In other news, a law legalizing charter schools became law in 2017, in Kentucky, but a funding mechanism for them came five years later.

But legal challenges have blocked those schools from receiving public dollars.

Today, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments that will help them decide the fate of charter schools in the state.

Our June Lefler has more.

Kentucky's attorney general's office and a private lawyer defended House Bill nine, Kentucky's charter school law.

The appellants in the court debated if charter schools are good for all Kentucky students.

I've heard that charter schools are doing well, but I don't know what's happened to the public schools that are left behind or the students that don't hit the lottery.

I'd say we've got a thriving public charter school set up in Kentucky, which I hope we will have.

Right.

And parents, select public charter schools for their children because they think it's a more attractive pedagogical option for their children.

Right.

That will provide an incentive for the traditional public schools also to to do even better.

But the court's newest justice asks not if charter schools are good, but if they are constitutional, especially considering Kentucky voters rejection of amendment two, which would have changed the state constitution to allow public dollars to go to private schools.

Let me ask the million dollar question.

A majority of voters in every county voted against the amendment.

Should that impact our decision, or should we just ignore the nearly two thirds of the voters who do not wish to have taxpayer funds used in this manner?

Well, Your Honor, I disagree with the last part of your question because you said in this manner, that's not what what?

Just put the referendum.

The referendum asked whether the people of Kentucky supported the idea of the General Assembly appropriating money for schools outside the system of common schools.

We are not outside the system of common schools.

I have always been indifferent to that bill.

To that referendum, it doesn't matter.

Public charter schools are fully and squarely within the concept of a common school.

Charter schools, according to state law, are tuition free schools open to all students?

They are regulated by the state, though arguably not to the same extent as typical public schools, but they are governed quite differently.

This lawyer says the Kentucky Council for Better Education won a lower court decision in this case.

The case, the Sherrard case in the 40s, have consistently reiterated that the test for common schools is whether they are controlled by elected officials within a school district not controlled by a group of parents who want to see their kids do well.

I hope all parents want to see their kids do well.

That's not the point.

Parents or the public at large who are actually paying the taxes have no control over who those people are, do they?

That is that is correct.

I mean, we're going to be paying the taxes through our property assessment tax that we pay now, but we will have zero control over who administers the charter schools.

That is correct.

And so who will control that?

The final authority for a charter school would be its independent board of directors.

Independent board of directors, none of whom have stood for election.

A state attorney responded, saying trustees, not school boards, is the term used in relevant case law.

It's unclear when the court will decide on this matter.

For Kentucky edition, I'm June Lefler.

Thank you Joan.

And you can see today's entire oral arguments about this measure online at Katie Story.