In a 26-page opinion published Thursday, the Supreme Court of Kentucky has unanimously concluded that state constitutional protections for the public school system remain binding and must be interpreted strictly.
As such, the state’s charter school law — passed in 2022, and allowing public funds to go toward such educational institutions — is in violation, and has been stricken accordingly.
According to the Court, education in Kentucky is “a constitutional obligation, not merely a policy preference,” and because of this, there is “an affirmative duty to maintain an efficient system of common schools.”
Relying on the landmark 1989 decision in Rose v. Council for Better Education, education is considered a fundamental constitutional right in Kentucky. Nearly 40 years ago, it invalidated the prior K-12 system for failing constitutional standards, and it defined school requirements such as adequacy, substantial uniformity and equal opportunity.
It also assigned responsibility for maintaining the system to the Kentucky General Assembly, and Thursday’s ruling emphasizes that public education funding is “constitutionally restricted” to supporting a “common school system meant to serve “all students.”
This released opinion also stresses that the constitution’s education provisions were designed to prevent fragmentation, inequality and political misuse of education funds. It also underscores the principle that policy goals—such as expanding parental choice—cannot override explicit constitutional limitations.
So, what has been reinforced with this missive?
+ Public education funding in Kentucky carries strict constitutional constraints.
+ Any reform must operate within the framework established by Rose and earlier precedents.
+ The legislature’s authority over education is substantial but not unlimited.
+ And the ruling signals the judiciary’s continuing role in safeguarding the constitutional right to an efficient and equitable public education system.
Families seeking alternative educational pathways may perceive the ruling as a contraction of publicly funded choice options, particularly those involving private or nontraditional institutions.
However, the decision does not prohibit private education itself; rather, it restricts the use of constitutionally designated public funds to subsidize such choices.
Families that rely on public schools now have litigated promises of renewed safeguards that the system must be maintained for the benefit of all children, not selectively optimized for those with mobility or supplemental resources.
Lawmakers in Frankfort, meanwhile, still retain broad authority over how the public system is structured and funded, but not over whether its resources may be repurposed for non-common-school uses.
Any future school choice or funding reforms will require careful constitutional engineering — potentially including alternative funding mechanisms that do not draw from protected public education streams.
Key quotes:
+ “Since 1891, Kentucky has treated education not as policy, but as a constitutional mandate, challenged again and again and requiring fidelity.”
+ Education is “enshrined…as a fundamental right.”
+ The Constitution prohibits any practice that “impairs the equal benefit of the common-school system to all students.”
+ State education funds are designated “for common schools and for nothing else.”
+ The landmark Rose decision “struck down the entire K-12 system” for failing the constitutional requirement of efficiency and adequacy.
+ The General Assembly “alone bears the ongoing responsibility for building and maintaining that system.”
+ The constitutional duty aims to ensure all students “stand upon one level,” regardless of geography or wealth.
+ Problems undermining the system historically include “waste, duplication, mismanagement, and political influence.”
+ The challenged legislation was characterized as a “modest, parent-choice tool,” but scrutinized for constitutional compliance.
RULING:
Related stories:
Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments in battle over public funding of charter schools
