What is Amendment 2?
On November 5, 2024, Kentuckians will have an opportunity to vote Yes on Amendment 2 , Kentucky’s Education Opportunities Constitutional Amendment, to allow for more educational opportunities for families, kindergarten-12th grade students and teachers. It puts students first, empowers parents and increases teacher pay. It will protect Kentucky’s public school funding and structure.
Please review and share the following Facts on Amendment 2, FAQs and additional resources with your family, neighbors and church.
Enable the General Assembly to provide increased resources for additional education opportunities in local communities.
Encourage healthy competition in education, improving quality and outcomes for students in public, private and homeschool.
Create an opportunity for the legislature to consider school choice policies that will work best for Kentucky families.
Empower more families to seek education opportunities that more closely align with their own values and beliefs.
Recognize the shortfalls of a one-size-fits-all approach to education by encouraging innovation and choice for the good of students.
Eliminate the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to adequately fund public schools or take money away from individual counties or rural schools.
Close any public schools in the Commonwealth or decrease teacher pay.
Require the state to adopt a certain type of school choice program.
Increase government control or regulation over homeschool or private school instruction.
Require parents or private schools to accept school choice resources.
Who Else Has School Choice?
46 states in the U.S., including every state surrounding Kentucky, have educational opportunities and programs as depicted in the following School Choice Regional Snapshot courtesy of EdChoice.
Why is this Important to Christian Academy Families?
It’s Not Just Important to Families!
In addition to helping Parents to be empowered to have influence and choice over the curriculum being taught to their children and Students being allowed the opportunity to attend a school that best fits their needs, Amendment 2 also aids –
Academic alternatives to underperforming schools.
Economical cost of education in a non-public school at approximately 50% of the public school cost.
Competition that is improved with educational alternatives, like all aspects of society.
Protection for public schools because it does not change the constitutional provisions for providing funding for a public school system alternative.
And, it’s just Good for Kentucky because it puts Kentucky on par with all its surrounding states that offer school choice to parents and students.
In More Detail – FAQs
What are the Goals of Additional Programs that Might be Enacted?
To improve educational outcomes by allowing parents more schooling options for their children; finding the best school environment for the child and enabling low-income parents to have options.
Do School Choice Programs Spend Like Traditional Public Schools?
First, the Kentucky Constitution remains unchanged concerning the commitment to public schools. Second, if parents send their child to an alternative school, only a portion of the funding “follows” the child to the new school.
Are School Choice Programs a “Giveaway” to Private Schools? Could They Allow “Using Public Money for a Private School?”
School choice program funds for private tuition are in exchange for an effective education. The provision of a good education is the main point of government/taxpayer funding of education. It is what “public money” is intended for.
What Types of Programs Have Other States Enacted?
33 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have programs that allow some school funds to “follow” the child to the school of their family’s choice. These include tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts and vouchers.
46 states plus the District of Columbia have charter schools, which are schools that are granted “charters” to serve students with innovative and flexible approaches.
Don’t Kentucky’s Public Schools Just Need an Increase in Funding?
In 2023, funding (the total of local, state and federal funds) for Kentucky’s public schools was $20,136 per pupil. After adjusting for inflation, total funding for K-12 in 1990 was about $8,000 per pupil; it is now over double its 1990 value and increased nearly every year except just following the Great Recession.
Will Charter Schools and Private Schools Adequately Serve Disabled Students?
Charter schools and private schools are geared to serve varying populations of disabled and non-disabled students and some specialize in disabled students. Most school choice programs have funding specifically for disabled students. Thus, parents will have more options available.
With Expanded School Choice, Will this Generate Funds for Private Schools that Engage in Racial Discrimination or Segregation?
Federal and state laws already prohibit discrimination. Moreover, recent evidence indicates that school choice improves racial integration.
Is it True that Low Educational Outcomes of Poor Children Can Only be Solved by Dealing with the Underlying Socioeconomic Conditions they Face and Parenting Shortcomings they Cause?
There is no doubt that the socioeconomic environment and parental influences affect children’s educational performance. Nevertheless, many charter schools (and private schools) have figured out how to successfully engage with students and parents from such environments. Also, many parents in these unfavorable socioeconomic conditions apparently recognize the value of the better education charters provide; charters school waiting lists are very long in many low-income areas.
Are School Choice and Charter Schools Viable Options in Rural Areas?
Rural areas present special concerns for school choice and charter programs, with the low population to draw from and transportation issues. However, many rural areas already have private schools. The Brookings Institution found that 69% of rural families in the U.S. live within 10 miles of a private school. Many rural schools are small and can be sustained by a small population.
Moreover, when school choice and charter schools are allowed in Kentucky, funds will become available to support more schooling options in both rural and urban areas.
What will You See on the Ballot?
To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky?
Amendment 2 proposes that a new section be added to the constitution of Kentucky to read as follows:
The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools. The General Assembly may exercise this authority by law, Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186, and 189 of this Constitution notwithstanding.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6