Speaking the Truth About Amendment 2
by Christopher Parr
For the second time in three years, millions of dollars from outside Kentucky have been spent to confuse voters with misinformation about a ballot measure. This time, it’s Amendment 2 on school choice. As you decide how to vote, remember what Amendment 2 does. It allows Kentucky legislators to explore how the commonwealth can join the 48 other states which allow some form of school choice.
Amendment 2 is a trigger law, not a policy proposal. It would simply empower legislators to consider options like Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs), tax credits, vouchers, or charter school funding. It’s necessary because the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a popular, common-sense proposal for Education Opportunity Accounts in 2022.
That’s what makes the campaign against Amendment 2—largely funded by Protect Our Schools Kentucky—so disappointing. This group claims that voting yes would write a blank check to private schools, that it’s a voucher measure, and that it will destroy public schools.
Teachers are charged with telling the truth, but Protect Our Schools Kentucky misleads and misinforms, which isn’t representative of the teaching profession.
Misinformation has also been spread by media outlets like the Louisville Courier-Journal, which published a multi-article hit piece about a Christian school in Louisville, Highlands Latin School. Students at that private school and many others, like the one from which I graduated, could benefit from the amendment.
That so-called journalism stokes fear, not truth.
Protect Our Schools Kentucky and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy have claimed that Amendment 2 would weaken public schools. There are two responses to this statement. First, the success of any school system must be measured by the success of the students themselves above any other priority. Amendment 2 would lay the groundwork for allowing tax dollars to follow students to the school that best serves them.
Second, good public schools would not suffer from Amendment 2. The final decision, if the state legislature so acts, for where money goes would be made by the parents who choose schools for their children. If parents love the great education provided by their local public school, they will not be forced to leave.
This will be the case for many Kentucky families, especially in rural districts.
However, we also have to acknowledge that some Kentucky school districts are not excellent, with abysmal test scores and learning environments. Several of them have actively promoted gender ideology and DEI policies in their classrooms and library books.
Parents with children stuck in these schools need better options that they can afford, and that’s what school choice can provide. The American economy is build on free-market competition with the assumption that alternatives encourage excellence. As John Garen—a speaker at CPC’s recent Towards a Better Bluegrass conference—has demonstrated through a study, states with school choice have higher test scores.
There’s one more reason to vote yes on Amendment 2. If you’re still on the fence, ask yourself this question: which states do I want Kentucky to be like in the coming decades? You’ve probably heard that many residents of blue states are moving to Arizona, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee to avoid burdensome regulations which hurt businesses and families. All of these booming conservative hubs have school choice, and new initiatives have transformed the lives of many families (just look up one thriving public charter school network in these states: Great Hearts Academies). For Kentucky to empower parents to choose the best educational option for their kids and to take the next step towards joining thriving conservative states in our region, vote yes on Amendment 2 next Tuesday. |
