Frankfort Changed Who Can Serve on Fayette and Jefferson School Boards

A new lawsuit over Senate Bill 4 tests how far Kentucky lawmakers can go in rewriting eligibility rules for local school board seats.

Jun 04, 2026

Kentucky lawmakers changed school board eligibility rules for the state’s largest districts. A new lawsuit now asks whether that state law went too far. **Source:** Wikimedia Commons

On June 2, Fayette County Board of Education Chair Tyler Murphy and the Kentucky Education Association filed a lawsuit in Franklin Circuit Court challenging part of Senate Bill 4, the education law Kentucky lawmakers passed over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto this spring.

The lawsuit targets one provision in particular: a new eligibility rule that bars some school employees from serving on school boards in Kentucky’s largest districts. The law applies to school districts with more than 300,000 inhabitants, which means Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools.

For Fayette County, the dispute is immediate. Murphy is chair of the Fayette County Board of Education, teaches in Boyle County, and filed to run for reelection before the new law took effect. His lawsuit argues that the General Assembly used SB 4 to disqualify him from office and to narrow the pool of candidates Fayette County voters may choose for the school board.

The legal fight now belongs to the courts.

The court will decide the legal question, but Fayette County voters, local election officials, school employees, and Kentucky’s two largest public school districts will feel the effects.

The lawsuit is now before the Franklin Circuit Court

SB 4 began the 2026 legislative session as a bill dealing with school leadership and a principal practicum. During the House process, lawmakers added major provisions affecting large school districts, including new eligibility limits for school board members, changes to board composition, and emergency timing language. The bill passed both chambers, Gov. Beshear vetoed it on April 13, and the General Assembly overrode that veto on April 14.

The final law became Acts Chapter 154. It defines a “large school district” as one with more than 300,000 inhabitants. In Kentucky, that points to Fayette County and Jefferson County.

The contested provision amends Kentucky school board eligibility rules. For large districts, a person cannot serve on the board if the Kentucky Board of Education employs them in a position requiring work on more than 100 days per year. Current members may complete the terms to which they were elected or appointed, but they cannot run for or serve another term unless they meet the new requirements.

Murphy and KEA filed suit against the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fayette County Board of Elections, Fayette County Clerk Susan Lamb, and Fayette County Board of Elections members Kathy H. Witt, Deborah Alexander, and Monteia Mundy, all in their official capacities. The complaint asks the Franklin Circuit Court to block enforcement of the eligibility bar and declare it unconstitutional.

WKYT reported that three candidates filed for the Fayette County Board of Education 2nd District seat: R.J. Hijalda, Tyler Murphy, and Kathy Schifflett. Murphy is the candidate affected by the SB 4 restriction.

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The 300,000-person threshold

The new law does not remove every school employee from every school board race in Kentucky. It creates a narrower rule for large school districts.

A teacher, administrator, or school employee who works more than 100 days a year for a Kentucky school board may still be eligible to serve on a smaller district school board. The new bar applies only where the district crosses the 300,000-inhabitant threshold.

The law also changes school board governance in Jefferson County. The law reduces seven-member large-district boards to five members and ends their terms on Dec. 31, 2026, with new elections to follow under the revised rules.

The emergency clause made the school board governance provisions effective immediately. The General Assembly justified that timing by citing “timely elections and appointments” in large school districts.

That timing is central to the Fayette County dispute. Murphy had already filed for reelection before SB 4 became law. The complaint argues that the General Assembly changed the eligibility rules after his candidacy had begun and then placed enforcement in the hands of state and local election officials.

How Frankfort changed local school board elections

School boards are local offices, but the rules for those offices come from state law.

SB 4 shows how the General Assembly can use statewide legislation to change the conditions for local representation.

In Fayette County, the change affects a live school board race. Voters in the 2nd District may face a ballot shaped by a new state eligibility rule. The Fayette County Clerk and Fayette County Board of Elections are local implementers because they administer filings, ballot access, and election procedures.

In Jefferson County, the same law changes the board’s composition for Kentucky’s largest school district. That means Louisville-area voters face a different board map and representation arrangement because of a law passed in Frankfort, not because of a local referendum or local board action.

The issue also affects educators who might seek a local office. For educators in Fayette and Jefferson counties, there is a new barrier to serving on the local school board, even if voters want them there.

A teacher in one county could be barred from serving on a school board in another large county, even if voters there want that person to represent them.

The General Assembly has authority over public education law. The constitutional question is whether lawmakers used that authority in a way Kentucky’s Constitution forbids. Murphy and KEA argue the eligibility bar violates Kentucky’s protections against special legislation and unequal treatment.

Gov. Beshear raised a related objection in his veto message. He argued SB 4 targeted Fayette and Jefferson school boards and said local voters, rather than the General Assembly, should decide how their school boards are organized.

What you can do next

Track the Franklin Circuit Court case. The key documents to watch are any motion for temporary injunction, the state’s response, the assigned judge’s order, and any expedited hearing schedule.

Check with the Fayette County Clerk whether Murphy remains listed as a candidate and whether the Fayette County Board of Elections has taken any formal action related to SB 4. Those records should be public.

Track how the district and local election officials prepare for the transition to a five-member board required by SB 4. The Jefferson County piece is broader than Murphy’s lawsuit and deserves separate attention.

Ask your legislators why the eligibility rule was limited to districts with populations above 300,000 and why the emergency clause was used. They can also ask whether lawmakers considered statewide school board eligibility rules and rejected them.

Compare the public explanation of SB 4 with the law’s text. The text matters here.

The law does not simply address school leadership training. It changes who may serve on school boards in Kentucky’s largest districts.

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