KY lawyers say problems at FCPS make new law booting board chair ‘reasonable’

Attorneys for the state of Kentucky want a dismissal of the Fayette Board of Education chair’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Kentucky law that prohibits him from serving because he works for another public school district.

Tyler Murphy and the Kentucky Education Association are suing the state of Kentucky and members of the Fayette County Board of Elections, which include Fayette County Clerk Susan Lamb, Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt, and members Deborah Alexander and Monteia Mundy.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Senate Bill 4, passed earlier this year by the Kentucky General Assembly. The law went into effect immediately, but Murphy has still filed to run for office again and has repeatedly said he questions whether this law is allowed.

Murphy has served on the school board since 2019 and also teaches in Boyle County public schools.

The wording of the law effectively makes Murphy ineligible to run for reelection — it says anyone working more than 100 days per year for another school district cannot serve on the school board in Kentucky’s large districts. Murphy’s seat is up for grabs in November this year.

In the motion to dismiss, filed last week on July 10, attorneys in the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, who represent the state in the case, said it’s the responsibility of Kentucky’s elected representatives to “maintain the common schools.”

Deciding qualifications for school board members is not novel and is well within the General Assembly’s powers, the motion said.

The new law Murphy is challenging does not deny him “equal protection of the laws,” the motion to dismiss his lawsuit said.

“The well-documented financial and management difficulties currently being experienced by the Fayette County Board of Education are proof of this concept,” the motion said. “It is therefore reasonable for the General Assembly to require a member of a board of education in larger school districts to not have his or her loyalties divided among multiple school districts, and to be focused solely on the district in which he or she serves on the board of education.”

“This Court should therefore dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims ... for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Further, the Court should deny the Plaintiffs’ motion for a permanent injunction,” the motion said.

As of Thursday morning, a response from Murphy’s attorneys was not included in court records.

Murphy on Thursday referred the Herald-Leader back to his lawsuit and to his attorney’s previous statement that noted, “There is no current constitutional authority to remove anyone by address — not a school board member like Tyler Murphy, not anyone.”

“It would not be appropriate to comment further on pending litigation,” Murphy said Thursday.

This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 6:57 AM.