♪ With dollars.

We can only go to public schools, period.

It is that simple.

>> Their kids right now we're not going to reach their full potential because of this decision.

We action to a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling striking down Kentucky School choice program.

>> Because I haven't this General Assembly in the years.

I've been there and are 2 different majority's make the most mature decisions about.

The outgoing House minority floor leader talks about what she seen in Frankfort over 25 years.

Hopefully we could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and potentially prevent.

>> And work at the University of Kentucky today could help stop Alzheimer's tomorrow.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

The owner Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome into Kentucky EDITION on this Thursday, December, the 15th, I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for winding down your Thursday with us.

Kentucky School Choice Program is on constitutional according to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

>> In a unanimous vote, the 7 justices struck down the education opportunity accounts program.

Now really past is House Bill 5.63 last year by the Republican led Kentucky General Assembly.

The program provided tax credits allowing people donating money for private school tuition to write off that money from their state income taxes up to 1 million dollars.

There were estimates the program could have cost the state.

25 million dollars in the first year.

The justices cited a section of the Kentucky Constitution that prohibits the state from raising money for non public schools.

And the court's ruling, the court says if the Kentucky General Assembly wants to make this change, it should go on the ballot and voters should decide.

Andrew Van Dover with Ed Choice, Kentucky told us today that the decision is outside the mainstream of legal jurisprudence and that he and other school choice advocates are looking for a path to legalize tax credits for contributions made organizations that defray the cost of private school tuition and related expenses for eligible students.

>> But the sad day for Kentucky parents, we've had an opportunity with Education Opportunity Act to give kids the resources they need to succeed.

And this decision really puts our kids at a disadvantage compared to the 30 states that allow school choice programs.

>> The questioning and the oral arguments about this a few months ago.

Did that signal to you the possible direction that this court would take it being unanimous decision?

Did that surprise you?

>> It did surprise me.

You know, in the 30 years that we've had tax credit programs, United States, that support school choice, not a single one of them has ultimately been struck down that held by state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

So this decision really is outside the legal mainstream and really is is shocking in its sweeping nature.

>> Is there a path forward for school choice?

Does the Supreme Court action today?

that's the end of the road or there are other remedies that are available that you are investigating.

>> This is not going to be in the school choice.

It is a bump in the I'll be frank about it.

You know, this is gonna be a hardship on thousands of families that need choices.

Now.

But long-term school choice will come to education policy rests with the General Assembly, not the Kentucky Supreme Court.

And I'm confident that there are champions for K Shull choice and the General Assembly.

They're going to KET pushing this issue forward.

Well, no, it was his decision outside the legal mainstream.

It's also way outside what parents desire mean.

This is a 70% support issue.

Families want choice.

You look from Florida all the way up through the Midwest and Northeast.

You have school choice.

States were literally got the island by or cells when it comes to giving families options, which is a disadvantage for the kids that live here.

And it's also going to be a hardship on families want to move here.

And I think it's going to be real deterrents to families to coming to Kentucky, knowing that they're at your options for their kids.

So I think that this decision one way or another is going to be overturned and we're going to have school choice in Kentucky.

>> Eddie Campbell, president of the Kentucky Education Association held the Kentucky High Court's decision as a victory for public education and upholding the on constitutionality of scholarship tax credits.

>> I think this is a great for all of to to really look at what we're doing for public education, the state of Kentucky.

You were in a and educator shortage right now.

So really focusing on what we can do to invest in our public schools, to invest in our students.

Because when we invest in our public schools, we're investing in the future of the commonwealth.

So I hope this is an opportunity for for all of us, the legislature of the Commonwealth as a whole to really take a look at what we can do to make sure that our public schools have all the resources that they need to ensure that our students have a quality public education.

>> For those who are advocates for school choice, they say that the recent a student report card shows why more alternatives are needed other than just the traditional public schools that reference the mask and the reading slides related somewhat to the COVID pandemic.

But even before then, Mister Campbell, there seem to be indications that Kentucky students just want to wear.

They needed to be to that argument that having more options such as education opportunity accounts, what help those who are at the lower rungs of the socio economic status get a leg up in their education.

What's your rebuttal that it does not do that.

>> So the 90% of all students in to public school 690 over 60 or 90,000 students in public schools in the state of Kentucky.

Our educators are doing an amazing job.

They're being innovative.

They're moving the state forward >> can take a Department of Education.

Has you know that we learned counsel who's really doing a lot to reach out to the community, to say what this public education need to look like.

How can we sum for all of our students so that they are getting the best education possible and investing in those students is what we need to be doing.

We need to double down on that investment.

Make sure that our educators have all the resources they need to for students to teach so they can teach the students so that our students can learn in an environment that one individual was are indications.

So we need to really take a focus.

Look at that as we move forward and making sure we're in for investing in our public schools.

>> Governor Andy Beshear says he thinks the court's ruling settles the issue of school choice.

He says the tax credit program was just the latest attempt to do something.

The state constitution simply doesn't allow.

>> You know, they've tried to do that in the past directly, which would be just I'm a part of the budget that could send money to say private or charter schools.

That's not legal.

What the Supreme Court said today as you can try to do it indirectly either.

So the General Assembly knowing that they couldn't eat send dollars to private or charter schools, try to give people a direct dollar for dollar tax credit of their income tax for doing so what the Supreme Court sent is that's the same thing you can in run around this prohibition because Section one, 84 of Kentucky's constitution, something I talked about as attorney general and challenging these laws and cents basically says public dollars can only go to public schools, period.

It is that simple and it would take a vote of the state wide now in question are constitutional amendment to change that?

So?

This argument, this issue.

I'll be done.

We can send public dollars directly or indirectly to private or charter schools, nor should anyone try the answer.

Let's work together to improve our public school systems.

>> Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne put out a statement after the court school choice ruling.

He said, quote, While we are disappointed and respectfully disagree with the court's decision to strike down this section, we remain committed to this.

We will continue our efforts to empower parents and families.

Despite pushback from an education administration.

More interested in satisfying self-serving union interests for the time being the section that remains will continue to provide options that benefit students and families end quote.

In other news is another income tax cut on the way in Kentucky.

>> The Kentucky Lantern reports the consensus forecast in group is predicting a 1.4 billion dollars surplus when the current fiscal year ends on June.

30th of next year.

That includes the impact of the income tax reduction from 5 point to 4.5% passed by the General Assembly last year.

That has some wondering if the General Assembly will cut the income tax again.

Jason Bailey of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy told the Lantern that another cut down to 4% would cause revenue to drop.

Critics say that would hurt efforts to fund education and other programs.

More Frankfort notes, State Senator Damon Thayer, who was the leader and the Senate is skeptical of efforts to add exemptions to the state's new abortion ban.

Yesterday, he said that would be a quote, tough sell in the state Senate.

There's been talk of adding exceptions for rape and incest, especially after voters rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment just last month.

State Representative Jason Amos says the 2023 push to legalize medical marijuana should began in the state Senate where previous efforts have died after House passage, a task force says the state should shift the child support enforcement program from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services where it is now to the attorney general's office state Senator Stephen Meredith and State Representative David Mead.

Both Republicans co-chair the task force.

They say the move would improve operations and save money.

Also in Frankfort today, some state lawmakers grilled members of the Beshear administration following reports of assault and riot said state juvenile detention centers.

One incident discussed a lot during a committee hearing today took place at the Adair Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

We're a young woman was sexually assaulted and multiple people were injured.

State Senator Phillip Wheeler of Parkville said he was shocked to learn that the corrections officers had very little tools to defend themselves and other youth from such a riot.

>> Defensive.

Measures.

Did you give?

>> These guards that were over power to defend themselves.

When this ride occurs because, Elise, what I'm looking at, the paper looks like, you know, a little jar mice or something.

I'm thinking like, you know, here you have somebody with.

Pepper spray guarding people charged with capital murder and rape us to Maine.

Suppress somebody is not being counted.

If that's in fact, the truth is that the truth?

>> Senator, that is the truth as the system has existed, I think for 20 years.

The youth workers, but they don't have pepper spray.

They don't have Tasers.

They don't have any non lethal defensive weaponry.

I can tell you that all that is under review.

And so you have.

>> Rapists and murderers guarded by.

Probably.

Middle age.

People that.

Against 15 16 year-olds in their prime that have been able to kill somebody.

You think these people can actually control these facilities?

Again?

What planet does that make any sense?

And in fact, we we don't think that's appropriate.

And that's why the governor has announced that that system is changing.

>> After today's hearing, Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield in the Senate told reporters he was dissatisfied with the state officials.

Responses about staffing and morale and other issues.

He is open to policy suggestions about separating juvenile offenders and keeping kids who commit status offenses like skipping school from ending up in those facilities in the first place.

>> I think status offenders should be in these facilities at all.

I don't mind caught a to that.

The tears of of offense level and keeping the children that are a different offense levels in like populations.

I think that's fine.

I think you can focus the programming for those juveniles at the most serious level or at the very so they're all there.

I think it's fine that were separated by gender.

I stood the concerns about staffing levels.

And it all boils down to not having adequate staff are adequate pay.

It.

We've got to spend some money there and I'd like to see them be a little bit more creative on the executive branch cited finding money even between budget cycles for us to do that.

It's clearly a problem that's persisted and they were right in their defense.

It's been an issue for years and years.

It takes a tragedy.

It's sad that takes a tragedy like we've seen it before.

They finally make a serious program.

>> Today Governor Andy Beshear said the state is changing how it will operate.

Juvenile detention centers.

The biggest change will mean separating violent offenders from lower level offenders starting as early as January.

The governor says male juveniles, 14 or older charged with capital class, A B or C felonies will be housed in youth detention centers and Adair Fayette and Warren counties, male juveniles younger than 14 who are charged with lower-level offenses will be housed in youth detention centers and void breath that Jefferson or McCracken County.

Last week the governor said the state plans on separating females for males by sending young women to a facility in Campbell County.

Now in other news, Joni Jenkins, the House minority floor leader in the state is wrapping up.

25 years of service.

She chose not to run for reelection for her district in Shively.

>> I spoke to Representative Jenkins earlier this week about her time in Frankfort and the voters decision not to change how special sessions work.

>> I did vote to put it on the ballot.

Doesn't mean you supported.

It may not supported it.

And then I thought Kentuckians need to have this choice.

They need to make the decision about how what what they want their represent Taishan to look like.

I was a little.

Hesitant even in that vote because I haven't this General Assembly in the years I've been there and are 2 different majority's make the most mature decisions about that.

Right?

>> Any example, you care?

He certainly I could probably go back further.

But, you know, the last couple sessions where we have juggling around the powers of the executive branch and taking that away perhaps from the governor and give it to the commissioner bag or this or that.

>> The attorney general or the attorney general you know, I I don't recall us doing that when Democrats are in the majority, but it was certainly been a thing and I'm just not so sure.

That's the most mature and most important thing that we can be doing as a general assembly.

Well, because it may not always be a Democratic governor in the governor's mansion, right?

And are we going to if things flip in some ways, are we going to them?

Are that's not a way anymore today?

Are they going to come back and change that back?

Yeah.

>> Do you think that's you?

When you look at all of that and particularly the last few years when my when that Democrats in the minority, the significant perhaps most consequential piece of legislation.

Our about executive power right.

Do you think that that in your view is like that's the big thing that will stick with us.

How there have been more influence in the Legislature and how the executive branch would conduct.

You know, I I think and in my time in the Legislature.

>> There's always been a quest to make the Legislature relevant and independent independent right and more powerful.

But there has to be a balance there.

And I think we may have flipped that balance a little bit and I think that's due to political philosophies.

More than what really works for Kentucky.

Yeah.

>> Interview with State Representative Joni Jenkins in the New Year on Connections at 12 noon Eastern Time.

11:00AM Central Watch for that.

And we'll tell you wanted to be on the Kentucky General Assembly convenes on January.

3rd, we will preview the session and discuss the legislation.

Lawmakers might consider.

That's Monday on Kentucky tonight at 8 Eastern 7 central right here on KET.

♪ ♪ The state says 2022 has been the best year ever for Kentucky bourbon and spirits with 2.1 billion dollars in new investments in about 700 new jobs altogether.

It's a 9 billion dollar industry that provides 22,000 jobs.

One-third of Kentucky counties have distilleries today.

Governor Beshear was of Buffalo.

Trace to fill the company's 8 million barrels of bourbon.

Bill since Prohibition.

The University of Kentucky is at the forefront researching a promising drug to fight Alzheimer's Disease, UK as part of the ahead study a clinical trial that will test the effects of a new medication on people with preclinical Alzheimer's.

We visited the Sanders Brown Center on Aging to speak with researchers and participants about what they hope this new study will, what she?

>> There are 2 reasons why the ahead study is really groundbreaking.

One of them is that we're trying to treat people before they're significant injury to the brain long before they might meet diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's.

The second is the use of this age and AB is an antibody specifically designed to remove amyloid plaques from the brain.

Amyloid plaques are in abnormal accumulation of proteins.

Early buildup of amyloid plaques occurs 10 to 20 years before a diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

The ahead study is one of the first studies to identify these folks at risk for future Alzheimer's and tried to remove those amyloid plaques from their brain.

So that hopefully we could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and potentially even prevent it.

And you should not see that.

It's incredibly important that we find volunteers.

These medicines need to be tested, everyone because they need to be made available to everybody.

I was glad that I could be a part of a possible break through and win in the research with this new drug father had Alzheimer's.

>> And he died from it.

>> People who haven't had a family member or close friend with Alzheimer's.

I don't think they realize.

How bad the disease really is.

My mother had enter the only way to find out anything about it was.

>> Through an autopsy, there's really been not a whole lot done to find a cure.

I have been some other studies and then the ahead study King and one of the researchers called to ask if I would be willing to participate and seems to me like it was a good thing to do.

But I hope that this one will will come about with preventative measures for all people.

So nobody has to go through Alzheimer's.

>> It felt like I was going to have Alzheimer's disease for some time because my father a hope that it does with the initial.

Results are showing that it can stop the growth of the amyloid in your brain.

We know that we need 2 things to really be impactful for dimension.

The elderly, one we need earlier and earlier ways to detect disease in 2 medicines that Kim's stopped the disease before it.

It river Sibley damages the brain.

And that's the path that we're all.

We have medicines for the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

But we don't have any approved medicines that have been shown to actually alter the disease for the first time we're looking at a disease modifying the agent.

>> They had study has more than 100 study locations worldwide and is seeking more than 1100 participants from North America.

♪ ♪ >> Learn to build roads with the state, picking up the tab.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet created a civil engineering and civil engineering technology scholarship program.

Back in 1948.

>> And it recently added one more program.

The department is now offering scholarships and construction management beginning in the 2023 24 school year as you'll hear this recruiting tool is helping to retain the state's top talent.

>> Construction management very practitioner, sort of degree and it starts with a very practical applications like learning survey or learning quantity surveys how to do estimates for projects.

It's not engineering or designing projects, but it's actually the management of projects.

The project management competence really acquired through these programs.

This construction management degrees offered at.

Several universities around the state.

We're talking about northern Kentucky.

We're talking about Eastern and Western and Murray and Morehead, the stipend for the construction management program is equivalent.

It's a 7202, $7600 per semester per student.

We have allocated up to 12, 12 scholarships for the construction management for construction management.

There is a guarantee of a job.

With the cabinet, with the transportation cabinet after.

A student completes the curriculum after the student graduates.

And there's also a guaranteed internship.

For each year that the student is in the scholarship program.

It's really a year for year exchange.

If a student gets a scholarship for 2 years, then it's a 2 year requirement for work if it's for years.

And it's a 4 year requirement.

This investment in the next generation is important because Kentucky citizens and taxpayers deserve to have the best talent they can in these jobs.

You know, at the end of the day, we are.

Responsible.

The transportation Cabinet Department highways is responsible for 64,000 Lane miles.

>> Of roadways, 14,000 bridges and you won't competent people inspecting those bridges and designing those roads and improving them and taking care of them.

We want confident people and this scholarship program has over the years created a real pipeline of talent for this really incredible Cabinet.

You know, there's something about construction.

And there's something about engineers that is exciting.

You know, they know that they're going to have their hands in projects that actually get done and help people.

And that's very exciting.

>> The deadline to submit an application for the construction management scholarship is February.

First 2023 and the recipients will be chosen later in the spring.

♪ ♪ >> Coming up tomorrow, out Friday review of the week inside Kentucky politics.

You don't want to miss that.

>> And an unexpected way.

The dry weather is affecting Kentucky businesses.

The problem right now on Kentucky's waterways will tell you about that tomorrow night on Kentucky edition, which, of course, is at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central when we inform connect and hopefully inspire.

Subscribe to our weekly Kentucky Edition, e-mail news letter and watch full episodes at KET Dot Org.

You can also find Kentucky Edition on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV and you're welcome to follow KET on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay in the loop.

You can also follow me on Twitter at Renee K E T. Thank you so very much for watching tonight.

Have a great rest of your Thursday night.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow night at 6.30, eastern.

Take good care.

♪ ♪