Kentucky approved a statewide SGO founded by its Area Development Districts, and it says it will fund public-school students too

In July, Kentucky became the first state to open an SGO sign-up, when Secretary of State Michael Adams filed the federal election and signed the regulation setting out how the state accepts SGO filings. Kentucky now has an approved organization to show for it. According to reporting by the Kentucky Lantern, Adams's office approved the Kentucky Education Fund as a Kentucky Scholarship Granting Organization on August 27, after the fund received its federal nonprofit recognition in July.

Who built it is the notable part. The fund's founding body is the leadership of Kentucky's Area Development Districts, the regional planning and development organizations that together cover all 120 counties, and it describes itself as “a statewide, nonpartisan option for administering qualifying contributions and scholarships under the new program.” Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, a Greensburg Republican, called having the district leaders serve as the founding body “a natural extension of that work, bringing together regional knowledge, trusted partnerships and a shared commitment to creating greater opportunities for all Kentuckians.” Its adviser, Will Hodges, is a former superintendent of Green County Schools, and he said the districts “brought regional knowledge from every part of Kentucky to the Fund's formation, helping ensure that statewide reach was part of the conversation from the beginning.”

The second notable part is who it plans to serve. The fund says scholarship recipients may be “attending public or private schools” or “receiving a home-based education, provided the student and scholarship expense satisfy applicable federal requirements and Fund policies.” That is exactly what the statute allows, and it is not how the credit is usually described. §25F defines an eligible student by household income and by being eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school, not by where the student actually enrolls. It defines qualified expenses by reference to the Coverdell list in section 530(b)(3)(A), which covers tuition but also tutoring, special-needs services, books, and computer equipment. We walk through that in what §25F allows for public-school students and in the qualified expenses guide.

That matters in a state that joined the program over its governor's objection. Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed House Bill 1 in March, saying that “public dollars should not go to private schools,” and the legislature overrode him and routed the SGO registry through the Secretary of State. The approval that registry has now produced is not a private-school network. It is a statewide fund built by regional bodies that serve every county, advised by a public-school superintendent, offering scholarships to public-school families along with everyone else. Donations can begin January 1, 2027, the day the credit takes effect, and donors can claim up to $1,700.

Two cautions for anyone reading this as a template. First, a Kentucky approval is a state step. Kentucky's list goes to the federal government by January 1, and the federal rules for what an SGO must do are in the regulations now under White House review. How those rules treat non-tuition expenses will decide how much a public-school scholarship can practically pay for. Second, the fund's own language puts the same condition on every category of student, that “the student and scholarship expense satisfy applicable federal requirements.” A public-school program is allowed. The details of running one are still being written.

For a Kentucky nonprofit, the path is open now: a 501(c)(3) public charity can file its declaration with the Secretary of State and be on the list submitted by January 1. Track the state on our Kentucky page, see who else is forming in the SGO directory, and work through formation with the free SGO builder. Homeschool families can read how the credit applies to them in our homeschool and microschool guide.