Kentucky State University students are challenging Senate Bill 185 in federal and state lawsuits after the measure, signed by the governor in April, reshaped the university’s structure and declared a five-year financial exigency at the school.
The bill changes KSU into a polytechnic university and affects programs, spending, admissions and other areas. Students sought legal aid this summer after protesting, writing letters to their president, the governor and senators, and raising concerns about the law’s impact.
Takeo Jasper, a current KSU student from Ohio, said he came to the school to connect with the culture of the Historically Black Colleges and University.
“And, for us to have to fight this alongside just trying to, you know, graduate and get our degrees. It’s kind of disheartening,” Jasper said.
Students say they are also dealing with retaliatory instances from the university. They said they were assessed hundreds of dollars in housing damage fees for conditions they believe existed before their time in the housing.
During a community meeting, attorney James “Jim” Morris asked Jasper where the notice about the fees was sent.
“The notice was sent to our school emails,” Jasper said. “So if you aren’t checking your school email over the summer, how else would you have been notified?” Morris asked.
Morris also said students have concerns about Board of Regents meetings being held without student body representation, which he said is unlawful.
“We do have evidence of the president right after I filed this lawsuit, which is why we went with the, not putting names in the state case. When we filed the federal, there was a request that went out to figure out if any or all of these students could be removed before the fall semester,” Morris said.
According to SB 185, students with more than $1,000 in unpaid fees on their accounts are not eligible to enroll or register.
“I truly believe that the legislature thought, no, there’s not enough people that are paying attention. If we do this as an emergency, it becomes law,” Morris said.
Morris also argued the bill continues a lengthy pattern of excluding Kentucky State from the state’s other schools, including the University of Kentucky. He pointed to both schools’ status as land-grant universities created under the Morrill Act of 1862 and theSecond Morrill Act of 1890, which he said require state investment into both agriculture-focused schools.
“It takes K-State student funds through the tax return intercept. It takes K-State student moneys through the Department of Revenue. This is overreach by the government against an HBCU-only institution in a statute that literally relates solely to K-State and no other institution,” Morris said. “Why aren’t we looking at the PWI’s student accounts?”
Morris and students said they hope their legal action sets a precedent for other HBCUs facing similar challenges.
“To fundamentally change the mission of the HBCU. We believe that we have the ability now to use this as a framework for the rest of the country to look at,” Morris said.
Spectrum News reached out to KSU for comment, but we have not heard back. Morris also highlighted decades of documented concerns over funding and other disparities dating back to the 1980s.
