Kentucky Supreme Court rules controversial School Choice Program unconstitutional

Unanimous strike-down leaves no wiggle room for Republican-backed law

FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a unanimous opinion, The Kentucky Supreme Court struck down the School Choice Program, a law geared toward benefiting both nonpublic schools and their donors.

The challenged law would have granted nonpublic school donors up to $1 million in write-offs.

The controversial Republican-backed tax code also awarded donors for their contributions with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit.

“This was a big win for Kentucky public schools and also for our Kentucky students,” said Kentucky Educational Association President Eddie Campbell. “We have 90 percent of the students in the state of Kentucky attend our public schools… We are in the midst of a historic teacher and educator shortage in the state of Kentucky, so this is a great opportunity to really turn and focus on what we can do to invest in our public schools.”

Supporters said tax credits didn’t amount to government spending.

EdChoice Kentucky President Andrew J. Vandiver said, “There’s never been a court decision that has come to that type of conclusion that a private donation is the same as a government appropriation of tax dollars…. Kentucky currently invests around $10 billion in public schools around the state. This was a small $25 million program [that] did not take one penny out of the public education budget. It put extra money in to help families whose needs are just different.”

Any chance for appellation ended when all seven court justices cited a section of the Kentucky Constitution prohibiting the state from raising funds for nonpublic schools.

Vandiver said, “The Court doesn’t dictate education policy. The General Assembly does, and our elected officials will have the final say on this, and I expect that they will have something to say come January…. I’ve already heard from a number of legislators that are absolutely furious that this happened. They’re hearing from parents who are upset, and they’re going to take action.”