Kentucky Schools Close After Pension Vote Spurs Some Teachers to Stay Home

Kentucky's largest public school districts are closed due to widespread absences Friday among teachers angered by the Legislature's passage of a pension overhaul. Students in Louisville and Lexington are affected as at least eight Kentucky school districts have had to close schools due to employee absences.

The Kentucky Education Association calls it a "shameful" bill that was swiftly and narrowly approved by the Republican-led Legislature without a hearing or chance to comment on the final version.

Republican lawmakers passed a pension overhaul that preserves benefits for most workers and does little in the short-term to address the state's massive debt. The lawmakers passed the bill it in response to one of the worst-funded public retirement systems in the country and in defiance of a powerful teachers union that vowed political retribution.