What are the Seven Capacities of Rose vs. Council for Better Education?

In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Rose v. Council for Better Education that electrified the Commonwealth—and the nation—and led to sweeping educational reforms even beyond Kentucky. The Court determined that Kentucky’s entire education system was unconstitutional, and it required the Commonwealth to design an entirely new system that would provide all students with an “adequate” and “equitable” education. The Court specifically defined “adequacy” to mean an education system that provides “each and every child” with seven “capacities”.

The General Assembly responded by enacting the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), which codified (placed into law) the Court’s seven capacities. KERA charted a new path for education in Kentucky. These reforms made Kentucky a model for education reform throughout the country, and the landmark Rose decision birthed the nation-wide “adequacy” movement, with at least eight other state supreme courts citing Rose and its definition of an adequate education as the major precedent for their own rulings on students’ educational rights.

It was a promise to every Kentucky student that they will learn what they need to thrive in a local and global community. Despite earlier progress made in the first decade after Rose and KERA, Kentucky’s schools today are severely under-resourced  and not effectively implementing the 7 Rose capacities.

But, exactly, what are the 7 capacities? We've outlined and provided examples for all 7 to familiarize yourself with how they may or may not be showing up in today's classrooms.

1. Sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a complex and rapidly changing civilization, such as:

• Media literacy skills that enable students to distinguish accurate from inaccurate information on the internet and social media
• Sufficient reading, writing and verbal skills to participate effectively in civic, business and social activities
• Critical analytic skills

2. Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the student to make informed choices, such as:

• Substantial knowledge of American, world and Kentucky history
• Awareness of current events, including both sides of controversial social, political and economic issues
• Financial literacy: knowing how to navigate personal finances

3. Sufficient understanding of governmental processes to enable the student to understand the issues that affect his or her community, state, and nation, such as:

• Knowledge of the complementary roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government at the national, state and local levels
• Awareness of citizens’ rights and responsibilities.
• Civic engagement in community activities through service learning, community improvement projects, field trips to city hall, local town council meetings, etc.

4. Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness, such as:

• Understanding basic physical and mental health wellness
• Access to necessary physical and mental health services
• Social-emotional learning and adopting anti-bullying practices

5. Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural and historical heritage, such as:

• Appreciation of the visual and performing arts
• Knowledge and appreciation of their own cultural and historical heritage and that of their classmates
• Ability to enter into respectful conversations with people holding different views

6. Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently, such as:

• Adequate career and technical instruction and mentoring opportunities
• Effective guidance in college preparation and college admissions procedures
• Effective preparation and guidance for military careers

7. Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, such as:

• Teacher salary scales that are competitive with salaries in neighboring states
• Competitive participation by Kentucky students in regional or national academic, athletic and extracurricular activities
• The achievement of favorable comparative scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other regional and national assessment measures