Kentucky’s outgoing Republican Governor Matt Bevin made clear that he wanted funding for charter schools, but he lost the recent election to Democrat Andy Beshear. The new governor made clear that one of his top priorities was supporting public schools.
However, the State Board of Education and the State Commissioner were appointed by Bevin, and they seem to be holding on until their terms expire.
The Bevin-appointed State Board met to announce its priorities for the 2020 legislative session, which begins in early January. Its list did not include funding for charter schools, which was one of Bevin’s demands. Bevin was a close ally of Betsy DeVos, who visited the state earlier this year to promote school choice.
Even though the board was appointed by Bevin, the members’ priorities show that they heard the voters’ message.
Kentucky Board of Education members unanimously approved a legislative agenda Wednesday that they may not be able to see through.
Education officials plan to push for full-day kindergarten, reading interventions for the youngest learners and more flexibility for schools in Kentucky’s 2020 legislative session, according to documents made public Wednesday morning.
And they’ll ask lawmakers to solidify Gov. Matt Bevin’s reorganization of an education board through executive order — the very power Gov.-elect Andy Beshear said he will use to disband the Board of Education.
School choice initiatives, including funding for charter schools, are missing from the proposed list. Citing waning appetite for charters, Lewis said he only wanted to include legislation that had “some chance of passing.”
It’s a shift toward the education priorities of Kentucky’s superintendents and its largest school district after more than a year of disconnect between educators and their leaders….
Beshear, who takes office in less than a week, vowed to replace the education boardon “day one.” The new board, he has suggested, would then oust Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis.
Beshear ran on an education-fueled platform, and said his board replacements would value public education more than “a for-profit charter school company.”
It is possible a new board will elect to push for different education bills in 2020.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Good for Kentucky.
Ohio is still firmly in the grip of ed reformers. This year we’ll get a huge expansion of private school vouchers. They got nothing done for the 90% of the kids in the state who attend public schools. Again.
It isn’t ALL Ohio lawmakers – there are Democrats who put forth some effort on public schools but it’s all defensive- they’re only able to stop cuts. The majority and the governor’s office have no interest in public school students, other than testing them. The tests the public school students take are then used to expand vouchers to private schools, where they don’t mandate tests.
It would be nice to live in a state with an actual positive agenda for students in public schools. The teachers strikes seem to be the only way to tear their attention away from their exclusive focus on charters and vouchers. Maybe teachers will have to strike.
Pennsylvania has a similar problem. The members of the charter appeals board are all Corbett appointees. Gov. Wolf is trying to get them out, but the corrupt legislators have made it difficult to replace them. It is all part of gaming the system which is so typical of charter supporting politicians.
If you were new to this country and read only ed reform sites you would not know that public schools, or public school students, exist:
https://www.the74million.org/article/shuls-what-does-it-mean-to-hold-charter-schools-to-the-same-standards-as-traditional-schools-to-warren-charter-parents-very-different-things/
They’re supposedly “evaluating” candidate’s “public education plans” but they completely exclude any analysis of any part that applies to public schools.
If you’re wondering why no one in your state legislature puts forth any effort on behalf of the public school students in your state there MAY be a clue here – it MAY have something to do with the people you’re hiring. Because it’s odd! One would think people who are paid to work on “public education” would do something other than lobby for charters and private schools, given that public schools and students do, in fact, exist.
nicely stated: “One would think people who are paid to work on “public education” would do something other than lobby for charters and private schools, given that public schools and students do, in fact, exist.