‘We love our public schools.’ Beshear vetoes federal tax credit scholarship bill
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday vetoed a high-priority Republican bill that would authorize federal tax credits in exchange for donations to private school scholarships.
House Bill 1, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, and Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, would allow the state to enroll in the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit Scholarship program established last year by Republican President Donald Trump’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
In his veto message, Beshear wrote that public dollars via tax credits should only go to public schools, adding that Kentuckians “love our 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.
Beshear, a two-term Democratic governor, has positioned himself as a staunch supporter of public schools. He’s pushed for teacher raises to be included in the state budget, and campaigned aggressively against Amendment 2 in 2024, an ultimately unsuccessful effort to allow the legislature to fund private, religious and charter schools.
All 120 counties in Kentucky voted against Amendment 2, which was defeated by more than 29 percentage points.
“The message was clear. Don’t divert public dollars. Fund our public schools,” Beshear wrote.
States must opt in to the tax credit program, but this bill would shift that power from the governor, currently a Democrat, to the Kentucky secretary of state, currently Republican Michael Adams.
The program allows people to receive a credit of up to $1,700 on their federal income taxes for contributions they make to Scholarship Granting Organizations, or SGOs. The SGOs use that money to provide scholarships or otherwise cover school-related costs for children attending public or private schools.
Beshear wrote that he understood his veto will be perceived as partisan. But it shouldn’t, he argued.
“I recognize my veto today will be politicized. Some will attack ‘teachers’ unions,’ as if they are malevolent actors when, in reality, they are our neighbors and friends who have taken on critical jobs despite the low pay. They should be appreciated instead of attacked,” Beshear wrote.
Republican Party of Kentucky spokesman Adam Hope wrote in a statement that Beshear took the action “to appease the radical left that opposes empowering parents and students,” and Republicans in the state legislature would override it as they have with the vast majority of his vetoes.
“HB1 doesn’t take a single dollar from state funding. It’s a federal tax credit that will help get more resources to the people who need them most. This veto is pure politics and shows how little this Governor cares about Kentucky families,” Hope wrote.
“When HB1 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,” Hope added.
The bill, which passed with overwhelming GOP support in both the House and Senate, has been on the governor’s desk since March 2. Once a bill reaches the governor, he has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to act on it. He can sign it into law, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
Beshear’s vetoes rarely stand. His entire tenure as governor has coincided with a Republican supermajority in the legislature. The GOP currently holds 80 of 100 House seats and 32 of 38 Senate seats.
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 2:48 PM.
