Second lawsuit to block major changes at Kentucky State filed by students
A group of Kentucky State University students have filed a second class-action lawsuit to block a new state law that would reorganize and reshape Kentucky’s only public historically Black university.
Plaintiffs, who are a group of anonymous students, filed the lawsuit Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court to declare Senate Bill 185 unconstitutional and block the implementation of the law. SB 185 was passed this year to change KSU into a polytechnic university with a focus on degrees related to the state’s workforce needs.
It’s the second lawsuit filed this month that seeks to stop the changes to KSU. The first lawsuit was also filed by a group of current students, but included former students too.
“This is not an abstract institutional dispute,” said the students’ attorney, James Morris. “It is about students who enrolled at Kentucky State University for a particular education, in particular programs, with particular faculty, at Kentucky’s only public HBCU. It is also about students whose educational and financial relationships cannot be rewritten after the fact. SB 185 threatens to change the institution underneath them while they are still trying to graduate.”
The lawsuit names defendants as Gov. Andy Beshear, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson, CPE Chair Madison Silvert, the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet and its president Holly Johnson, the Kentucky Department of Revenue and its commissioner Thomas Miller, KSU and its board of regents, along with board chair Tammi Dukes and university President Koffi Akakpo.
The lawsuit claims the process by which SB 185 became law was not properly followed and is unconstitutional, and implementing the changes to the university would cause “immediate and irreparable” harm to students. It also says the emergency clause in the bill, which meant the changes at the university go into effect for the upcoming school year, is invalid.
SB 185 was originally a “shell bill,” which are filed and given necessary readings and assignments so lawmakers can strip them and put something new in at the last minute.
“Its implementation is irreversibly altering current students’ programs, degree pathways, faculty relationships, accreditation posture, enrollment status, debt consequences, and the educational environment for which they enrolled at KSU,” the lawsuit says.
KSU will continue following applicable laws and is committed to educating its students, the university said in a statement.
“Kentucky State University has received notice of the lawsuit filed in Franklin Circuit Court challenging Senate Bill 185 and is reviewing the filing with counsel,” the statement said. “Because this is active litigation, the University will not comment on specific legal claims or allegations contained in the complaint. As with the related filing on May 11, the University was not involved in the filing of the lawsuit, did not coordinate with the individuals who filed it, and was not aware of this second action prior to its filing.”
Under SB 185, KSU would remain a historically Black university and a landgrant university — a federal designation for schools with education related to agriculture, science, engineering and military science — and would continue to offer four-year degrees. But financial oversight would go to the state, as the university is in a state of “financial exigency,” according to the bill.
Lawmakers originally considered closing the university because of its financial state, they said during this year’s legislative session. The university has been plagued by financial and accreditation issues in recent years.
Under SB 185, KSU would be required to:
- Offer no more than 10 areas of study for the next five years, along with online programs, the College of Education and other programs deemed necessary by the Council on Postsecondary Education
- Have a target enrollment of at least 1,000 in-person students
- Retain only the faculty and staff necessary to support that enrollment
- Limit enrollment only to students who do not have an outstanding balance with the school greater than $1,000 or a payment plan with the school
- Have all transactions greater than $20,000 approved by CPE.
It’s not yet clear which 10 areas of study would be offered at the polytechnic university, or how an area of study would be defined. The university previously said it has begun meeting with deans and department chairs to review academic programs and implement changes outlined in the law, which will go into effect for the fall 2026 semester.
In a message sent from the university president to the KSU community on Thursday, Akakpo reflected on KSU’s history on its 140th anniversary. Akakpo said the changes at KSU means the university “is again being asked to meet the needs of its time.”
“Our students need strong academic foundations joined with applied learning, research experience, technical skill, sound judgment, and career-connected preparation,” Akakpo said. “Our communities need graduates who can solve real problems, strengthen institutions, serve the Commonwealth, and contribute beyond Kentucky. That is what a polytechnic university focus means in this moment.”
Though the lawsuits have been filed by current and former students, during the legislative session, SB 185 received support from a group of alumni, who said they viewed the changes as the best path forward for the HBCU.
Previous financial, accreditation issues at KSU
The legislature previously intervened at KSU in 2021 as the school’s financial problems came to a head.
A special examination of the university from the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts found numerous issues related to finances under the previous president, including poor internal controls and communication, failure to ensure an effective budgeting process, and widespread overspending and credit card usage.
KSU was facing a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, and in 2022, the legislature gave the university a $23 million loan. Conditions for receiving that money included creating a management improvement plan with CPE and being placed under state oversight from 2021 to 2025.
At the same time, the university’s board of regents was overhauled via a Senate bill. In 2023, Akakpo was named the new KSU president.
A final report analyzing the progress of the management improvement plan was issued last year. It found significant progress in university policies and standard operating procedures across the institution.
However, “substantial gaps remain — particularly in the area of finance,” the report from CPE and accounting firm Baker Tilly found.
“This remains the single most critical area, carrying the highest risk rating,” the report read. “Many fundamental financial processes, such as month-end close procedures, reconciliations and timely completion of financial audits, have not yet been fully implemented.”
KSU, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, was placed on “probation for good cause” in December by the accrediting body. The university will be monitored by SACSCOC for 12 months, with a special committee visiting the institution for further review.
Herald-Leader reporter Taylor Six contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 12:15 PM.