Kentucky Supreme Court rules GOP-backed charter schools bill unconstitutional

Austin Horn and Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader on Feb 19, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Republican-backed bill establishing a statewide public charter school system was unconstitutional.

In a unanimous opinion authored by Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller, the state’s high court struck down 2022’s House Bill 9, which would have allowed approved groups to create and oversee charter schools funded with public education dollars.

Keller wrote that the language of the Kentucky Constitution with regard to the “common schools” system is clear on this front. She cited Section 184 of the document, which set up the public schools system.

“The interest and dividends of said fund... shall be appropriated to the common schools, and to no other purpose. No sum shall be raised or collected for education other than in common schools until the question of taxation is submitted to the legal voters, and the majority of the votes cast at said election shall be in favor of such taxation,” the section reads.

Keller’s opinion echoed a lower court ruling from Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd.

“Charter schools are not ‘common schools’ as contemplated under Sections 183, 184, and 186 of the Kentucky Constitution,” Keller wrote.

Charter schools — schools that are publicly funded but operated by independent groups with fewer regulations than most public schools — are technically legal in Kentucky, but HB 9 would have created a mechanism for funding them with public dollars.

The bill legalizing charter schools, but not building in a mechanism to fund them, was passed in 2017 as a priority bill under then-Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican. Since defeating Bevin in 2019, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has been a staunch opponent of funding charter schools.

Keller wrote that the court’s opinion does not amount to an evaluation of the policy arguments for charter schools, but rather the plain language of the constitution.

“We cannot sell the people of Kentucky a mule and call it a horse, even if we believe the public needs a mule,” she wrote.

The law labeled charter schools as part of the state’s public education system but exempted them from many statutes and regulations governing traditional local school districts. Keller wrote that the “public” label on those schools was something of a misnomer.

“Our precedent... requires the system to be ‘unitary and uniform’ and not duplicative. It does not allow for a parallel system which is not within the common school system. A system that calls itself ‘public’ must be accountable to the public. Simply putting the label ‘public’ on something does not make it such,” Keller wrote.

Responses to Supreme Court opinion

Gus LaFontaine, cofounder of LaFontaine Preparatory School in Richmond, previously unsuccessfully filed an application to open a charter school in Kentucky.

“We’re disappointed that Kentucky children cannot participate in an educational opportunity that is already operating in 46 states. We will continue to offer opportunities to the many families who seek out the educational options that best fit their needs,” LaFontaine told the Herald-Leader Thursday.

Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence President and CEO Brigitte Blom said the Kentucky Supreme Court decision was the correct one. “Today, the Kentucky Supreme Court rightly struck down House Bill 9, upholding the Kentucky’s forward-thinking constitution that rightly protects from the dismantling of public education as an essential public good,” Blom said.

“The promise of Kentucky’s Constitution is clear: to serve every child through a system of local decision-making,” she continued. “Further, funds dedicated to the state’s common school system cannot be diverted elsewhere without voter approval. The court’s unanimous decision, grounded in Rose v. Council for Better Education, protects the integrity of Kentucky’s public education system and ensures accountability to the taxpayers who fund it.”

“Kentuckians’ undeniable and steadfast focus must remain on improving outcomes in our public schools that serve every child — and every family — in every community across the commonwealth.”

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