The Kentucky Senate approved a
bill creating pilot charter school programs on a largely partisan vote
Friday, but House Democrats are already working on an alternative method
to bridge the student achievement gap this session.
Senate Bill 8, sponsored by GOP Sen. Mike
Wilson of Bowling Green, passed 23-12, with Sen. C.B. Embry,
R-Morgantown, breaking rank and voting against the legislation.
The bill, which cleared the Senate Education Committee
Thursday, would allow Fayette and Jefferson counties to establish up
to five charter schools, with no more than two schools launching per
year, on a five-year trial basis. The privately operated schools would
receive public funding but would be governed by local school boards and a
newly created Public Charter School Commission, and students who are on
free or reduced lunch, enrolled in a focus or failing school, or live
within five miles of a charter school would be eligible for the
tuition-free education.
Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington, said she was casting her “yes”
vote as the grandmother of a student in Fayette County and the
mother-in-law of a teacher in the district.
“As the senator from Warren (Wilson) has pointed out many times,
this is just another tool in the toolbox,” she said. “It is another item
on the menu to see and to have a pilot to experiment to see if we can
not do for our failing children.”
Democrats have bristled at the topic of charter schools in recent legislative sessions.
Senate Minority Floor Leader Ray Jones said similar programs in
other states offer mixed results, with some charter schools
outperforming public schools and vice versa. The answer, he said, is not
in directing funds away from public schools and toward charter schools,
but rather in developing another way to improve struggling school
districts.
Jones, D-Pikeville, called the creation of charter schools at the expense of public schools “irresponsible.”
“In this state more than 90 percent of the kids go to public
schools,” he said. “Most of us in this chamber have kids in public
schools, and to siphon those funds away from our existing school systems
would be financial irresponsible.
“… Without a clear source of funding that would not deprive our
public schools of much-needed money and without a clear system to
oversee these charter schools and ensure accountability and
transparency, I cannot support this legislation.”
SB 8 will likely receive the same tepid response in the House as similar charter school bills have in recent sessions.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said the bill “will be received and it likely won’t go move very far.”
Still, representatives are working on a compromise package to target underperforming school districts, he said.
Rep. Derrick Graham, chairman of the House Education Committee, “is
working on what is an alternative approach to allow districts some
flexibility,” Stumbo said. “We believe they already have that
flexibility, but to make it clear that they have that flexibility to do
alternative-type schools if they choose to and leave it at the district
level.”
Graham, D-Frankfort, told Pure Politics he’s working with groups like
the Kentucky Department of Education, teachers and school
administrators to come up with a way to improve student performance.
Some districts have already taken a lead in addressing downward
trends, he said, noting schools have shown marked improvement in
pre-kindergarten test scores after directing their resources on early
childhood education.
“That’s the key, I believe,” Graham said. “If we focus on early
childhood development and early childhood education, I think we can
eliminate some of the problems we are seeing when kids get beyond the
third grade.
“Many kids are entering their first year of school two and three
years behind where they need to be. … Our focus is also on trying to see
and to give incentives and ways in which districts can address the
achievement gaps and close the gap.”
Graham has had some discussions with senators on the topic, and
while there is “a level of disagreement,” he said he hopes the two sides
reach a resolution on bringing struggling students up to speed in
Kentucky’s classrooms.
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