What is School Choice and why doesn't Kentucky have it?
The Bluegrass Institute is celebrating National School Choice Week with a variety of posts and information here on our blog and on Facebook and Twitter. We are committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to choose the best school for them.
This year’s National School Choice Week was different from past years. We didn’t have a rally with speakers, lawmakers, and lots of kids standing outside in yellow scarves, thanks to COVID restrictions. We also didn’t have a proclamation from the Governor this year commemorating School Choice Week in Kentucky, since Andy Beshear doesn’t support school choice for kids other than his own.
A positive difference this year, though, are the scores of parents who now realize the importance of having choices in their children’s education. Many have also, unfortunately, learned how tiny their voice is with school leaders and elected officials. Given that thousands of Kentucky’s public school students haven’t seen the inside of a public classroom since March of last year, the importance of school choice has officially hit home. Parents have been trying without success to get an answer from their principals, superintendents, and school boards as to when their kids can go back to school. They’ve not gotten straight answers in many cases, and oftentimes they have gotten a different answer every time they’ve asked: “When the positive cases are below 3%” “When the positive cases are below 5%” “We’ll follow the CDC guidelines” “Regardless of CDC guidelines, we’re now waiting until all our teachers get vaccinated” “We’re hoping to get them back in school,” and even “When all the students get vaccinated.” I must point out the vaccine is not yet approved for kids younger than 16.
Meanwhile, there is literally nowhere else for students to go in Kentucky. There’s no statewide virtual charter school, no ability to transfer to the district in the next county over (unless the leaders from both school districts agree in writing, and even if they did, the family would most likely to be charged tuition - for the public school), and no scholarship available to transfer to a private school if the family can’t afford it. This is almost unbelievable.
Kentucky is one of only four states with no school choice! I came to that sad realization while doing research for the Parent Power Index, which provides analysis on every state’s education reform laws and the political environment to pass them. I came to realize that Kentucky is unique in that we are the only state with a charter school law but no charter schools, thanks to the omission of a mechanism for funding in the bill. All the other 45 states with a charter bill have made sure these public schools are funded. We also don’t have scholarship tax credits, ESAs, mandatory open enrollment, or any of the other choices that can - and should - be provided through legislation. Some families in the state are teaching their children in learning pods, but the teachers unions have threatened to start trying to have them regulated like traditional schools, which would take away the one tiny option most families have.
This past week, we have shared info on social media about several of the different types of school choice, and I’ve compiled it all here, below. There are essentially two main categories of school choice: public and private. Public school choice means parents have choices in what public school their child attends, including charter schools and open enrollment. Private school choice means parents - regardless of income - have private school options for their children, including scholarship tax credits, vouchers, and education savings accounts.
No state needs options like these for families more than Kentucky.
