Kentucky parents could send their children to the closest in-district school if a bill recently approved in the House of Representatives becomes law.

Should the bill pass, Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Clayton said it would have a “significant financial impact” and create an uneven balance in school attendance.

“My stance on this is that this should remain a local decision to ensure some school districts aren’t negatively impacted by the broad legislation,” he said Friday.

Under House Bill 151, parents or legal guardians would be allowed to enroll their child in the nearest school within their district as early as the 2019-20 school year. The Daily News reached out to the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Kevin Bratcher of Louisville, but did not receive a response.

Children living closest to the school would be given first priority if the number of children living in an attendance area exceeds the capacity of the school. Children already attending the school wouldn’t be displaced to accommodate other children, and those who are denied attendance would be given priority at the next closest school.

The bill, which passed the House 59-37 and has had two readings in a Senate committee, would exempt schools with academic or skill requirements, children assigned to alternative schools and schools designated as a traditional or magnet school as of the 2016-17 school year.

In this region, Democrats Rep. Jody Richards of Bowling Green and Wilson Stone of Scottsville were among the no votes.

Leslie McCoy, director of communications with the Bowling Green Independent School District, said in an email that she doesn’t think the bill would have a huge effect on her district. The district is small enough that it would only apply to its elementary schools.

“Our elementary schools are neighborhood schools, and our district already has a process in place to allow families/caregivers of students to request an inter-district transfer to any other elementary school in the district,” she wrote, adding the district also allows out-of-district transfers.

Clayton said he has concerns that the bill would upset balance in his school district. If passed, some schools would be over capacity while others would be poorly attended, making the school district less financially efficient.

When the school board determines school attendance zones, Clayton said it mainly considers population density rather than distance. School distance is still a factor, however, because the district doesn’t want to inconvenience parents or waste money on transportation costs. In any large school district, he said, there will always be some students attending a school that isn’t necessarily the closest to their home.

“It’s my experience the majority of our students, if not all of them, are attending the school they prefer to attend,” he said.