Improving Kentucky’s open enrollment program would help students and families

For too long, Kentucky’s families have faced a public education system that limits their ability to choose the best schools for their children. In 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled the state’s newly minted tax credit scholarship program unconstitutional, upending efforts to expand school choice.

However, state policymakers can expand students’ schooling options by strengthening Kentucky’s open enrollment law, which allows students to transfer to public schools other than their assigned ones. Enacted in 2021, this law required school districts to adopt cross-district transfer policies. But it falls short in removing barriers and enabling parents to choose a public school in another school district that best fits their children’s needs. 

For instance, the current policy allows school districts like highly rated Anchorage Independent to establish enrollment policies that accept no transfers even when seats are available. Other districts, such as Jefferson County, permit transfers only under restrictive conditions, such as living in a specific geographic area or having parents employed by the district.

A stronger open enrollment policy would ensure Kentucky students can transfer to any public school with open seats, prohibit public school districts from charging tuition to transfer students, and improve transparency, making the process more family-friendly.

Kentucky’s reluctance to fully embrace this policy by prioritizing district control over parental choice has resulted in one of the nation’s weakest open enrollment policies. According to a 2024 Reason Foundation report, only eight states have weaker open enrollment policies than Kentucky.

Despite these barriers, parents across the state are seizing upon the limited choices available. A recent Bluegrass Institute report shows that nonresident transfers have increased by 10% since the passage of House Bill 563 in 2021, with over 2,500 additional public school students enrolling in a different district.

In addition, enrollment at the Kentucky Virtual Academy (KYVA) more than doubled to over 3,000 students in the 2024-25 school year, its second year, up from 1,300 in 2023-24. Combined, Kentucky’s nonresident student enrollment has increased by more than 16% since 2022, indicating strong parental demand for public education alternatives.

About 5% of Kentucky’s students currently attend public schools other than their assigned ones. However, states with robust open enrollment laws see higher participation rates, averaging one in 10 students, compared to 5% in states with weak policies, according to a 2025 Reason Foundation report. In Colorado and Arizona, for example, 28% and 14% of students, respectively, attend traditional public schools other than their assigned ones. 

In December, the Kentucky Board of Education approved a regulation that would have immediately closed the fast-growing virtual academy, forcing thousands of students to return to schools that had failed them or to find other options. Lawmakers responded during this year’s General Assembly by passing legislation pausing the regulation for at least three years, allowing the KYVA to demonstrate academic improvement.

Strengthening Kentucky’s student-transfer policies would further empower families with the freedom to choose public schools – whether traditional or virtual – that best meet their children’s unique needs. 

Legislation introduced in recent General Assembly sessions offers a blueprint to improve Kentucky’s student-transfer policy by:

• Ensuring students can transfer to any public school with available seats.
• Eliminating tuition for nonresident students to ensure access for all families, regardless of income.
• Requiring school districts to publish clear information on capacities, vacancies and application processes, alongside detailed reports on enrollment and denials.
• Establishing a fair appeals process for transfer denials to protect parental rights.

By removing barriers and embracing transparency, Kentucky can join 16 states, such as Arizona and Florida, in leading the way on open enrollment policies, ensuring that every child in the state has access to a public education that sets them up for success.

A version of this column first appeared on LINKnky.com.

The post Improving Kentucky’s open enrollment program would help students and families appeared first on Reason Foundation.

Source: https://reason.org/commentary/kentucky-families-deserve-expanded-open-enrollment-opportunities/