Education

Kentucky Supreme Court Dismantles State’s School Choice Program With Thursday Ruling

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The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday against the state’s school choice program created in 2021.

The Education Opportunity Accounts (EOA) Act created a privately funded needs-based assistance program for those seeking a private education. Those who donated to the program received a nearly “dollar-for-dollar” tax credit which the court ruled violated Kentucky’s Constitution which prohibits the collecting of a “sum” for “education other than in common schools.”

“Applying the plain language of this section, the income tax credit raises money for nonpublic education and its characterization as a tax credit rather than an appropriation is immaterial,” the opinion stated.

The ruling comes after a lower court ruled in 2021 that the law was unconstitutional over the tax credit provision of the program, according to WDRB News. The Council for Better Education, a group focused on Kentucky’s constitutional commitment to schools, filed a lawsuit against the program in 2021.

“Accordingly, the tax credit created by this legislation must be approved by ‘the legal voters’ before it can take effect,” Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled.

The program could cost the state treasury up to $25 million a year because of the tax credit program, according to The Associated Press.

“The Kentucky Supreme Court sided with opponents of educational liberty by denying voluntary donations from individuals and businesses to help children trapped in failing schools in the state’s largest counties have access to better schools and brighter futures,” Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a group focused on “free-market solutions,” told the AP.

Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions and the Council for Better Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.