KENTUCKY

Constitutional Clause/Language

“The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.”  Ky. Const. s. 183.

Major Court Decision: Rose v. Council for Better Education 790 S.W.2d 186

Result: Financing System Overturned

Summary: Education is a fundamental right in Kentucky.  The court outlined seven factors to be used in determining whether the state constitution’s requirement of “efficiency” is being satisfied.

Key Quotes:

“A child's right to an adequate education is a fundamental one under our Constitution.

Additionally, because the assessable and taxable real and personal property in the 177 districts is so varied, and because of a lack of uniformity in tax rates, the local school boards' tax effort is not only lacking in uniformity but is also lacking in adequate effort..”

“A child's right to an adequate education is a fundamental one under our Constitution. The General Assembly must protect and advance that right. We concur with the trial court that an efficient system of education must have as its goal to provide each and every child with at least the seven following capacities:

(i) sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization;

(ii) sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the student to make informed choices;

(iii) sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the student to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation;

(iv) sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness;

(v) sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural and historical heritage;

(vi) sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently; and

(vii) sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the job market.”  Id. at 212.

“...Because of the great disparity of local tax efforts in the present system of common schools, the General Assembly must establish a uniform tax rate for such property. In this way, all owners of real and personal property throughout the state will make a comparable effort in the financing of the state system of common schools.”  Id.

“As we have indicated, Section 183 requires the General Assembly to establish a system of common schools that provides an equal opportunity for children to have an adequate education. In no way does this constitutional requirement act as a limitation on the General Assembly's power to create local school entities and to grant to those entities the authority to supplement the state system. Therefore, if the General Assembly decides to establish local school entities, it may also empower them to enact local revenue initiatives to supplement the uniform, equal educational effort that the General Assembly must provide…”  Id. 214