On August 14, the Liberty Justice Center issued a demand letter on behalf of Kentucky taxpayers, warning a local school district that its advocacy against a proposed ballot measure that would expand educational freedom in the state constitutes illegal election interference under state law.
On August 11, the Pulaski County School District posted a message to its official Facebook account advocating against Amendment 2, a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the November ballot. If adopted by voters, Amendment 2 would allow Kentucky’s General Assembly to increase educational opportunity across the state by providing financial support for students outside the public school system.
Kentucky law prohibits the use of public resources—including school districts’ official social media accounts, websites, and staff time—to advocate for or against political issues, including proposed ballot measures. Doing so constitutes illegal election interference—and, under Kentucky Supreme Court precedent, is grounds for legal action by taxpayers.
On August 13, the office of Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman issued a formal advisory reminding districts that, under state law, using school resources or time to advance personal political views “improperly use[s] taxpayer dollars and wrongfully interject[s] political activity into the operation of public schools.”
The Liberty Justice Center issued a formal demand letter on behalf of registered voters in Pulaski County, warning the District that its messages lobbying against Amendment 2 violate Kentucky law. The letter demands that the District remove the messages within 48 hours to comply with state election law and confirm in writing that it will not engage in illegal advocacy in the future.
“It is illegal and immoral for school officials to use taxpayer funds to engage in political advocacy. It’s especially outrageous for school officials to use taxpayer money to oppose measures that would increase educational opportunities in their state,” said Dean McGee, Educational Freedom Attorney at the Liberty Justice Center.
The Liberty Justice Center has also taken a stand against illegal electioneering on behalf of registered voters in Denton County and Harris County, Texas, who similarly objected to school officials’ use of tax dollars to oppose candidates who support greater educational freedom. The Liberty Justice Center’s demand letters triggered investigations by the counties’ District Attorneys to hold school officials accountable for using public resources to advance personal political goals. In Denton County, this led to Texas’ first indictments of school officials for illegal electioneering.
A copy of the Liberty Justice Center’s letter to the Pulaski County Board of Education is available here.
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(The Center Square)—A Texas-based group wants a local school district to stop encouraging voters to reject a constitutional amendment that would increase school choice options across the state. The Liberty Justice Center recently sent a demand letter to the Pulaski County School District after the district posted a message on...
(Tampa Free Press)—The Liberty Justice Center has issued a demand letter on behalf of Kentucky taxpayers, accusing the Pulaski County School District of illegal election interference for using public resources to oppose a proposed ballot measure that would expand educational freedom in the state. The school district posted messages on...
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