Why Kentucky Students Are Suing the State

In Kentucky, education has always carried constitutional weight. More than three decades ago, in Rose v. Council for Better Education, our state’s Supreme Court declared that every child is guaranteed an adequate and equitable education. That promise became a model for the nation.

Today, as Kentucky students, we are returning to the courts because that promise has been broken. We see it in schools without counselors, in outdated textbooks, in districts that can’t pay teachers a living wage, and in the widening gap between schools with resources and schools without.

This book tells the story of why we are suing our own state. It’s a story rooted in Kentucky, but it resonates far beyond our borders. The challenges we face—underfunding, inequity, civic neglect—are challenges young people across America recognize in their own schools.

By situating our struggle in Kentucky, we honor our place, our history, and our role in shaping our own present and future. By sharing it with the world, we invite others to see what happens when we take seriously the idea that classrooms, courts, and the Constitution are bound together, and that our voices belong in all three.

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KENTUCKY STUDENT VOICE TEAM (KSVT) is an independent nonprofit organization supporting young people to co-create more just, democratic schools and communities. Learn more about our youth-led research, policy, storytelling, and litigation at ksvt.org.