LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky voters will give their verdict Tuesday on a key education issue, deciding whether state lawmakers should be allowed to allocate tax dollars to support students attending private or charter schools. With no election for statewide office on the ballot in Kentucky this year, the school-choice measure was the most intensely debated issue of the fall campaign.
Advocates on both sides ran TV ads and mounted grassroots efforts to make their case in the high-stakes campaign. Many Republican lawmakers and their allies have supported funneling state dollars into private school education, only to be thwarted by the courts. GOP lawmakers put the issue on the statewide ballot in hopes of amending Kentucky’s constitution to remove the barrier.
The proposal wouldn’t establish policies for how the funds could be diverted. Instead, it would clear the way for lawmakers to consider crafting such policies to support students attending private schools. A simple majority is needed to win voter approval.
Supporters include Republican U.S. Sen.
Rand Paul and top GOP state lawmakers. Paul said every child deserves to attend a school that helps them succeed and said the measure would help reach that goal. Opponents of the proposed constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 2, include public school groups and the state’s most prominent Democrats, Gov.
Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman .
They said tax dollars allocated for education should only go to .
