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Charter Schools Amendment | |||||||||||||
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 No 70%–80% 60%–70% 50%–60%
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2024 Kentucky Amendment 2 was a rejectedlegislatively referred amendment to theKentucky Constitution, which was voted on as part of the2024 Kentucky elections. If enacted, the amendment would have allowed theKentucky General Assembly to fund charter schools.[1]
To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below?
IT IS PROPOSED THAT A NEW SECTION BE ADDED TO THE CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools. The General Assembly may exercise this authority by law, Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186, and 189 of this Constitution notwithstanding.
In 2021 the General Assembly passed a law awarding tax credits for donations to private schools. The law was struck down by theKentucky Supreme Court in 2022 for violating provisions of theConstitution of Kentucky forbidding public funding of private education.[2] The General Assembly passed a separate law in 2022 which would have allowed for the public funding of charter schools and the creation of twopilot schools, which was also declared unconstitutional by aCircuit Court judge in December 2023.[3]
Amendments to the Kentucky Constitution require 3/5 support in both houses of the General Assembly and a majority vote by referendum; they can not bevetoed by the governor. The amendment was first introduced on January 26 in the2024 General Assembly asHouse Bill 2 by representativeSuzanne Miles.[4] The bill passed both houses and was voted on in November 2024. It was one of two constitutional amendments to be approved by both houses during the 2024 legislative session.[5]
The amendment was approved by the house on March 13 with 65 yeas, 32 nays, and one abstention.[6] RepresentativeBill Wesley later modified his vote from nay to yea.[7]
| Party | Votes for | Votes against | Abstentions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (20) | – | 20 | – | |
| Republican (78) | 65 | |||
| Total (98)[a] | 65 | 32 | 1 | |
The amendment was approved by the senate on March 15 with 27 yeas, eight nays, and three senators not voting.[5] SenatorJohnnie Turner later modified his vote from yea to nay.Brandon Smith andRobin L. Webb, who did not vote, modified their votes to nay.Jared Carpenter, who also did not vote, later modified his vote to yea.[8]
| Party | Votes for | Votes against | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (7) | – | 6 | 1 | |
| Republican (31) | 27 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total (38) | 27 | 8 | 3 | |
| Party | Votes for | Votes against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (7) | – | 7 | |
| Republican (31) | 27 | ||
| Total (38) | 27 | 11 | |
U.S. Senators
Statewide officials
State legislators
Newspapers
Organizations
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No | 1,302,466 | 64.79 |
| Yes | 707,819 | 35.21 |
| Total votes | 2,010,285 | 100.00 |
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See also:Political party strength in Kentucky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
