Within the last decade, the neighboring states of Kentucky and West Virginia have realized the need for--and have acted upon--school reform measures in their educational systems. This document compares and contrasts the two states' efforts to restructure their school systems. Both Kentucky and West Virginia initiated their respective reform movements as the result of legal action. Additionally, both states' supreme courts declared the conditions of their school operations unconstitutional; thus Kentucky and West Virginia each began the laborious process of educational reform. In West Virginia, school restructuring began in 1979 as the result of the "Pauley versus Kelly" case, but educational reform did not begin in Kentucky until 1985 after the "Rose versus the Council for Better Education" suit. Inquiries have revealed that unequal distributions of resources for education based on uneven property tax assessments and rates caused each state's statewide educational inequalities. Additionally, both states have used the "top-down" method of educational reform. The Kentucky and the West Virginia school restructuring processes have differed in the roles of each states' governor, the influence of individual judges, and financial support. (20 references) (KM)