Opinion – Family Foundation: Amendment 2 is good for Kentucky families and students

By Jesse Green and David Walls
The Family Foundation

This November, Kentuckians will vote on Amendment 2, Kentucky’s pro-family education opportunities constitutional amendment. At its core, the campaign over Amendment 2 is a choice between empowering families and students or empowering systems and bureaucracy, between innovation in education and getting left behind by surrounding states.

Amendment 2 recognizes the shortfalls of Kentucky’s current one-size-fits-all approach to education that is not meeting the needs of many families across the Commonwealth. If passed, Amendment 2 would simply allow the General Assembly to empower families to explore educational opportunities that work best for their children. Public schools work well for many families, and Amendment 2 does not prevent families from utilizing public schools.

However, some families and children have needs that can only be addressed by alternative educational opportunities. While some in Kentucky can currently afford these opportunities, many lower- and middle-class Kentuckians are left without affordable options for their kids. Unfortunately, the Kentucky Supreme Court interpreted the Kentucky Constitution as prohibiting any aid for these families and kids, leaving them trapped in environments where they are disadvantaged. Amendment 2 would open the door for these children to succeed by allowing financial support for alternative educational opportunities.

Amendment 2 would also help eliminate the current monopoly in education, encouraging innovation and improving outcomes. Monopolies are never good if the goal is to improve quality, lower costs, and encourage innovation. In almost every other aspect of society, competition exists to promote choice and keep prices low. However, when it comes to education, Kentucky grants a monopoly to the current educational system.

Because of this education monopoly, only 33% of Kentucky high schoolers are proficient in math. Less than half of Kentucky high school students are proficient in English and writing. We are setting our students up for failure by continuing with the status quo. Amendment 2 would help end this education monopoly and allow Kentucky to improve its educational performance outcomes.

Amendment 2 aligns Kentucky with our neighboring states. Every state that surrounds Kentucky has some sort of school choice policy—from deep red Tennessee to deep blue Illinois. This bipartisan collection of states has recognized that empowering parents to choose what is best for their kids is the best educational policy.

Kentucky must join these states in allowing families of all means to have options for their kids’ education. Failure to do so will leave Kentucky at a disadvantage compared to our neighbors, resulting in productive families leaving Kentucky for greater educational opportunities. Amendment 2 would ensure that Kentucky can compete against our neighbors on education policy and that Kentucky kids can compete in the broader economy.

Ultimately, Amendment 2 comes down to whether parents or government bureaucrats know what is best for their kids. We believe parents know best and education works best when students are put first. For the good of families and students of the Commonwealth, we encourage you to support Amendment 2 on November 5.

Jesse Green is the legal and policy advisor for The Family Foundation. David Walls is the executive director of The Family Foundation.

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