Acorns in a Mountain Pool: The Role of Litigation, Law and Lawyers in Kentucky Education Reform

Following the Kentucky Supreme Court's 1989 ruling that declared the state's common school system unconstitutional, lawyers and educators sued the state legislature for failure to provide an efficient school system. The role of litigation and lawyers in Kentucky education reform is examined in this paper. Part 1 describes how a group of lawyers and educators collaborated to win the case. Part 2 assesses the role of nonlegal factors, such as publicity and public support, political connections and status, and public perception of the lawsuit. The multiple roles played by lawyers in the process are examined in the third part. A conclusion is that the litigation outcome was a result of legal, social, and political forces meeting at the right time in history. Lawyers played crucial roles in enhancing legitimacy, providing effective navigation through the courts, drafting legislation, and monitoring the Education Reform Act of 1990. (308 endnotes) (LMI)