Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman says legislation proposed in Frankfort that takes aim at the district's student assignment plan would create chaos.Kentucky Senate President David Williams and state Sen. Dan Seum announced this week they'll sponsor a bill that would require school districts to allow children to attend the school closest to their home.Berman told the Courier-Journal editorial board Thursday that the bill, as written, would eliminate school choice for parents and put magnet schools and programs at risk.Berman says 43-percent of parents don't list the school closest to their home as the first choice for their children.The two Republican lawmakers say they pre-filed the bill at the request of parents whose children have to endure long bus rides as a result of the JCPS assignment plan for desegregating its schools.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.