FRANKFORT, Ky. — While Kentucky lawmakers were able to pass bipartisan resolution through both chambers Tuesday, an education bill took longer to pass committee during day two of the special session.
The superintendents of Jefferson and Fayette County Public Schools have asked Gov. Andy Beshear and the General Assembly for help as districts continue to struggle amid the pandemic. In a letter, the leaders outlined rising COVID cases and quarantines as well as a shortage of workers.
While everyone agreed the legislature needs to take action to ensure schools can keep their doors open and operate safely, there were some major disagreements. Still, the House committee was able to pass the bill when legislators reconvened hours after it failed.
Though the bill would add 20 NTI days and require public health to develop "test to stay" models to reduce quarantines, a major focal point of discussion was eliminating a statewide school mask mandate currently in place. The bill proposes leaving masking decisions to local districts instead of the Kentucky Department of Education.
Lawmakers who supported that part of the bill said they have heard from constituents that are pulling their kids out of public school because of the mandate, but as cases surge across the state, not everyone agrees it is the best decision.
Republican Rep. Killian Timoney, a cosponsor of the bill, originally decided to pass when it was his turn to vote.
Instead of leaving the masking guidelines completely up to schools, Timoney said he would like there to be a threshold put in place where if there are a certain number of cases, schools are automatically required to implement some sort of masking policy.
"I felt like it was necessary to put a matrix in place, to have one in place, where we can make a recommendation to our school districts to employ that matrix so that they can use that matrix to determine what level of masking should be followed in their districts based on their incidence levels or whatever they need," Timoney said.
Timoney later switched his vote to a yes, along with Rep. Tina Bojanowski of Louisville. Bojanowski said the bill is the best of two options available, and said she worries the Senate will pass a bill prohibiting mask mandates in schools altogether.
This story will be updated with more information.
RELATED: Special session 2021: Kentucky lawmakers vote to extend several pandemic-related executive orders
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