What does some of the research say about Kentucky’s Amendment 2?

FRANKFORT, KY ( FOX 56 ) — In less than a month, Kentuckians will cast their ballots, and the big local issue with all the attention is Amendment 2 . Both sides have dug in on their positions and slogans, and policy experts are also giving their say in research.

If Amendment 2 is approved, it would allow lawmakers in the General Assembly to start crafting a policy that would allow students to attend private, charter, and/or other schools with help from public tax money. Right now, it’s not clear what that future policy will look like, however, voters can take cues from other states.

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“The fact is, the more choices that Florida has given their families, the more their public education system has improved their performance,” Bluegrass Institute President Jim Waters told FOX 56.

“The research in other states that have adopted vouchers, vouchers into private schools, show that students are not, by and large, doing better in alternative education settings,” The Prichard Committee CEO and President Brigitte Blom said.

The two policy research groups are on opposite sides of the amendment. Both of their organizations have published research comparing the impact of school choice programs on Kentucky based on other states. Blom pushed back on the claim that alternative education choices would broadly improve test scores.

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“At a very small scale, that could be likely, but at a large universal scale like Kentucky is talking about, what the data show is a lack of improved outcomes and even negative outcomes,” Blom said.

“What we found in most school choice programs are fairly small compared to the overall student population. In Florida, 100,000 students attend school there with a scholarship or with some kind of financial assistance through one of the nonpublic school choice programs. But there are over a million students in the state,” Waters said, affirming research on their end that also shows utilization is low.

Because a smaller number of students are likely to take part, the Bluegrass Institute’s research suggests the state would save money because a hypothetical voucher could cost less than what the state spends now per student, just over $20k in 2023. The Prichard study shows disagreement in the taxpayer burden and argues that other states like Arizona and Florida have developed runaway costs over time because of school choice programs.

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“We would encourage deeper investment in public education, deeper investment in the professional learning of our teachers and communities, recognizing their accountability for removing nonacademic barriers of success for students and supporting students in achieving their potential,” Blom suggested as a more effective alternative to improving the state’s standing in education.

“We have 80 programs in 33 other states serving a million children that wouldn’t be able to go to a different school without those programs because their parents didn’t have the means,” Waters said.

Read the Prichard Committee’s white paper, “ School Choice and the Impact on Kentucky ,” here and read the Bluegrass Institute’s research, “ Fiscal Effects of School Choice: Doomsday Speculation Versus Reality ,” here.

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