This Election Day, Kentucky voters will decide on Amendment 2 . If passed, the measure would change the state constitution and give legislators the authority to create an alternate system of school funding for private school students paid for by public tax dollars. Kentucky is one of three states with vouchers on the ballot.Much has already been said about how Amendment 2 would negatively impact educators, school staff, and communities. But the amendment’s passage would also profoundly affect the experiences of Kentucky students. That’s why regardless of whether we’re old enough to vote, we’re speaking out about it.
We are members of the Kentucky Student Voice Team, an independent youth-led organization that promotes more just, democratic schools through education research, policy and storytelling. Our members hail from across the commonwealth, and we are entirely self-selective.
This month, and among other awareness-raising activities, we organized an Amendment 2 Myth Bus Tour to share information about how the proposed constitutional change would impact us. At each stop and in the hopes of ensuring students are more centered in the public conversations about our schools, we shared both statistics and stories from our own lived experiences…