are publicly funded but independently run.

Each of these models has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and their potential impact on Kentucky's education system is a subject of ongoing debate.

A Look at Other States: Lessons Learned

Experiences in other states that have implemented school choice programs offer valuable insights for Kentucky.

Florida: Spends $4 billion on private school vouchers. A 2021 analysis of Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program traced the program’s effects on students for 15 years. Most notably, the report found that the private school choice program benefitted public school students’ behavior and academics. While all students benefitted, low-income students showed the most improvement.
Arizona: An early adopter of ESAs, which started out restricted to students with disabilities before being expanded in 2022 to all students. The nonpartisan Grand Canyon Institute said the new program was largely to blame for the state’s ensuing $1.4 billion budget shortfall.
Ohio: Is sending $1.1 billion to their voucher programs.
CREDO Study: The Center for Research on Education Outcomes, or CREDO, found in their latest study that charter school students show greater academic gains than their peers at “traditional public schools,” gaining, on average, the equivalent of 16 days of learning in reading and six days in math.

The Role of Charter Schools: A Hybrid Approach

Charter schools, a hybrid between public and private options, are publicly funded but independently run. Unlike most of the other types listed above, charter schools are commonly found in both Democrat and Republican-controlled states. Charter schools can be run by nonprofit or for-profit organizations, although some states limit them to only nonprofit management organizations.

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Campaign Finance: Who's Supporting Amendment 2?

Kentucky Students First was the campaign registered to support the initiative. The Protect Freedom political action committee, largely funded by billionaire businessman Jeff Yass, has run several television ads advocating for the amendment.

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