On August 26, the Liberty Justice Center issued demand letters on behalf of concerned Kentucky taxpayers and educational freedom advocate Corey DeAngelis, PhD, urging Kentucky’s Attorney General to investigate the illegal use of public money for political advocacy by local school districts and the state’s Lieutenant Governor.
In November, Kentucky voters will decide whether to enact Amendment 2, a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state’s General Assembly to fund educational opportunities outside the public school system.
Kentucky law prohibits the use of public resources—which include government officials’ and school districts’ official social media accounts, websites, and staff time—to advocate for or against proposed ballot measures. Doing so constitutes illegal election interference—and, under Kentucky Supreme Court precedent, is grounds for legal action by taxpayers.
Government officials across Kentucky—including multiple school district administrators and the state’s Lieutenant Governor—have violated this law by engaging in political advocacy against Amendment 2.
The Pulaski County School District violated Kentucky law by using its official websites, social media pages, and physical buildings to display messages urging Kentuckians to vote against Amendment 2. It also violated the First Amendment by deleting Facebook comments that criticized its illegal use of public resources for political advocacy. On August 16, the district also blocked Mr. DeAngelis from its page and—after receiving numerous critical comments from others—froze any additional comments on its posts. Mr. DeAngelis remained blocked from the district’s page until August 21.
The Daviess County School District went still farther in its illegal use of taxpayer funds, paying thousands of teachers and staff members to attend a mandatory political rally, where whistleblowers confirm that the district’s superintendent explicitly directed all employees to vote against the proposed constitutional amendment.
The Pulaski County School District’s actions prompted Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman to issue a formal advisory on August 13 to remind districts that using public resources to advance political views violates state election law.
Nonetheless, Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman publicly praised the districts’ illegal election interference and instructed Kentuckians to “vote NO on Amendment 2” in August 16 and August 26 posts to her official X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook accounts.
On August 26, the Liberty Justice Center issued a demand letter urging Kentucky’s Attorney General to investigate these widespread violations of state election law and order the school districts and Lieutenant Governor to cease their illegal use of taxpayer funds for political advocacy. The Liberty Justice Center also issued letters to the Pulaski and Daviess County School Districts notifying them of the letter to the Attorney General and urging them to comply with state election law.
“Using taxpayer resources to oppose Amendment 2 isn’t just illegal—it’s a betrayal of public trust,” said Dean McGee, Educational Freedom Attorney at the Liberty Justice Center. “The Attorney General should act swiftly and decisively to uphold the law and protect the integrity of the November election.”
A copy of the Liberty Justice Center’s letter to the Attorney General is available here. A copy of its letter to the Pulaski County Board of Education is available here, and a copy of its letter to the Daviess County School District is available here.