FRANKFORT, Ky. — A state lawmaker wants Kentucky to join President Donald Trump’s federal tax scholarship program. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which became law in July 2025, created the first federal tax scholarship program for K-12 education, taking effect in 2027. State Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, wants Kentucky to opt in under his House Bill 88.
“There’s not a red cent of Kentucky tax dollars being used for this program,” Roberts said. “It is a pure opt-in to ensure that there is a greater choice. And that’s the one catch; states have to opt-in to do it.”
The program offers individuals a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donating to Scholarship Granting Organizations that provide scholarships for private school tuition, tutoring and exams.
Roberts said the federal program gives more parents the option to decide what is best for their child.
“We are at a point where opportunity is being denied based on your ZIP code and based on your parents’ wealth,” Roberts said.
The Kentucky Education Association is against the federal plan and Kentucky’s participation in it.
“Kentucky’s educational priorities should focus on strengthening what serves the overwhelming majority of our kids — public schools,” the organization said in a statement. “By adequately investing in competitive educator pay and staffing, smaller class sizes, transportation and quality facilities, our tax dollars can provide a high-quality education for every student in Kentucky.”
In 2024, Kentuckians voted down Amendment 2, which would have allowed the state legislature to fund private schools with public dollars. This bill, however, would not use Kentucky’s money but rely on those investments from families and federal funding by matching contributors’ donations.
“A fundamental principle of economics is that competition provides a better-quality product, at a lower cost; education is no different,” Roberts said.
State governors must choose to enroll in the program by Jan. 1, 2027. HB 88 also shifts that power to Auditor Allison Ball, R-Ky., instead of Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky.
In a statement sent to Spectrum News 1, Beshear said, “This bill is unconstitutional in both where education funds can go in Kentucky and in what powers the state auditor can exert.”