A “school choice” amendment bill — a top priority for Republican lawmakers in the 2024 General Assembly — cleared the Kentucky House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon following more than two hours of contentious floor debate.
In a 65-32 vote, legislators passed House Bill 2, which would give voters the choice of amending the state constitution to allow taxpayer dollars to go to non-public schools, such as charter and private schools, sponsored by Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles (R-Owensboro).
All 20 Democrats in the House voted against the bill, as did 12 Republicans, primarily from rural communities.
Democrats accused GOP leadership of stifling the discussion by refusing to allow them to mention the potential education ramifications of the very amendment they were discussing.
Miles and Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect) repeatedly admonished Democrats who spoke against the bill that their questions and comments — about charter school performance and costs of voucher programs in other states, for example — were not pertinent to the bill at hand.
Read the rest at the Herald-Leader.
