Statement on Senate Bill 114

We strongly oppose Senate Bill 114, recently filed by Kentucky State Senator David Givens. SB 114 would strip over a million Kentuckians in Fayette and Jefferson Counties of the right to vote for school board representatives.

We believe that the right to elect a Board of Education is a cornerstone of a system that is meant to keep the public in public schools. Under SB 114, Kentucky’s two largest school districts would be controlled by unelected, partisan bureaucrats selected by politicians. For this reason, SB 114 is not just anti-democratic; it is at odds with how Kentucky schools have operated for decades.

Students, educators and parents in these counties have been rightly frustrated by their boards’ lack of transparency and financial oversight. Real measures are needed to rebuild trust between the public and the board, and yet SB 114 would eliminate the public's ability to hold board members accountable.

SB 114 represents a hostile takeover of Kentucky public schools at a time when legislators should be focused on strengthening them by raising teacher pay, making our schools safer and addressing the real challenges students face every day.Though many of us are too young to vote ourselves, we look forward to working with partners of all ages across the Commonwealth to ensure that SB 114 does not pass.