Kentucky's Education Opportunity Account Program was launched in 2021 for the stated goal of providing "more flexibility and choices in education to Kentucky residents and to address disparities in educational options available to students." The program works by providing money to eligible families, who may spend it on various educational needs, including private school tuition. The program is privately funded and the state offers tax credits to the private donors who support it.
Or at least the state did. In a decision issued today in Council for Better Education v. Johnson, the Kentucky Supreme Court declared the Education Opportunity Act unconstitutional under Section 184 of the Kentucky Constitution, which says "no sum shall be raised or collected for education other than in common schools until the question of taxation is submitted to the legal voters." According to the Kentucky Supreme Court, "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." In other words, because the Education Opportunity Act was not put to a vote, but, in the court's view, the act "raises money for nonpublic education," the act is void.
