On January 14th, 2025, the Kentucky Student Voice Team (KSVT) filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Kentucky, seeking to hold the state accountable for its failure to fulfill its constitutional obligation to ensure that all students have access to an equitable and dignified educational experience. KSVT has cited numerous issues such as declining literacy skills, lack of civics education, mental health crises, limited arts availability, and severe academic disparities. KSVT is a student-led organization that is focused on amplifying student voices in education policy and practice through research, policy, and storytelling initiatives. Students in KSVT have been involved with shaping policy, leading forums, publishing podcasts and articles, writing books, working closely with other organizations, and have now officially filed a lawsuit.
For full disclosure, I have been a member of KSVT since July of 2023, and I am currently a board member.
It isn’t every day that a group of mostly high school students is involved in this sort of litigation, so I interviewed two of these students to understand what this lawsuit means to them. Michelle Zheng is a senior at Elizabethtown High School, and Abigail Ladwig is a junior at Owensboro High School.
So first, tell me a little bit about yourself. Who are you as a student, and what are you involved in?
Michelle: That’s a loaded question. I’m pretty involved in high school, and I do want to add that I am an AP honor student. I’ve taken almost all the AP classes my school offers, and if not, then I’m in honors classes. Outside of school, I do a lot of extracurriculars. I am in FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), I am in Beta Club, I co-founded the Environmental Club, and I co-founded the Young Democrats. I’m a part of KSVT, where I primarily focus on research and journalism. In my community, I do Teen Corps, which is a youth program for juvenile offenders. We, the volunteers, will go in and we will prosecute or defend juvenile offenders. And then there will be a kind of peer court and jury. Essentially, they will come up with a sentence for the offender, for them to try to rehabilitate themselves and rectify whatever offense they committed.
Abigail: As a student, I’d say I’m pretty high achieving. You know, standard, like AP classes, I’m in the orchestra, I weightlift, I run track and cross-country. Right now I’m training for a half marathon, so I’ve been working out a lot. The hobbies I enjoy are just straight-up research. Right now I’m working on research for the science fair at the University of Louisville. My project is on chickens and how carotenoid supplements change their egg yolks. I love STEM, and I hope to pursue a career in environmental science or animal sciences. Beyond that, a lot of my extracurriculars focus more on policy and law, because that’s what’s available to me. I am obviously on KSVT but I’m also part of the Wendell Ford Government Education Center, where we learn about our local government and ways to improve it. I’m on the debate team, and the Future Problem Solving team at my school. I was a campus representative for Project Green Challenge in 2024, which is kind of like youth advocacy, but for graduate students, where we respond to prompts like environmental awareness and try to get information out to the public about how they can be more sustainable. I’m a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Steward, and I’m trying to work on a community project, where I try to help marine environments because Owensboro, where I go to school, is right on the Ohio River. And it’s a very polluted river, it’s not the worst, but it’s very polluted. I would not go swimming in it. A project that I’m trying to get started on is environmental education within elementary schools. My mom’s a public school teacher, and I hope to be able to utilize that connection to try to teach younger children to be aware that their actions have consequences on the environment. I’m probably forgetting about a lot of other stuff because I do a lot, but I promise I balance it!
Why did you join KSVT and what is your role within it right now?
Michelle: I joined KSVT because I was trying to get involved in statewide politics. KSVT is an organization that reaches out to students, and its main priority is elevating marginalized student voices across Kentucky. I remember writing my application for KSVT, and I wrote in there how I’m one of the five or six Asian American students at my school and how I didn’t necessarily feel included both inside and outside the classroom and social settings. That was what compelled me to do advocacy in education. You’ll find that there are echoes of that in my complaint for KSVT v The Commonwealth of Kentucky. In regards to research, I’m on the National Urban Leagues Student Advisory Council for Accountability and Assessment, and a couple of weeks ago, I went to New York City for a convening to essentially try to revamp or reimagine what standardized testing looks like. Moving towards project-based learning, Capstone projects, and theses because we’re finding that standardized testing isn’t equitable, especially in minority communities.
Abigail: I joined in December 2023, which honestly isn’t that long, but the way the Kentucky Student Voice Team is structured, you can move up and take a stronger role in some of these projects quickly, which is awesome. I joined because I felt like I wasn’t doing enough in my community. You know, seeing everything that’s going on in this world right now is just really heartbreaking, and I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I would go home, study for my AP class, play the violin a little bit, and go run. But I felt like I wasn’t doing anything with my life. There was nothing that I could say I was doing, and it’s great to compete at stuff, to get medals, to run a race hard, or to compete, you know, for future problem-solving. That’s amazing, but it wasn’t satisfying. There was a hole in me that wasn’t being satisfied. And I heard about the Kentucky Student Voice team from a fellow student. And I decided, you know, might as well sign up and see where it can take me, and it’s taken me to a lawsuit.
How have your experiences as a student in Kentucky shaped your views on education and the education system in general?
Michelle: As a student in Kentucky, I did the Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP), and after meeting people from all these different types of schools, I found that maybe my school’s not doing what it’s supposed to be doing. My school is definitely doing its best, but in comparison to other students across the state, we’re not matching the quality of curriculum of these other schools, like DuPont Manual for example. There needs to be a little bit of a change in that sector. I have friends from, Somerset and Russell Springs whose schools are way more rural than my district is. And I found that, those students had no AP classes at all and no resources for standardized tests like the ACT. That has really made me realize that there are inequities in our system and those need to be addressed.
Abigail: I love my school, don’t get me wrong, we’re a pretty awesome school. There are teachers who work hard, we have staff who care. You know, I once cried in my Dean of Instruction’s arms over something that happened, and I felt safe. We have police officers who keep us safe. The staff connects with students and tries to make everyone feel welcome. And so, at first, I didn’t think there was a huge issue with the education system in Kentucky. But as I got to high school, I realized that there was a really big disparity between me and other students. That has kind of shaped how I view things. I don’t want to say that the Kentucky public education system is a letdown, but why is someone from a different school seeming to have more opportunities than me? Seeing that has shaped how I view the education system, and just seeing how other students fare in their classes. I’ve sat in on general classes before, not AP, and I’ve seen just how the lessons are completely formatted differently. I get it that it’s not an AP class, but it was to the extent that I was like, what the heck? You’re not teaching anything. And I don’t blame it on the teacher; again, that’s the curriculum that they’re supposed to teach. Just seeing that firsthand as a student helped me realize that. And then, through the Kentucky Student Voice Team, actually being told to my face, this is what’s happening, and being able to relate those things that are happening in my school. KSVT has helped me realize that we have some stuff that we need to fix.
What do you hope to achieve by being a part of this lawsuit and what does it mean to you personally?
Michelle: I really want to, for the most part, highlight minority voices in Kentucky because in my experience as a student, microaggressions are rampant at my school. Like in many other rural school districts, a lot of minority students have to deal with comments they receive from their peers or the school environment. Administrators are very complacent in trying to address those issues and I understand how the administration, being predominantly white, can be sensitive to the topic. However, minority students don’t necessarily trust these administrators to take proper action if they voice concerns about microaggressions in the classroom. A microaggression is not direct racism. Oftentimes, a microaggression can manifest itself in many different ways. The perpetrator of a microaggression doesn’t necessarily have to intend to be racist. It can be just subconscious, not realizing they are being racist or making stereotypical remarks. I definitely want to open up a conversation within our state with legislators and lawmakers to destigmatize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) because it is really impacting many students, including myself. For instance, one of my close friends at my school, who is Asian American, considered self-harming because of the microaggressions he’s been through throughout school. A lot of his peers made microaggressive, rude comments to him, and that really did a number on his mental health. I really want to emphasize that. Why are we demonizing DEI when not being inclusive and having those conversations of cultural sensitivity in the class is really hurting a lot of minority students?
Abigail: Well, first I’d like to achieve actual change. I’d like politicians to wake up and realize that the youth of today are not lazy. A lot of older generations think, “My gosh, Gen Z is so lazy. They don’t do anything.” Okay, well I’m suing you – my gosh. I want people to realize that we are developing our future regardless of what other people say. The youth of today are strong, capable, and we are making a statement for ourselves. I’d like to see this result in a bill or an amendment to Rose or KERA, because it’s just not acceptable what’s happening right now. It just feels great to see change in my community. I love going to the elementary schools and volunteering with them and I look forward to seeing how they will react when there are improvements to their school system. And when they’re looking back, and thinking “the KSVT kids allowed me to have a better and brighter future in middle school and high school”. That just makes my soul really happy. For me, that’s enough. It’s just insane that politicians in our legislative system don’t think the same way. We should be helping each other, uplifting each other, and educating our kids, not withholding funding or trying to divert funding. I hope that with this lawsuit, we can spread the word that we’re not going to be one of the lowest in education anymore. We have youth who are advocating for a better tomorrow.
How do you see the effects of inadequate education policy playing out in students’ daily lives?
Michelle: Right now there is a national literacy rate decline. A lot of kids aren’t learning how to read. My sister’s in the 9th grade honors class, which has a teacher. But if you aren’t in the honors class in the ninth grade, you have a teacher who logs in from Zoom to teach the class from Switzerland. I don’t think that’s adequate at all! It’s a core class, and ninth grade is when you need to build on the foundations. My school’s average ACT score is really low, and we have standardized tests, but only a quarter of students are proficient at my school. A quarter, maybe a little bit more than that, of students at my high school are proficient in English and Math. State testing is very basic information, and if kids aren’t passing that, especially for those who intend on going into college, it’s really alarming.
Abigail: I see a lot of kids that are my race in AP courses and a lot of kids that aren’t my race in lower courses, and I think that has a lot to do with discrimination because we have it signed into law that everyone should receive an adequate education, but we’re not. I do not have a single African American classmate in my AP Calculus course. I can think of other courses that I don’t, but that one is noticeable, there is not a single person from a different race in this class, and that speaks volumes. That shows how our education system has failed. Why are we still letting this happen to our children? Beyond that, we get a lot of refugees in our school, and people who speak different languages. I see them being discriminated against, and being made fun of and they can’t even understand what people are saying. That’s not very welcoming. I thought America was supposed to be the land of the free, but it doesn’t seem very free when we’re making fun of people who are coming here to escape the poor quality of conditions in their home country. We’re having people who are refugees, people of different races being discriminated against, a white majority in upper classes, and all those combine to allow white children to succeed. We should have a complete balance. In a perfect world, we would. With a better education system, there would be more Black children able to succeed, more biracial children able to succeed, more Hispanic kids, would be able to succeed in Kentucky’s public education.
Imagine that you have the Kentucky State legislature all standing in front of you. What would you say to the policy makers that is the most important thing for them to understand about the student experience in Kentucky?
Michelle: I want to say that education should be afforded to every student and every student should have a high quality of education. That’s really basic. But I’ve heard adults say that, education is a privilege, and I somewhat agree with that to some extent because my parents immigrated here and I’m the first generation to be born in the US. So in some aspects, I do believe that yes, education is a privilege. However, with the “land of the free”, we live in America, and I feel like everybody should have the opportunity to have a good education. Where my parents grew up, there was a huge wealth disparity in China and they came to the United States for economic opportunity. I fully believe that education does, to some extent, equate to success in students’ lives. Education will play a really big role in employment and success so I fully believe that all students in Kentucky should have access to a quality and good education.
Abigail: Well, they need to understand that I’m a person. The people who are going to school with me are people. We are humans. We are not statistics, we are not numbers, we are not test scores. We are people and we deserve all the same chances. They need to do more qualitative analysis of what’s happening in schools. They need to understand that what you may see on paper is skewed because, as a researcher, you can never just look at quantitative data; you always have to look at the qualitative side as well to get a full scope of everything. It seems like their policies and the funding that they’re allowing us to have are based solely on numbers. If I were face-to-face with a politician right now, I wouldn’t say a lot. I would just say, please hear me. Just hear me, see me, and understand me. Understand what I’m saying to you because, again, I’m not just an object at a desk; I’m a person. The only way to have a strong community and better the Commonwealth of Kentucky is to treat people as people, not as a result of a bill, or ignoring minorities. They see high test scores, they see a high ratio, and they decide “The school did really good.” But wait, we need to look at the demographics that are doing good. And it would be very important to politicians to see who’s succeeding and who’s not in those demographics.
How has being a part of this movement towards education equity influenced you or affected you as a person and a student?
Michelle: As a person, I’d say it’s made me feel empowered to speak on my experiences in the classroom, and not be afraid to express myself and express some of the inequities that I faced as a student. Because the first step to making any change is addressing the problem.
Abigail: When I was younger, I used to not really care all that much about other people. Which sounds terrible, but I’d see a student struggling with a test and I’d be like, “Thank God, that’s not me.” But now, after all of this, I’m starting to realize that they’re not struggling with a test because they didn’t try; they’re struggling because the system let them down. It’s allowed me to be more compassionate, more open to other things, more understanding, and more educated. You know, if the system’s not going to educate me on civics, then I’m going to educate myself. It’s allowed me to have conversations with people who view the same things as me, and it’s allowed me to have new friends, build confidence in myself, and connect with a lot of other cultures.
What changes do you hope to see in Kentucky’s education system as a result of this lawsuit, both short-term and long-term? What are you hoping comes out of this?
Michelle: I hope teachers get paid what they deserve. My teachers throughout high school and even middle school have complained about teacher pay. Very high-skilled teachers oftentimes will work at higher-level schools like private schools and schools like Manual rather than schools in rural districts because they get paid a little bit more. That perpetuates a cycle of inequity because you have unqualified teachers, like online teachers, teaching classes in these more rural districts, and suburban districts where their communities are a little bit more underserved. We need more funding for transportation. Like the JCPS busing crisis that happened last year. In the short term, I think infrastructure needs to be addressed first. Funding primarily, but then long-term wise I definitely do think that there needs to be some guidelines when it comes to civic education, and requiring civics classes before taking the civics exam. Making those classes a requirement and advocating for cultural sensitivity. Having adequate civics education, mental health resources, and cultural sensitivity training for staff members is important. Having resources where minority students can go to express their concerns and not be ignored by the administration, if that makes sense. We need to hone down the 7 Capacities of Rose for sure and ensure that schools are following those guidelines. That is what I want to see in Kentucky because I feel like funding is good and all, but it’s kind of like throwing spaghetti at a wall. It might be really good, but we need to be mindful of what we are funding.
Abigail: Well, I don’t expect there to be an increase in funding. It would be amazing to see an increase, but I really don’t expect that, especially with the policies going on with our current president. I don’t think we’re going to have any more funding in Kentucky to go around. I just hope to see more students pursuing harder things, like women in STEM, minorities in STEM, and underrepresented people in STEM. That’s what I really hope to see. I hope to see more student activists like KSVT, which is pretty small in comparison to the state. More students should be empowered to be active community members. I don’t want a curtain to be drawn over students’ eyes. I think using this and creating real change out of it would result in more students being literate in today’s global issues and being more culturally understanding. I don’t want students to feel like they can’t pursue something because of their race, gender, or how they identify, or where they’re from, or how much money they make. I want kids to all feel like they have the same exact opportunity, both in Kentucky and compared to other states. One of the things about Rose is being able to compete for college, and having a competitive resume. Right now, I don’t think Kentucky stands a huge chance. I don’t like standardized tests; I don’t think they encapsulate what a student is, but you can see a clear trend – students who are better educated usually score higher on those tests. I’d like to see us rise up, and being from Kentucky means that I have a passion to see us improve. So that’s what I hope will happen. I just want to see students who are future leaders truly excel.
For one final question, is there anything else that I haven’t asked you about today that you would like to say?
Michelle: I would say that, again, going off the microaggressions, I do feel that it is very stigmatized in our legislation to understand what a microaggression is in the first place. I think that speaks volumes about how uneducated we are in learning about different cultures. We really need to have more of a pluralistic approach to history where we have all sorts of perspectives involved in our history classes. History classes should be very much impartial, so that students can think for themselves and formulate their own opinions. In civics classes, we need to engage in these challenging conversations because students are facing racism in our current day-to-day lives. Lack of conversation breeds ignorance among predominantly white communities. It’s really important for our classes at school and educators in the school system to truly try to enforce ways to try to combat that and dismantle that ignorance.
Abigail: If I could speak directly to Kentucky students and educators I would say first that I’m sorry this is how it had to happen. I’m sorry that it can just be given to us, but I’d ask them to join me, to take my hand and to not be afraid to fight. After all this work with KSVT, I’m not as scared anymore. I want more people to stand up and rise up.
Through their advocacy, research, and storytelling, students like Michelle and Abigail have made it clear that they will not stand by as their peers are denied the education they deserve. Regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, their work has already sparked critical conversations about Kentucky’s public education system and the role students must play in shaping it. As they continue their fight for a more equitable and dignified educational experience, their voices serve as a reminder of the urgent need for education reform.
