Kentucky Supreme Court’s Ruling Dismantles State’s School Choice Program
December 17, 2022 | Kentucky
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…. (Excerpt from The Daily Caller and The Virginia Star)
