Foreword: Why Kentucky Students Are Suing the State

I take a deep breath. Then I walk up the granite steps in front of the Franklin County Courthouse to the lectern, where I look out at the gathering crowd. I am part of the Kentucky Student Voice Team (KSVT), a non-profit organization made up of young people and older supporters from across the state. We work together to co-create more just and democratic Kentucky public schools.

Today, we are battling the frigid cold to announce that we are filing a lawsuit against the state. It’s called The Kentucky Student Voice Team v. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Our organization and thirteen individual student plaintiffs are suing the Commonwealth of Kentucky for violating our right to an adequate education—a right guaranteed by our state Constitution.

Until this moment, I didn’t realize I’d be making history. I never pictured youth like myself being at the forefront of change, empowered to make an impact.

But here I am, and I am not alone.

Before we decided to file our lawsuit, KSVT held six public forums across the state in Corbin, Louisville, Bowling Green, Hazard, Lexington, and Owensboro during the 2023-2024 school year. I attended every one.

Over the course of a year, I listened to scores of students, families, and educators share their experiences in Kentucky’s public schools. Once we finished the last forum, it was clear that public education is at a crossroads in Kentucky.

It has not always been this way, but right now, our schools are failing our students. Kentucky’s public schools have thousands of hardworking and talented individual teachers and administrators. Many of these professionals are doing their best with the resources they have, but they are working in a system that does not come close to meeting the educational standards required by Kentucky’s Constitution.

Something has to be done.

Since our founding in 2012, KSVT has been trying to shift public perception about the value of students as partners in improving our schools. When we filed our lawsuit this morning, it was the first time our organization sued the state to get our voices heard.

In the past, we put up signs, wrote stories, spoke to crowds, and led other forms of advocacy. In 2024, I worked with KSVT against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have sent public school dollars to private schools. KSVT partnered with 150 other local organizations in our campaign. As part of our Myth Bus Tour, we took a school bus across the state and held teach-in sessions along the way to explain how diverting funds from our public schools would affect us.

On election night 2024, I witnessed all 120 Kentucky counties vote no on Amendment 2. The result was a powerful sign of Kentucky’s support for public education. This tells me it’s exactly the right time for students across the Commonwealth to demand that our constitutional rights are upheld rather than violated.

Plus, we already have tremendous support for our mission. Our public forums and research prove this. So today, as I look out at the eager crowd gathered at the foot of the courthouse, I don’t feel scared. I feel excited for the changes our lawsuit can bring.

Now I clear my throat, lean toward the mic, and begin my remarks:

Good afternoon, everyone.

We’ve just left the courthouse where we filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Kentucky for failing to uphold our constitutional right to a quality education.

We want to explain why we’ve taken this step.

We are Kentucky students.

We are here today because we care about the Commonwealth and our future.

We are here because we refuse to accept the status quo when it comes to our education.

We are here because we believe the promise of education in Kentucky is too important to be sidelined by inefficiency, inequity, or inaction.

As members of the Kentucky Student Voice Team, we represent a statewide coalition of students dedicated to improving our schools through research, policy, and storytelling.