3.18.2026
Statement on Senate Bill 4 Committee Substitute
We have made clear our serious opposition to SB 114 and HB 649, and we view this committee substitute to SB 4 as a continuation of those efforts to centralize power and sideline local voices.
This morning the Kentucky House Committee on Primary and Secondary Education passed SB 4 with a dangerous committee substitute that directly undermines democratic participation in Kentucky’s public school school governance.
The committee substitute would remove two duly-elected members of the Jefferson County Board of Education, replacing them with partisan appointees selected by state officials. The Fayette County Board of Education would also vastly change, adding two state appointees and effectively disqualifying the current chair.
We have made clear our serious opposition to SB 114 and HB 649, and we view this committee substitute to SB 4 as a continuation of those efforts to centralize power and sideline local voices.
SB 4 - if passed with this committee substitute - would make those same changes to boards, threatening the very fabric of public participation in public education for parents, teachers, and students across the Commonwealth.
We urge members of the Senate to reject this committee substitute, and pass the original, bi-partisan, version of SB 4.