Kentuckians will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment in November on whether to allow public funds to go to private schools, and several opposing political committees have already raised millions of dollars to spend on that fight.
A bill passed by the Kentucky General Assembly this year placed the referendum on the ballot, in which voters will be asked whether the state constitution should be amended to “provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools,” meaning public K-12 schools. If the amendment is approved, the legislature could later decide the specifics of how funding would be directed to education at private or charter schools.
The only political issue committee opposed to the amendment to report raising significant funds ahead of the Tuesday deadline was Protect Our Schools Kentucky, which collected more than $3 million. These groups register with the state to spend money to influence voters on specific ballot referendums.