Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would allow Kentucky students to receive scholarships funded through a federal tax credit program for public, private and home-school settings.
Sponsors of the bill called the veto a “shameful disservice to Kentucky students.”
In his veto message, Beshear said public dollars generated through tax credits should be directed only to public schools.
“I am, quite simply, standing up for my conviction that if we want to ensure every child gets a world-class education, the answer is not diverting students and dollars from public education, but providing sufficient resources to fix public education,” Beshear wrote.
The Democratic governor has consistently supported public education, including proposing teacher pay raises in his state budgets and campaigning against Amendment 2 in 2024, a legislative proposal that sought to fund private, religious and charter schools. That measure was soundly rejected, with voters in all 120 Kentucky counties voting against it.
“Kentuckians have said loud and clear: Public dollars should only be used for public education. The Republican supermajority hasn’t listened. I have,” Beshear said in a Friday social media post that included his full veto message. “Today, I am standing with our people and vetoing House Bill 1.”
States must opt in to participate in the federal tax credit program. The legislation would shift the authority to make that decision from the governor to the Kentucky secretary of state, currently Republican Michael Adams.
HB 1 sponsors Rep. Kim Moser and Rep. T.J. Roberts sharply criticized Beshear after learning of the veto, calling it a “shameful disservice to Kentucky students.”
In a joint statement, the lawmakers said the bill would enroll Kentucky in a federal program that offers a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit to individuals who contribute to approved scholarship-granting organizations. Those scholarships would help lower- and middle-income families pay for educational resources in public, private and home-school settings.
“The Governor’s veto of HB 1 is a shameful disservice to Kentucky students and families in public, private, and home school settings,” Moser and Roberts said in a statement.
They also argued that because Kentuckians can already donate to similar programs in other states and still receive the federal tax credit, the veto effectively sends Kentucky dollars elsewhere instead of helping families within the commonwealth.
“Is the Governor really so tone deaf that he doesn’t recognize this as an opportunity? We continue to hear from public school board members and superintendents who are excited about the potential benefits,” the statement said.
Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, also criticized the veto.
"The record makes clear that HB 1 is not about taking resources away from public education. On the contrary: It’s about doing what we must to ensure federal tax credits claimed by Kentucky families support Kentucky students rather than leaving our commonwealth altogether,” he said.
Republicans hold a supermajority in the General Assembly, meaning the veto could be overridden. The Republican Party of Kentucky also condemned Beshear’s decision.
“This veto is pure politics and shows how little this Governor cares about Kentucky families,” a statement from the Kentucky Republican Party said. “Republicans will override it. And when HB 1 works exactly as promised, the lame-duck governor with presidential ambitions will be first in line trying to take credit. Because Andy Beshear only cares about himself.”
Givens said lawmakers have continued to prioritize funding for public education.
"We have increased K-12 education funding to record levels and will continue to invest billions of dollars to educate our future leaders. Total Kentucky K-12 education funding, including our investments in public educator pensions, outpaces even inflation,” he wrote in a statement.
He added that the governor’s veto will not end the debate over the bill.
"Governor Beshear’s meandering veto message reminds me of a student who really wishes the teacher had put a different question on the test,” he said. “Well, we will ‘grade’ his work next week when we override his veto and start the process of making these federal funds available to Kentucky families."
Beshear acknowledged in his veto message that the decision would likely become politically charged.
