(LEX 18) — Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure that would give lawmakers permission to send taxpayer dollars to private schools.

The defeat was a setback for many Republican lawmakers and their allies who supported sending public funds to private school education through their school choice efforts. However, these efforts were blocked by the courts.

Thus, the measure was brought to a statewide vote with the goal of amending the Kentucky Constitution to remove this barrier. But Kentucky voters put a stop to that.

Does this mean that lawmakers are done with school choice legislation? Senate President Robert Stivers acknowledged Kentucky’s choice Tuesday evening.

“The public has spoken. They have said they don’t like this path,” Stivers said. “So we’re going to look at other avenues to ensure accountability and performance in low-performing school districts and I think everyone is for that. You want accountability and good performance in public education.”

Stivers emphasized that their intention was to help families in underperforming school systems.

“One of the worst-performing systems – if not the worst-performing system in an isolated area – is the Jefferson County public school system. You’ve seen all the evaluations that just came out, what’s going on in the West End,” Stivers said. “That has been our goal many times, but the courts have ruled against us on what we are trying to do with this West End population, an African-American population that has been left behind.”

“It was about focusing on the poorest and most needy, like the West End, to create a different type of educational opportunity,” he added.

The proposed constitutional amendment would not have established policies on how public funds could be misused. Instead, advocates hoped it would pave the way for lawmakers to consider developing policies to support students attending private schools. Options mentioned included tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts or vouchers.