KY school district cancels picture day, education group suspends vendor amid Epstein claims

A prominent company that does school photos for a significant number of Kentucky school districts is facing canceled picture days after widespread online claims linked the vendor to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Lifetouch, a well-known photo company that takes school pictures for millions of children every year, has been wrapped up in widespread online claims linking the company to Leon Black, a billionaire investor who regularly met with Epstein and was named more than 8,000 times in a bevy of new Epstein-related documents released this month by the U.S. Department of Justice.

An Associated Press report indicated Lifetouch was linked to an investment fund manager called Apollo Global Management, which was owned by Black, and purchased Lifetouch’s parent company, Shutterfly, in 2019. Black stepped down as CEO of Apollo in 2021, but he was leading the fund in 2019 when the sale happened.

The recent reports have caused the Kentucky Education Development Corporation, a cooperative that helps Kentucky schools secure contracts for services such as picture day, press pause on their Lifetouch agreements.

The AP reported that several school districts nationwide canceled spring picture day due to widespread online claims that linked Lifetouch to Apollo.

“Out of an abundance of caution and in alignment with our commitment to student wellbeing, KEDC has suspended any current or future use of Lifetouch services until a thorough review and deeper investigation into the matter has been completed,” KEDC officials said Tuesday.

Lifetouch: No photos were wrongly used, company not bought until after Epstein death

The deal for Apollo to buy Shutterfly closed one month after Epstein’s death by suicide in jail. He was awaiting trial for allegations of sexually abusing and trafficking dozens of girls. No evidence of Epstein or anyone in his orbit seeing Lifetouch photos has emerged from news organizations’ review of the documents, though there are at least 1.7 million records, according to AP

Lifetouch Group CEO Ken Murphy said in a statement Friday the claims were “completely false,” and he assured school districts that no student photographs had been distributed to third parties.

“Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files,” Murphy said. “The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities.”

On Tuesday morning, a Lifetouch spokesperson reiterated in a statement to the Herald-Leader that the claims about Lifetouch being connected to Epstein are “completely false.”

“No Lifetouch executives have ever had any relationship or contact with Epstein and we have never shared student images with any third party, including Apollo,” the company’s statement said. “Apollo and its funds also have no role in Lifetouch’s daily operations and have no access to student images.

“In fact, Apollo funds did not acquire Shutterfly, Lifetouch’s parent company, until September 2019 — two months after Epstein was put in jail and a month after Epstein’s death.”

How many Kentucky school districts use Lifetouch?

Later Tuesday, Jim Caldwell, a spokesperson for Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, told the Herald-Leader that 17 districts within their cooperative used Lifetouch within the last year, but also said vendors report on an honor system, so it’s unclear how many districts actually use Lifetouch.

“Our children are the heart of everything we do,” said Nancy Hutchinson, CEO of KEDC. “Their safety and wellbeing rise above every partnership, every contract, and every operational decision. We will always act with care, transparency, and urgency when it comes to protecting the students entrusted to our schools.”

KEDC said its cooperative and participating districts will not use Lifetouch services “for now while officials take a closer look at the situation.”

Any picture days scheduled through KEDC contracts may be paused or changed. Districts may choose alternative vendors or keep Lifetouch as its photo vendor, but would do so outside the KEDC contract. Families don’t need to take action unless they’re contacted by their school, KEDC said.

KEDC said this step is “precautionary” and “it does not automatically mean wrongdoing has been confirmed.”

The Herald-Leader has reached out to Fayette County Public Schools officials. That school district had not issued a statement by Thursday morning.

Canceled picture days

Laurel County Schools, which worked with Lifetouch, on Tuesday canceled spring picture day. Officials said they were doing so “after careful consideration.”

“We believe the best path forward to reassure parents that their child’s school is a safe and continuous learning environment is to cancel the spring pictures scheduled at the elementary schools,” the district said.

Prior to Laurel County’s decision to cancel its spring picture day, parents in the district started a petition to replace the vendor, Lifetouch, with a local photographer.

“When questions arise surrounding corporate leadership or national controversy, even if indirectly connected, that trust is eroded,” the petition reads. The petition had more than 125 signatures as of Monday night.

Harrison County Public Schools also announced its decision to suspend the use of Lifetouch “pending review.” The district said in a statement it was aware of “recent concerns” and will review information.

“In an abundance of caution, the Harrison County Public School District has suspended any current or future use of Lifetouch services until a thorough review and deeper investigation into the matter has been completed,” Superintendent Harry E. Burchett said.

On Thursday, Greenup County Schools said in a Facebook post, ”out of an abundance of caution we are temporarily pausing the use of Lifetouch services while we conduct a review and gather additional information.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2026 at 5:39 PM.