On November 5, Kentuckians voted overwhelmingly to reject Amendment 2, a measure that would have allowed lawmakers to use public dollars to fund private and charter schools. The “school choice” amendment would have opened the door to vouchers that have placed a strain on public education budgets in states like Florida and Arizona. Despite aggressive funding efforts in Kentucky, including millions pouring in from out-of-state donors, 65% of voters cast their ballots in support of public education. The initiative was soundly defeated in all of Kentucky's 120 counties.
As public school students ourselves, we believe student advocacy was a major contributor to the success seen last Tuesday night. Students are one of the primary stakeholders in public schools. Despite most of us being too young to vote, we each spend a minimum of about seven hours a day, five days a week in our schools. The stakes of this issue felt too high for us not to get involved.
We’re members of the Kentucky Student Voice Team, which took a seat on the executive committee of the Protect Our Schools KY coalition, the lead group working to oppose Amendment 2. We collectively used our personal experiences to fight for our right to education and to preserve that right for all Kentucky students.
Over the past few months, students on our team told their stories by writing op-eds in local newspapers, educating their communities at public teach-ins, making memes to be shared on social media, and even organizing a bus tour to major cities in our state.
As public school students, we knew the impact Amendment 2 would have on us if it had passed. It would have decimated rural schools and communities. It would have cut educator jobs in the midst of a statewide teacher shortage. It would have stripped away resources for disabled students and cut funding for extracurriculars. More than anything, Amendment 2 would have enabled an inequitable system of education that left Kentucky’s most vulnerable students behind.
We’re both public school students and have been profoundly impacted by the public education system firsthand. I, Isabella, am the proud product of 12-plus years of public education. I have attended the best school in the state as well as underfunded Title 1 schools. Both are evidence that support for public education is vital. Without the opportunity to study in the journalism program at my high school, I would never have found my passion for writing.
The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group, predicts a school voucher program under Amendment 2 could have required up to $1.19 billion of the state budget, the cost of employing 9,869 public school personnel. Teachers would likely have been laid off and electives like my journalism classes probably would have been the first to go. These classes that supplement core requirements are foundational to students’ current success and future achievement.
Meanwhile, I, Luisa, am a Colombian immigrant, and the most invaluable opportunity this country has given me is access to its public education system, where I’ve been equipped with the necessary skills, tools, and mindset to make impactful contributions to my community. Within the US public education system, I was dependent on English Learners programs to academically perform at the level of my peers during elementary school. Some critics of Amendment 2 were concerned that private schools might be hesitant to accept students like me because of the additional resources we’d require.
In the 1950s, school voucher programs were established by Southern lawmakers as a tool to maintain racial segregation after the Supreme Court banned the practice in Brown v. Board of Education. Today, vouchers continue to deepen disparities and inequities in education across the country.
The “school choice movement” gained momentum during the pandemic, spurred on by the growing “culture war” surrounding public education. However, its reach had not yet invaded our Commonwealth thanks to protections for public schools granted in the state constitution. In both 2021 and 2022, state lawmakers passed bills related to “school choice.” One would have established an Education Opportunity Account program, providing tax credits for individuals and businesses that contributed to scholarships to help families pay for educational expenses like private school tuition. The other would have created a public funding system for charter schools. Both were declared unconstitutional by Kentucky courts. Amendment 2 marks the third time in the past few years that attempts to slash funding for public education in the Commonwealth have failed.
Roughly 90% of Kentucky’s students attend public school, per the most recently available data from the National Center for Education Statistics. According to data from the Kentucky Department of Education about the 2022-2023 school year, 9,699 of these students were immigrants, 44,309 were English learners, nearly 110,000 received special education services, and more than 60% of students were eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. The defeat of Amendment 2 means that public schools can continue championing diversity and ensuring that all students can thrive.
Over the past few months, our peers told their stories too. Milo Osborn, a Kentucky Student Voice Team (KSVT) member and 12th grade student, said the campaign had been “an amazing opportunity to use my voice as a disabled student,” adding that though there are over 100,000 disabled students in Kentucky, they are “woefully underrepresented.” Georgie Farmer, an 11th grade student, said that working on the anti-voucher campaign made them realize they had a voice—and the impact of that voice. “Through this campaign, I got to meet like-minded students from all across Kentucky who had the same goal of keeping public dollars with public schools,” they said. And Peter Jefferson, a 12th grader and student coordinator of our campaign, highlighted that students’ personal connections to public schools “were able to soundly reaffirm Kentucky’s dedication to public education.”
We echo our fellow team members’ sentiments. Our victory against Amendment 2 and the out-of-state donors who poured millions of dollars into it, is also a win for student advocacy efforts. Our stories resonated with Kentucky voters, a number of whom had no personal stakes in public education. Alongside educators, allies, and community members, we were able to help the people of our Commonwealth see the value of public schools.
"When we talk about empowerment, we have to ask if it’s truly meaningful,” said 11th grade student Khoa Ta. “This campaign proved the power of a united student voice. We weren’t just showpieces; we were crucial in decision-making.” Khoa emphasized that now efforts turn to issues like universal pre-K, mental health support, improved facilities, and fair teacher pay. Ivy Litton, a 12th grader, added, “We're not done yet, but this is absolutely a first step toward creating just and equitable educational opportunity in Kentucky.”
Kentucky wasn’t the only state with this issue on the ballot. Voters in Nebraska and Colorado rejected “school choice” measures last week as well. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly supported privatizing K-12 schools, including through vouchers. This moment is just the beginning, and students have an important role to play in fighting for public education.
With Amendment 2 soundly defeated and behind us, we’ll continue our mission to create more just and democratic Kentucky schools by ensuring that the system of public education we worked for months to protect is providing a quality and equitable education for all. When it comes to issues regarding public education, leaders should look to young people to shape conversations on the ground. We are the ones knowledgeable about our experiences. The successful Amendment 2 campaign signals that student voices can be an impactful advocacy tool and one that can and should be replicated nationwide. Students are people too. We care about our education. We can see when it is under attack. And we will fight for it.
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