Kentucky School Advocate
February 2020

Statement of support:  In 1989, Rose v. Council for Better Education, Kentucky’s Supreme Court declared that education was a fundamental right under the state constitution and that the General Assembly must provide for an “adequate, equal and substantially uniform educational system and may not rely on local tax dollars as a substitute for their obligation to properly fund education.” 

The KBE supports efforts to determine revenue options that provide adequate and equitable resources for improving educational opportunities and academic achievement.

Legislative priorities:

• Ratification of the executive order reorganizing the Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB) within the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).

• Funding full-day kindergarten. While most local school districts provide full-day programs, local boards of education must provide the additional funding for full-day programs.

• Additional funding for Local Area Vocational Education Centers for new centers and career pathway offerings within existing centers. The KBE also supports additional funding to address operational needs associated with the state-funded area technology centers.

• Improving the facility approval process, including streamlining local district’s compliance efforts to meet the requirements of the School Safety and Resiliency Act – Senate Bill 1 (2019) – and updating the water bottle filling station provisions.