The Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments in a high-stakes dispute over House Bill 9, a 2022 law enacted by the GOP-led legislature that would use taxpayer dollars to fund charter schools on a pilot basis. A lower court struck down the measure, setting up a potentially decisive ruling that could determine whether charter schools finally open in the Bluegrass State.
House Bill 9 was passed over Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto and would establish publicly funded charter schools in Louisville and parts of northern Kentucky. Supporters argue the law would expand options for families and help close achievement gaps; opponents contend it would divert funds from existing public schools and place autonomous entities outside local democratic control.
The hearing in Danville focused on whether charter schools created under HB9 meet constitutional tests that have long defined Kentucky public education. Solicitor General Matt Kuhn, arguing for the state, said charter schools under the law would be subject to numerous public-school requirements, including student attendance standards, hiring certified teachers, adherence to state performance standards and compliance with open records and open meetings laws.
"I think that House Bill 9 fits neatly in our tradition" of public schools, Kuhn told the justices. He said local school boards would normally serve as the authorizing entity for charters in their districts, providing significant local oversight and accountability.
Attorneys for education groups opposing the measure countered that charter schools would be operated by independent boards and would be autonomous in key areas. Byron Leet, one of the attorneys presenting the opposition, told the court that charters would be independent in "matters of finance, personnel, curriculum and instruction — four very significant areas for any school." He argued that decades of precedent require public schools to be controlled by elected officials within a school district.
Justices pressed both sides with questions about oversight, accountability and the practical effects of the law. Some justices probed how much local control would remain if charter schools were run by non-elected boards, while others asked about enforcement of state standards and the degree to which parents’ choice would shape accountability.
Hanging over the case was a November 2024 ballot question in which Kentucky voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to spend tax dollars on educational opportunities outside the public-school system. Justice Pamela R. Goodwine asked whether that voter rejection should influence the court’s decision. Attorneys defending HB9 said the amendment’s defeat did not apply because charter schools would, in their view, remain within the public school system.
Charter schools have been legal in Kentucky since 2017, but none have opened because lawmakers and state officials had not established a method to fund them. HB9 was intended to close that gap by creating a funding mechanism and a pilot program for specific regions.
Gov. Beshear reiterated his opposition after the hearing, saying the best way to improve student performance is through increased state education funding and granting regulatory flexibility to existing public schools rather than diverting students to a separate system. "The answer can't be to divert just some small group of students to some different system," Beshear said, adding that improvements must lift all students.
Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman, whose office is defending the law, said parents in Kentucky deserve the same options available in other states with charter schools. "Kentucky’s kids deserve every chance to succeed, and we’re proud to stand alongside our partners in the General Assembly to fight for that opportunity," Coleman said in a statement.
The Kentucky Supreme Court did not indicate when it will issue a ruling. A decision could have immediate effects on how school districts plan for enrollment and budgets, and it could determine whether charter schools — which supporters say have improved outcomes in some urban districts elsewhere — will be able to operate in a state where they remain authorized but unlaunched.
The case centers on constitutional and practical questions about control, accountability and the definition of public education under Kentucky law. Lower courts have already reviewed HB9, and the Supreme Court’s ruling will resolve whether the law’s approach to authorizing and funding charter schools aligns with the state constitution and long-standing legal standards for public schools.