Bluegrass Institute President and CEO Jim Waters offered the following statement on today’s passage in the Kentucky Senate of House Bill 9, which provides funding for public charter schools approved by lawmakers in 2017:

By approving a viable method of funding for public charter schools, state senators who cast a courageous and informed vote today for House Bill 9 prioritized the needs of students over special interests and their campaign of misinformation and dishonesty.

Public charter schools are giving millions of American children – especially those at risk of falling through the cracks of our traditional educational system – the opportunity for an education that meets their needs and offer them a brighter future. Kentucky’s at-risk children deserve the same opportunity.

Thank you to each and every senator who took a stand for Kentucky's neediest children!

For more information, please contact Heather Huddleston, director of education policy for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, at hhuddleston@freedomkentucky.com.