A group of Kentucky State University students, alumni and prospective students has asked a federal court to halt a new state law that would sharply restructure the public HBCU, arguing that Kentucky is attempting to remake the university before remedying decades of alleged underfunding and civil rights obligations.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Frankfort Division, challenges Senate Bill 185, a measure passed this spring that would move Kentucky State toward a workforce-focused polytechnic model and place the institution under extraordinary financial oversight. Plaintiffs are seeking emergency relief, including a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, to stop implementation while the case is litigated.

The complaint alleges that SB 185 violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, federal desegregation obligations and land-grant equity requirements tied to Kentucky State’s status as the commonwealth’s only public historically Black college and university. The plaintiffs contend that the state is using financial problems rooted in historic underinvestment to justify changes that would narrow the university’s academic mission and weaken its institutional character.

At issue is one of the most consequential state interventions in a public HBCU in recent years. Kentucky State, located in Frankfort, was founded in 1886 and later became an 1890 land-grant institution under the federal framework created for Black students excluded from many existing land-grant universities. The university’s current dispute is not only about finances or program design; it is also about whether the state’s obligations to sustain and enhance the institution remain enforceable when lawmakers pursue a restructuring plan.

Senate Bill 185 declares a five-year financial exigency period at KSU, redefines the university as a polytechnic institution, restricts it to no more than 10 academic areas of study, authorizes academic program closures and permits faculty and staff terminations, including for tenured faculty. The law also increases the role of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in university finances, including review of transactions above $20,000 during the exigency period.

The legislation also includes capital support. State materials and higher education reporting have described $50 million for a new health sciences building and up to $50 million for campus infrastructure upgrades, provisions supporters have framed as evidence that the state is investing in the university while requiring sharper financial discipline and a closer connection between programs and workforce needs.

But plaintiffs argue that the academic and governance changes could cause immediate and irreversible harm. They are asking the court to block program closures, employee terminations tied to SB 185, mission changes, enrollment restrictions, debt-related barriers to continued education and restructuring actions that could affect accreditation. The complaint says KSU could be forced into an accreditation “catch-22” if state-imposed controls conflict with expectations for institutional autonomy, governing-board independence and faculty oversight of academic programs.

The underfunding argument is central to the case. In 2023, the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture told Kentucky officials that Kentucky State had been underfunded by about $172 million over three decades compared with the University of Kentucky, the state’s other land-grant institution. Federal officials at the time said the gap reflected a broader national pattern affecting land-grant HBCUs in multiple states.

The lawsuit also points to earlier federal civil rights findings. Plaintiffs cite a 1981 U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights determination that Kentucky had failed to fully dismantle vestiges of its formerly segregated higher education system and had continuing obligations involving Kentucky State. Their argument is that the state should be required to remediate the funding disparity rather than impose a restructuring that, in their view, reduces KSU’s academic breadth and historic HBCU mission.

Kentucky State has sought to separate itself from the litigation while signaling that it will comply with the law. In a statement reported by local media, the university said it was aware of the lawsuit but was not involved in filing it, did not coordinate with the plaintiffs and had not known of the action before it was filed. The university said it was reviewing the more than 1,000 pages of filings and would continue working with state and federal partners.

The university’s statement also emphasized its identity as a historically Black university and 1890 land-grant institution, saying it remains focused on student success, academic excellence, research, public service and expanding opportunity. KSU noted that it had recently celebrated the Class of 2026, its largest graduating class in recent history, with 428 degrees and credentials awarded across the academic year.

Supporters of SB 185 have described the law as a stabilization plan rather than a dismantling effort. The Kentucky General Assembly said the measure is designed to transform KSU into a four-year residential polytechnic institution emphasizing technical, industry-based applied learning while preserving its status as the commonwealth’s only public HBCU. Legislative summaries said the final version retained liberal arts courses aligned with workforce needs and the institution’s historical mission.

Sen. Christian McDaniel, the bill’s sponsor, said during the legislative process that lawmakers had considered more drastic options, including closure, after concerns over finances and campus challenges. According to the General Assembly’s account, lawmakers instead moved toward redefining the institution in partnership with KSU leadership. The bill passed the House 90-1 and received final passage in the Senate by a 37-0 vote.

KSU President Koffi Akakpo previously supported the revised legislation, saying changes to the bill explicitly preserved the university as a four-year institution, an 1890 land-grant university and Kentucky’s only public HBCU. That support is likely to become a key distinction in the case: the university administration has backed the legislative framework, while students and alumni now argue that the law still violates federal civil rights protections and threatens the university’s future.

The lawsuit arrives as public colleges nationwide face pressure to cut programs, consolidate operations and justify academic offerings through workforce outcomes. Those trends have been especially sensitive at regional public universities and minority-serving institutions, where budget pressures often intersect with longstanding equity claims. If the court grants emergency relief, Kentucky may be forced to pause implementation while defending the law on the merits. If the court declines to intervene early, KSU could begin making changes that plaintiffs say would be difficult to reverse.

For current and prospective students, the dispute raises practical questions about which programs will remain, which faculty will continue teaching, whether enrollment rules will change and how the university’s accreditation review could be affected. For alumni and HBCU advocates, the case is also a fight over institutional identity: whether Kentucky State remains a broad public HBCU with liberal arts roots or becomes a narrower polytechnic institution shaped by state workforce priorities.

The next major development will be the court’s handling of the emergency request. Until then, Kentucky State is caught between a state law requiring fast institutional change and a federal lawsuit arguing that the change itself may be unlawful.