RICHMOND, Ky. - Kentucky has made some of the deepest cuts to state funding for higher education since the recession took hold in 2008, according to a new national report released today.

When adjusted for inflation, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report said, state funding per student in the Bluegrass State is down 26.4 percent, more severe than the national average of 16 percent.

Ian Cruickshank, a sophomore at Eastern Kentucky University, said it's taking a toll on students, including him.

"This past summer, I had to come up with $4,000 just to be able to come back, so I had to work all summer, and I still actually couldn't afford it, so I had to borrow a lot of money from my parents," he said. "And then this upcoming semester, it actually has raised, so instead of paying $4,000, I have to pay $9,000 directly out of my pocket."

According to the national report, 44 states, including Kentucky, are spending less per student than when the recession hit, while tuition has gone up in every state. Adjusted for inflation, it's risen 37 percent in Kentucky, close to the national average.

Ashley Spalding, research and policy associate with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, said it's "very concerning" that unlike most states, Kentucky is not reinvesting in higher education. According to the report, Kentucky was one of just 13 states that cut funding this past year.

"Investments in education are investments in the economy," she said. "Reduced access to post-seconondary education is especially harmful for low-income students and students of color. This is not the direction that we want to keep going in."

Jordan Taylor, 27, of Paris didn't start college until he was 24. After graduating from community college, he enrolled at EKU this semester. While he relies on federal and state grants, he said, he still has to take out loans.

"I'm hoping to graduate with my bachelor's degree with, like, $18,000 total in loan debt," he said. "How long that's going to take, I'm not sure. It may take the rest of my life, for all I know."

Taylor said the investment will be "worth it" if he can get a good job in his dream field: broadcasting.

The report is online at cbpp.org.


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Class sizes in New York City schools will be limited by 2028 - the result of a new state law.

The law will cap Kindergarten through third-grade classes at 20 students, 23 students in grades four through eight, and 25 students for high school classes. Gym classes would be limited to 40 students.

This effort originated in the mid-2000s with the first "Contract for Excellence" that indicated class sizes needed to be changed for students to have a better learning experience.

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said he thinks the caps have been desperately needed - but said the city's Department of Education hasn't seen it that way.

"The Department of Ed really does not want to do it, so that's why the law had to be passed," said Mulgrew. "The rest of the state already lowers its class sizes; there's no law telling them they have to do it. But here in New York City, the entire legislature understood that if they didn't pass a law, the Department of Ed would never have done it. And this has been a constant struggle for years with them."

Mulgrew said he feels much of the opposition to limiting class sizes has been part of politicizing education funding overall.

He said, in the bout of "bureaucracy versus the classroom," the classroom has won. But the caps won't take effect for several more school years.

Mulgrew cited Francis Lewis High School in Queens as an example, with more than 4,000 students and a student-teacher ratio of 30-to-one. Just this year, the school got an annex building, after years of overcrowding.

As a former teacher, he predicted the new law will benefit educators as well as students.

"During the pandemic, this is what the teachers found," said Mulgrew, "because only 30% of the children came to school. And they were like, 'We were able to spend so much time with our children, and really started helping them with things they were struggling with,' because they had the time to actually do that."

New York City's school system is the largest in the nation, with over one-million students attending more than 1,800 schools - although recent reports indicate enrollment is on the decline.

Colleges and universities in Kentucky are looking at new ways to address the equity gap among their students, through specialized training for their governing boards.

President of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education Aaron Thompson explained that college governing boards are in a position to help increase student success, especially for people who come from historically marginalized communities.

"This relationship is about what data to use, how you use it, bringing people together," said Thompson. "It's an ability to create a whole new way of thinking about board training."

Thompson added that measures adopted during the pandemic are expected to help ease the financial burden for students.

According to data from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, last year nearly all schools voted not to increase their tuition or fees from the previous year - due in large part to the pandemic.

The state also launched a campaign to encourage students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms for federal and state financial aid.

Thompson said higher education institutions in the Commonwealth will benefit from lessons learned about policies and practices that can help level the playing field for students from diverse backgrounds.

"We've got several of our campuses with our boards involved," said Thompson. "And we're looking at it from our two-year campuses and our four-year campuses, making sure that we're providing that research."

Thompson says he hopes the trainings provide boards with the tools needed to foster better communication with current and prospective students - which, in turn, should increase enrollment.

"Boards can get involved in helping their students to know there's a greater outcome here," said Thompson. "You are getting some lifelong learning while you're in college."

The statewide training is a collaboration between the Association of Governing Boards and the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.

A South Dakota education panel has kicked off the public-hearing phase in the state's latest effort to update social studies standards. Many perspectives were offered during Monday's meeting, including opposition from teachers.

In August, the state released proposed revisions for teaching history and civics, a year after the process was paused over the last-minute removal of several Native American references. A new but smaller working group drafted this year's plan, led by an official from a conservative college in Michigan.

Andrea Stanoscheck, a teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Yankton, said there was little representation from certified educators.

"The proposed standards committee only had 15 members, three of whom had current teaching certificates; that's 20%," Stanoscheck pointed out. "As you consider these standards, please ask yourself whether South Dakota values its teachers' expertise."

Other teachers said the proposed revisions focus too much on memorization of facts without much room for analysis. Some noted the content does not align with child development and will be too much for younger students to absorb. Supporters, including some parent activists, say there should be a greater emphasis on certain pointed, arguing too many Americans lack basic civics knowledge.

Kelsey Lovseth, an educator at Brookings High School, served on last year's standards review group, and said the public comments they examined expressed a desire for more diverse and streamlined curriculum with greater emphasis on current events. She said it did not happen this time.

"It is evident after extensive and thorough review of these proposed standards before you, that the will of South Dakota people has been ignored," Lovseth contended.

Both Lovseth and Stanoscheck are members of the South Dakota Education Association, which said the proposed standards deny students freedom to learn. State education leaders say despite concerns about the lack of critical thinking, teachers would have the ability to challenge students beyond learning facts.

The Board of Education Standards is expected to hold a handful of other public hearings in the coming months before deciding on the plan.