Jefferson County Public Schools joins lawsuit to halt charter school funding bill

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Two Kentucky school districts have joined a lawsuit filed by the Council for Better Education in an effort to declare a house bill funding charter schools unconstitutional.

Jefferson County Public Schools and the Dayton Independent Board of Education are suing the Kentucky Board of Education, stating House Bill 9 siphons resources from local school districts in an effort to fund charter schools.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is also served in the lawsuit as his office would defend the state.

House Bill 9 was enacted by the General Assembly in April 2022, amending previous charter school statutes in the commonwealth and would require establishment of two charter schools to study their impact. According to the lawsuit, these schools would be created in Jefferson County and in Northern Kentucky.

The two districts that filed the lawsuit claim the charter schools would lead to a “non-uniform system of education with insufficient oversight,” violating sections of the Kentucky Constitution that require uniformity within school systems.

The lawsuit also claims a section of the Kentucky Constitution on funding provisions is violated with House Bill 9, claiming the bill was not brought in front of taxpayers before it was signed to law.

In addition, the bill would require charter schools to be created and funded with local revenue even if it goes against the will of local authorities, which the two districts claim also goes against sections of the Kentucky Constitution.

The districts are seeking an injunction against House Bill 9 which would keep the commonwealth from enforcing in a manner that violated provisions within the Kentucky Constitution.