Even though a Kentucky charter school law is now on the books, we continue to hear vehement attacks from opponents like Kentucky Representative Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort. The State Journal reported on April 4, 2017 in “Kentucky lawmakers say negative impacts of session will be felt across the state” that Graham agreed another legislator’s assertion that…
Last week the media in Louisville trumpeted the announcement that Kentucky Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt had declared the Valley High School in the Jefferson County Public School District was no longer in Priority School Status (see WDRB’s coverage here). That sounded interesting, so I decided to take a quick look at the latest performance…
The final version of Senate Bill 1 from the 2017 Kentucky Regular Legislative Session (SB-1/2017) is now awaiting the governor’s signature, and a very interesting statement from the original version of the act remains in the final. On Page 99 of the Engrossed Version of the act (which goes to the governor), it says: “Section…
Former Kentucky National Guard Commander Major General Allen Youngman (Retired) just posted a disturbing letter in the Bowling Green Daily News, claiming the serious under-education of our nation’s students poses a real problem for the nation’s continued security. Youngman cites some disturbing statistics to back up his concerns, claiming: “An astounding 73 percent of young…
When the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics (CCSS) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) came to the Bluegrass State, Kentuckians were told their state’s education system would be built around those standards. Well, perhaps not. There was a presentation about the pending revision to the state’s science assessments during…
Some defenders of the education status quo contend that the existence of the Kentucky Education Reform Act renders charter schools useless in the Bluegrass State. But staff education analyst Richard Innes challenges the claim, taking issue with KERA architect David Hornbeck’s recent assertions that “Kentucky children have made more progress than any other state in…
The Bluegrass Institute has led the fight to empower Kentucky’s parents to have the option of choosing to enroll their children in public charter schools since the day it opened its doors in 2003. Tonight, the General Assembly completed passage of House Bill 520 allowing the creation of charter schools across the commonwealth beginning in…
The Kentucky Senate has voted 23 to 15 in favor of House Bill 520, with amendments, which will allow Kentuckians to create charter schools. The bill now returns to the House for a concurrence vote.
The Bevin administration and House Republican leadership – despite hard pushes for other platform priorities such as right-to-work and prevailing-wage repeal – may settle for a mediocre charter-school bill. This is a testament to the stronghold the public-education complex has on our commonwealth and to its willingness to put money and control before students’ best…
Claim especially misleading for state’s black students Truth supports need for charter schools in Kentucky As arguments swirled the past few months over charter schools, Kentuckians have been hearing claims that their state already leads the nation for the most educational improvement since passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). As a…