Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
A Republican-backed bill opting Kentucky into a tax credit program promoted by the Trump administration to fund scholarships for K-12 students is now heading to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk.
House Bill 1 passed in the Senate with a vote of 33-5 Friday morning after it was filed in the House last week. Sen. Keturah Herron, of Louisville, was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of the bill.
Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, R-Greensberg, presented the bill in the Senate and said he was “excited” about educational opportunities that could be funded with scholarships from donors. He pointed to federal guidance on how the scholarships can be used, including tuition for private schools, support services for students with disabilities, tutoring and more.
Givens also made a direct appeal to Beshear during his floor speech asking him to sign or let the bill lay on his desk, which would let it become law without his signature.
“Your bully pulpit is powerful, and it would be a positive message to everyone,” Givens said. “And if you choose to veto, you know it’s going to be overridden. That is what it is. But I’ll ask you to make your $1,700 contribution, governor, to a Kentucky SGO and help these kids. It’s a rare opportunity.”
HB 1 would allow Kentucky K-12 students to receive scholarships for private school tuition and other education assistance funded by donations from people receiving the federal tax credit that will become available in 2027 under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed by Congress last year. In addition to tuition, the scholarships may be used for tutoring services, books, internet access and more.
Under the bill, Kentucky may identify eligible scholarship granting organizations (SGO) for students. An SGO can benefit not only private school students, but public school students as well.
The Education Freedom Tax Credit is up to $1,700 per year for people who donate to SGOs, which would then give most of the money to eligible students through scholarships. The organizations would be able to use 10% of the money for administrative costs. Donors can receive the $1,700 credit even if they do not live in a state that has opted into the program.
Kentucky’s program would be overseen by the secretary of state, who is currently Republican Michael Adams. His office would report to the U.S. Treasury about the state’s participation in the federal tax credit. Adams praised the bill on X after the Senate passed it and called it “a game-changer for education” and that he looked forward to implementing it.
Democrats have argued HB 1 is a way to support “school choice” options at the expense of public schools despite rejections of earlier proposals by Kentucky voters and the state Supreme Court. However, Republicans say the bill would allow K-12 students and their families to benefit from education assistance grants funded by a federal tax credit — at no cost to the state and without the use of tax dollars.
Democratic Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, argued that Democrats in Congress voted against the (OBBBA) because the tax credit “takes out money that could otherwise go to Medicare benefits, Medicaid benefits, SNAP, defense, housing, transportation, you name it.”
Thomas added that he believes approval of HB 1 will create “a have and haves not system among our public schools.” He said schools in urban areas with more private and parochial schools are already set up to raise funds, and public schools in that area will also receive donations for resources.
“If you live in one of those counties where your primary workforce depends on the public school, you will be harmed and disadvantaged by that bill,” Thomas said. “And so what this bill will do will make sure that we have an uneven playing field among the schools here in this commonwealth, and that’s not good for the people of Kentucky.”
Later while casting a vote in favor of HB 1, Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, pushed back at Thomas’ “haves and haves not” comment.
“I really don’t understand, as a Black Kentuckian, why there is this need to continue to perpetuate the stereotype of a caste system here in our commonwealth. I heard earlier that the money is supposed to go to our public schools,” Douglas said, saying that the Kentucky Constitution directs the General Assembly to “provide for an efficient system of common schools.”
The Kentucky Supreme Court recently interpreted that section of the Constitution to refer to public schools when striking down a 2022 charter school law as unconstitutional.
Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, argued while explaining her no vote that HB 1 would allow tax dollars to be diverted from the federal government and to schools.
“What these guys are saying to you is that we have a way, because of what Trump did, to bypass the Constitution of Kentucky and to bypass the will of the voters in Kentucky to give your tax dollars to private schools,” Berg said. “We voted no in this state, our Constitution says no. To say, ‘Well, it’s not state money, it’s federal money.’ It’s your tax dollars.”
Senate Appropriations and Revenue Chair Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, said while voting in favor of the bill that it was a “ridiculous narrative that this is limited to rich people.” He argued that a married couple making roughly $100,000 a year would owe $7,200 in federal income taxes, and could benefit from a $1,700 tax credit.
“If we have 172 school districts in this state, there will be 172 scholarship granting organizations at a minimum that are set up,” he said. “If you are a young married couple, would you rather send your money to the federal government, or would you rather send it to the school district where your children are attending?”
In the House, two Democrats voted for the bill and one Republican voted against it.
Ahead of the Senate vote, Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman shared two videos on X in which she called HB 1 a “back door voucher bill.” A former public school educator, she also advocated against Amendment 2 in 2024.
“It’s important to know what it will do. It will redirect billions in federal tax revenue to private entities, and it’ll benefit middle to upper class families who are already attending private school,” she said in one of the videos.
Coleman also urged Kentuckians to contact lawmakers to vote against the bill. One Republican, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, of Smithfield, said in a post on X that constituents shouldn’t call and called Coleman’s posts “misinformation.” Tichenor voted in favor of the bill Friday.
“Don’t call us. It’s going to pass and then we’ll override the veto,” Tichenor said. “Why? Because we believe every student deserves a good education; public, private or at home.”
HB 1 is the second bill this session to pass both the House and Senate and head to the governor’s desk. Beshear said Thursday during his weekly press conference that he has “been really clear that public dollars should only go to public schools.”
“I don’t comment on whether I’m going to veto or not veto bills until they get to my desk, but I’m a 100% pro-public education governor that believes that public dollars should only go to public schools,” he added.
Republicans, who have supermajorities in the House and Senate, easily have the votes to override Beshear’s vetoes.
The U.S. Treasury and Department of Education said last month that 23 states had opted-in to the federal tax credit, including Kentucky neighbors Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
