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As education freedom sweeps across the country, Kentucky stands out as an unfortunate bulwark against innovation, improved academic outcomes, and parental choice.
For decades, Kentucky families have watched neighboring states take bold steps to expand educational opportunity while policymakers in Frankfort debate the same old questions. Ohio’s EdChoice program has improved college enrollment and graduation rates for thousands of students. West Virginia gave education savings account access to all K-12 students. In Indiana, families can take advantage of more than 100 public charter schools and Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program. In just the past year, both Missouri and Tennessee expanded existing choice programs to allow more students to access scholarships. All the while, Kentucky has remained stagnant.
Now, a new federal tax credit scholarship program offers a rare chance to leap forward — and it’s time for Kentucky to take it.
At its heart, this program is simple: taxpayers can redirect a portion of what they owe the federal government to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), which in turn provide scholarships to students whose families fall within income eligibility limits — up to 300% of the area’s median income. In plain English, families who might not otherwise afford private or supplemental education can finally get the help they need.
The genius of this approach is that it’s not a new education bureaucracy. It’s a tax program. The money never flows through Washington; instead, it stays in local communities, fueling innovation and giving parents real choices for their children. And because the tax credit is dollar-for-dollar, at least 90 percent of every contribution directly benefits a student — not an agency, not overhead, but a child.
And the law is specifically crafted to allow children to participate in a variety of educational settings. For instance, a family with two children could apply for a scholarship to send one child to a private school and apply for another scholarship to cover tutoring costs for the other child remaining in public school. This tax credit gives parents the ability to customize learning for their families, rather than shoehorning kids into systems that don’t fit.
If you think education choice is a partisan issue, think again. The last few years have shown that bipartisan cooperation is still possible and powerful. When Shaka spoke with North Carolina’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kody Kinsley, he shared how his state’s leaders bridged political divides to expand Medicaid. Their success was built on four principles: clear priorities, transparent communication, shared values, and authentic engagement. Those same lessons apply here.
Kentucky’s leaders should begin by focusing on the facts: this program does not draw from the state budget, and it benefits students in public and private schools alike. That’s the kind of win-win policy that transcends party lines. Lawmakers can be transparent about how funds are used, how families qualify, and how communities benefit. And by inviting parents to the table early, they can build trust and momentum for lasting reform.
Kentucky stands at a crossroads. It can continue to debate yesterday’s talking points about who “owns” education, or it can follow the example of neighboring states where leaders have found common ground and put kids first. Families aren’t asking for handouts; they’re asking for the freedom to invest in their children’s future. That’s why polling shows that educational choice is no longer a fringe idea — it’s a mainstream demand. Across party lines, parents want flexibility, affordability, and accountability.
The new federal tax credit scholarship program offers Kentucky a bipartisan, budget-neutral, and family-centered path forward. It’s not about ideology. It’s about opportunity. The time to act is now, before another generation of students is forced to wait for adults to put politics aside in favor of putting kids first.
Shaka Mitchell is a senior fellow for the American Federation for Children. Gary Houchens is a scholar at the Bluegrass Institute and a former member of the Kentucky Board of Education.
This piece first appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
