Kentucky House Bill 9, the 2022 law that created a framework for public charter schools in Kentucky, is no longer enforceable. In February 2026, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously struck it down, ruling that charter schools do not qualify as “common schools” under the state constitution and that public education funds cannot be directed to them. No charter school has ever opened in Kentucky, and none can open under HB 9 as the law now stands.
What HB 9 Was Supposed to Do
Passed during the 2022 regular legislative session, HB 9 amended Kentucky’s existing charter school statutes at KRS 160.1590 through 160.1599, which had been on the books since 2017 but had never produced an operating school.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. House Bill 9 The 2022 law was meant to make the earlier framework actually work by naming authorizers, creating a funding pipeline, and setting operational rules.
A charter school under the law would be a public body corporate with autonomy over finance, personnel, scheduling, and curriculum, operating under a fixed-term, renewable contract with its authorizer.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 160.1590 – Definitions for KRS 160.1590 to 160.1599 Authorizers would include the newly established Kentucky Public Charter School Commission, local school boards, and, in certain areas, mayors. The statute also recognized two types of charter schools: newly created ones and “conversion” charters formed when an existing public school transitioned to charter status.
The Funding Mechanism
The funding structure was the piece that drew the lawsuit. HB 9 used a “money follows the child” model. State Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funds would flow from the state to the charter school based on enrollment, and the local school district would be required to transfer a proportional share of local tax revenue for every student who left a traditional school for a charter.
The share was calculated on a “proportionate per pupil basis,” derived by dividing the charter school’s average daily attendance by the district’s total average daily attendance and multiplying by the funding amount.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 160.1590 – Definitions for KRS 160.1590 to 160.1599 A parallel formula governed transportation funding. In practice, a charter school would have received roughly the same per-student dollars as a traditional public school, drawn from both state and local sources. That diversion of local tax revenue became the center of the constitutional fight.
Why the Kentucky Supreme Court Struck It Down
The Council for Better Education, Inc. sued in Franklin Circuit Court, arguing that HB 9 violated the Kentucky Constitution’s provisions on public education funding. The circuit court agreed and enjoined the Commonwealth, the Department of Education, and the Board of Education from implementing any part of the law.3Justia Law. Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Council for Better Education, Inc. The case went up to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which issued its opinion in February 2026 and unanimously affirmed.
The court found HB 9 violated three sections of the Kentucky Constitution:
- Section 183 requires the General Assembly to provide “an efficient system of common schools throughout the State.”4Ballotpedia. Education, Kentucky Constitution
- Section 184 restricts education tax revenue, directing that it “shall be appropriated to the common schools, and to no other purpose.”
- Section 186 requires that school funds “be used for the maintenance of the public schools of the Commonwealth, and for no other purpose.”
The ruling turned on what counts as a “common school.” Under KRS 158.030, no school qualifies unless “every child residing in the district who satisfies the age requirements” has the privilege of attending. Charter schools, by design, cap enrollment and use lotteries when demand exceeds seats. That alone, the court held, placed them outside the common school system.3Justia Law. Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Council for Better Education, Inc. The court also pointed to charter schools’ exemption from local district oversight and their operational autonomy as further reasons they could not be treated as common schools.
Citing the 1989 decision in Rose v. Council for Better Education, the court added that the General Assembly had failed to build in a mechanism to monitor charter schools against waste, mismanagement, and political influence. Every justice concurred in the result. The Chief Justice wrote a separate concurrence joined by one other justice.
The 2024 Amendment That Would Have Rescued It
Charter school supporters anticipated the constitutional problem and tried to fix it at the ballot box. Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2, on the November 2024 ballot, would have added language letting the General Assembly “provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools,” notwithstanding Sections 183, 184, and 186.5Ballotpedia. Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2, Allow State Funding for Non-Public Education Amendment Had it passed, the funding scheme in HB 9 would have had constitutional cover.
Voters rejected it. Roughly 65 percent voted no. The defeat closed off the most direct path to reviving charter school funding and signaled broad voter opposition to directing public education dollars outside the traditional school system.
Where Charter Schools in Kentucky Stand Now
HB 9 is still on the books as enacted legislation, but the Supreme Court’s injunction makes every provision unenforceable. No charter school has ever operated in Kentucky, and none can under current law. The only route forward is a new constitutional amendment, which would need to pass the General Assembly and then win a statewide vote. After the 2024 result, that is a steep climb in the near term.
The reasoning also reaches past charter schools. The court’s reading of what counts as a “common school” and how education funds can be spent applies to any future program that would send public money to schools outside the traditional district structure. Vouchers, education savings accounts, and similar proposals face the same three constitutional sections that ended HB 9.
If you were tracking HB 9 as a parent weighing options, an educator considering a charter position, or an organization planning to apply for authorization, the practical answer is that none of those paths exists in Kentucky right now. The statute’s application process, authorizer structure, and funding formula have no legal force. Any renewed effort will begin with a constitutional amendment campaign, not with a charter application.