One of the most controversial and unpopular decisions of the Wyoming Legislature’s recent session is now being challenged in court by the Wyoming Education Association (WEA).
On Friday, the WEA’s attorneys filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief as well as a Motion for Preliminary Injunction seeking to stop the state’s voucher program. Originally approved by the Legislature in 2024, the program was altered significantly this year to give $7,000 per student annually to Wyoming families who choose to enroll their K-12 children in private education. As written, the program diverts public education funds to private entities with no meaningful oversight or accountability.
As defendants, the complaint names Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier, and the state of Wyoming directly.
The WEA is joined in this suit with nine other plaintiffs, who are parents across Wyoming impacted by the legislature’s decision.
“Voucher programs disproportionately benefit wealthier families and redirect hard-earned Wyoming taxpayer dollars, sometimes to individuals and companies outside of the state to subsidize private education” WEA President Kim Amen said. “This is not just bad policy. It is unconstitutional.”
The complaint sets forth that the voucher program violates the Wyoming Constitution and goes against prior rulings of the Wyoming Supreme Court, as it relates to funding public education and the obligation of the state to provide a complete and uniform system of public instruction.
According to Amen, the voucher program – which the Legislature chose to call the “Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act” – violates both provisions, threatening the foundation of the state’s public education system, which serves more than 93% of Wyoming students.
As the WEA has previously noted, this unconstitutional program is especially harmful to rural communities, where public schools are often the only educational option. By diverting funding, it weakens the ability of many of these communities to serve students while simultaneously jeopardizing the economic and social stability of the towns they anchor.
In February, the courts ruled in favor of the WEA in its suit against the state of Wyoming for failing to adequately fund public education. In the strongly worded decision, the court reaffirmed that there is a constitutional duty to provide all Wyoming students with a modern and equitable education.
“This voucher program does the opposite,” Amen noted. “It creates a two-tiered system in which a select few access unregulated private services, while the majority, particularly those in underserved and rural areas, are left with diminished resources and reduced opportunities.”
In fact, in a scientific study earlier this year by the surveying firm Counterpoint, nearly 70% of Wyoming Republicans oppose the state’s voucher program.
“Our students, families, and communities deserve better,” Amen said. “Public dollars belong in public schools.”
