The Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a law permitting people to receive tax credits for donations supporting private-school tuition was unconstitutional.
By a unanimous count, the state's highest court agreed on the unlawful structure of Kentucky's "Education Opportunity Account Program" (EOA) operating under provisions of the state constitution requiring tax dollars to support "common" schools.
Proponents of the law viewed it as a means for expanding the school-of-choice program in the state. Others argued the measure would provide parents with new schooling options for their children that might have not been economically feasible — without the assistance of tax credits.
Conversely, opponents of the law reasoned the EOA would have diverted state funds away from public schools. There were other arguments of the tax credits becoming a $25 million drain on Kentucky's budget.
"We are compelled to agree that the EOA Act violates the plain language of Section 184," Deputy Chief Justice Lisabeth T. Hughes wrote for the court. "Simply stated, it puts the Commonwealth in the business of raising 'sum(s) ... for education other than in common schools.'"
Eddie Campbell, president of the Kentucky Education Association, which represents tens of thousands of public educators, characterized Thursday's ruling — which upheld a lower-court decision barring the state Department of Revenue from administering the program — as a victory for public education and the teachers unions.
"We simply can't afford to support two different education systems — one private and one public — on the taxpayers' dime, and this ruling supports that concern," said Campbell. "This decision is proof that the courts continue to serve as an important check against legislative overreach."
Andrew Vandiver, the president of EdChoice Kentucky, countered that Thursday's decision far exceeded the Kentucky Supreme Court's powers when determining school-of-choice policies, saying the ruling was "outside of the mainstream of legal jurisprudence."
"Today, the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a decision that will hold back thousands of Kentucky students from reaching their full potential," Vandiver said in a statement. "This effort to empower parents is too important to stop, and we will continue working to give every Kentucky student access to an education as unique as they are."
In 2021, Kentucky's school-of-choice law passed within the Republican-dominated state Legislature.
Under the measure, private donors backing the education opportunity accounts would have been eligible for tax credits from the state.
According to media reports, the grants "could have been used for an array of educational expenses, including private-school tuition in several of the state’s most populated counties."
However, Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, soon vetoed the bill.
The primary legal dispute involved the notion of creating a form of scholarship tax credits — as part of the EOA.
The lawsuit challenging the EOA referred to it as a "diversion of public revenues to private schools."
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