The lawsuit targets portions of Senate Bill 4, passed over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto earlier this year. It applies only to Fayette and Jefferson counties and prohibits most school district employees who work more than 100 days a year from serving on school boards. It also reduces the Fayette County Board of Education from seven members to five and ends the terms of all current board members on Dec. 31, 2026.
Plaintiffs, including FCPS Board Chair Tyler Murphy, argue the law is unconstitutional.
"It's considered special legislation because it only targets those educators that live in those two communities, and it only affects those two communities, and then it's also arbitrary," Murphy said. "It's a situation where we have legislators in Frankfort trying to step in and override and undermine the voice of the people in those communities who have the right to elect the people who serve on their local boards of education."
The legislation disqualifies Murphy, a public school teacher in Boyle County, who has filed for re-election to the board.
The suit seeks to block the law's implementation and requests an expedited court review ahead of upcoming election deadlines.
In a written statement, State Rep. Matt Lockett criticized the lawsuit, calling it a distraction from ongoing financial and governance issues facing Fayette County Public Schools and again urged Murphy to resign.
The lawsuit names the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fayette County Board of Elections, and Fayette County election officials as defendants.
At the time this story was filed, no date for a court hearing had been set.
