Statement on General Assembly Passing the Budget

The Student Voice Team thanks the General Assembly for passing a budget which puts lottery funds toward their intended purpose: supporting students to further their education. For the first time in Kentucky history, all lottery revenue will be used to fund college scholarships. The Commonwealth honored the Powerball Promise.

We are pleased that the College Access Program and the Kentucky Tuition Grant received a substantial increase in funding. Additionally, lottery revenue will support Work Ready Kentucky, a promising initiative which we hope will make postsecondary education more attainable for all Kentucky students. 
 
We thank the Governor and the General Assembly for making college scholarships a priority and keeping Kentucky students in mind during the final budget negotiations. We also thank our adult allies for their support and encouragement throughout the session. And above all else, we thank the students of Kentucky who tirelessly worked to bring attention to this historically overlooked issue. This is a testament to what is possible when students are engaged as full partners in improving our education system. 

The Kentucky Student Voice Team is a statewide organization of young people who are co-creating more just, democratic Kentucky schools & communities as research, policy & advocacy partners. From 2012 to 2021, KSVT was incubated at the Prichard Committee, a nonpartisan, citizen-led organization working to improve education in Kentucky for all ages.