Kentucky voters defeat a measure intended to allow tax dollar support for private school education

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky voters soundly rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that was intended to allow state lawmakers to allocate public tax dollars to support students attending private or charter schools.

The defeat was a bitter setback for many Republican lawmakers and their allies who have supported funneling state dollars into private school education, only to be thwarted by the courts. The measure was put on the statewide ballot in an attempt to amend Kentucky’s constitution to remove that barrier.

Instead, the proposal was defeated at the polls in a signature victory for public school groups and the Bluegrass State’s most prominent Democrats: Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman. They stuck to a basic script — that tax dollars allocated for education should only go to public schools.

“Kentucky voters have once again definitively stated that public dollars belong only in public schools,” Beshear said in a statement Tuesday night.

With no election for statewide office on the ballot — and Republican Donald Trump easily carrying Kentucky in the race for the White House — the school-choice measure was the most intensely debated issue of the campaign in the Bluegrass State. Advocates on both sides of the debate ran TV ads and mounted grassroots efforts to make their case in the high-stakes campaign.

The proposed constitutional amendment wouldn’t have established policies for how public funds could be diverted. Instead, supporters hoped it would clear the way for lawmakers to consider crafting policies to support students attending private schools. Options mentioned included tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts or vouchers.

Voters weighed in with their verdict Tuesday, with the measure being soundly rejected in rural and urban counties alike.

Prominent Kentucky leaders on both sides of the ballot measure framed the issue as a pivotal moment for the future of education.

A number of school administrators and educators from urban and rural districts spoke out against the proposal, saying public schools would suffer if public funds were shifted to private school education. In many rural Kentucky counties, the public school system is among the largest employers.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul backed the measure along with top GOP state lawmakers. Paul said every child deserves to attend a school that helps them succeed and said the school choice initiative would help achieve that goal.

Supporters said the proposal would give low- and middle-income parents more options to choose the schools best suited for their children, without harming public education. Many parents can’t currently afford to send their kids to private schools, supporters said.

Coleman pushed back against the argument, predicting that vouchers wouldn’t fully cover private school tuition and that many families couldn’t afford the balance. Most voucher money would go to children already at private schools, she said.

The issue has been debated for years as Republicans expanded their legislative majorities in Kentucky.

The push for the constitutional amendment followed court rulings that said tax dollars must be spent on the state’s “common” schools, which courts have interpreted as public. In 2022, Kentucky’s Supreme Court struck down a GOP-backed measure to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition.

Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press