LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After a difficult first day of school for students in Louisville, several Kentucky lawmakers are calling on state officials to step in.
Jefferson County Public Schools has canceled school for the rest of the week due to unprecedented bus delays on Wednesday. Many students waited more than an hour for their buses in the morning, and many students didn’t get home until hours after school let out.
Representative Jason Nemes, R-District 33, has issued an open letter calling on Governor Andy Beshear to call a special session to take steps to “protect students and support parents in Jefferson County.” It was co-signed by 12 other state representatives and senators.
“Yesterday, JCPS failed in its most fundamental obligation, which is to keep our kids safe,” the letter reads in part. “This community has talked for years about the need for structural changes, but nothing has really changed.”
Nemes said state Representative Kevin Bratcher will re-file a previous bill to allow students to attend their neighborhood schools.
"We will all cosponsor that bill," Nemes said. "This will go a long way to reducing the need for so many buses and transporting students across the county."
Lawmakers also want to call for a commission to evaluate splitting up JCPS, which is Kentucky’s largest school district.
“With nearly 100,000 students and 165 schools, the district is too big to properly manage,” the letter said. “We will [also] call for extensive changes to our school board, which has shown that it is not up to the task of managing our $2 billion school district.”
The Republican legislators said they also support putting a school choice amendment on the 2024 ballot for voters to decide on.
Beshear: 'As a parent, I'd be upset.'
Gov. Beshear touched on the bus issues during his Team Kentucky update. He said the situation was entirely "unacceptable" and has caused a "massive disruption" to students' education.
"When we have our kids on our school buses and others, listen, we have the responsibility to make sure they're safe and ultimately get the job done that's required," Beshear said. "As a parent, I'd be upset."
Besehear emphasized that he doesn't run the Kentucky Department of Education or any specific school district; "The legislature made that independent," he said.
"Now, it's just critical that they move forward, that they get it right, that the kids are safe, that they can get to and from school in a reasonable amount of time," Beshear said. "I trust that all of the leaders will be working as fast as they can towards making that happen."
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.