Kentucky student group sues public schools over failure to educate; lawmaker says more funding isn’t the solution
Kentucky schools are failing to provide an adequate and equitable public education, according to a recent lawsuit by a group of students.
The Kentucky Student Voice Team filed the suit Tuesday,…

Kentucky schools are failing to provide an adequate and equitable public education, according to a recent lawsuit by a group of students.
The Kentucky Student Voice Team filed the suit Tuesday, alluding to a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling more than 30 years ago that guaranteed “an equal opportunity to have an adequate education.”
“This right was clarified in the 1989 Rose v. Council for Better Education decision,” Khoa Ta, policy coordinator for the group, told LEX18. “But today, the legacy of Rose is wilted as its promises have gone unfulfilled for far too many Kentucky students.”
Educational failures cited by the group included declining literacy skills, “mental health crises,” lack of civics education, and “severe academic disparities,” according to a release.
“There are vast differences in achievement between Kentucky districts, in many cases of over 70 percentage points.”
‘We will not continue to shower more money on failing systems’
The group is seeking increased financial support from the Republican-controlled Legislature, claiming base funding has declined “by approximately 25% in inflation-adjusted terms” since the 1990s.
“The state share of total education costs has fallen from 75% to 50%, placing a heavier and often unmanageable financial burden on local school districts,” the complaint stated.
However, House Speaker David Osborne has taken issue with past calls for more spending, arguing the Legislature “had fulfilled its obligations to fund school systems,” Louisville Public Media noted.
Osborne is one of the defendants named in the lawsuit.
“By every metric, even adjusted for inflation — regardless of what so-called economists continue to say, which are not economists — we continue to fund education at record levels,” he said. “Even when presented with the opportunity to say that we needed to double down on education, the only intentional proposal that we ever get is more money. And I will tell you that we will not continue to shower more money on failing systems.”
In another shot at critics, Osborne faulted those who “have not provided one single, substantive, creative, thoughtful, intentional policy change to improve education,” according to the Kentucky Lantern.
“Asking for more money is not big,” he said during a speech at the Kentucky Chamber Day Dinner. “Asking for more money is not bold. Asking for more money is just an ask – and it’s not working.”