‘If the Supreme Court pulls at this thread and overturns the education law, this story could end with the unraveling of the merger and 20 years of Metro Government’
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 6, 2025) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced today the Kentucky AG’s Office will defend the General Assembly’s laws impacting Jefferson County, following a new lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Jefferson County / Louisville merger.
The lawsuit filed this week against the merger is directly related to the Attorney General’s ongoing defense of 2022’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), which the General Assembly passed to empower a superintendent in a sprawling county school district like the Jefferson County Public Schools. Under that law, the leaders of large county school districts would act like a chief executive officer with the school board as the district’s board of directors.
The Kentucky Supreme Court previously agreed with the Attorney General to uphold SB 1. Then, when a new justice joined the Court, a slim majority of justices decided to rehear the case. Kentucky’s Solicitor General Matt Kuhn will support the law and the justices’ prior ruling in an argument before the Supreme Court on Wednesday in Lexington.
If SB 1’s opponents are successful in overturning the JCPS law, the next logical step could be to declare the Jefferson County / Louisville merger unconstitutional. Attorney General Coleman strongly opposes that move as both a matter of law and for its practical realities for everything from policing to trash collection.
“Kentucky’s General Assembly has taken thoughtful and decisive steps to serve the people of Jefferson County and the entire Commonwealth. After years of heartbreak and hard work, we are finally making progress to crack down on violent crime in Louisville and make the city a place families want to call home,” said Attorney General Coleman. “If the Supreme Court pulls at this thread and overturns the education law, this story could end with the unraveling of the merger and 20 years of Metro Government. That would be wrong on the law and wrong for moms and dads who just want to keep their kids safe, healthy and learning.”