September 12, 2023 – Penn State professor and school funding expert Matthew Kelly has prepared a new analysis of Pennsylvania’s public school funding system for the Basic Education Funding Commission. His study estimates the combined cost of basic and special education for each district to provide an adequately funded education for all students, based on […]
September 13, 2023 – Attorneys from Education Law Center-PA and Public Interest Law Center and superintendents from Panther Valley School District and Wilkes-Barre Area School District – who won a historic victory in their school funding case in Commonwealth Court in February – had their opportunity to testify before Pennsylvania’s Basic Education Funding Commission on […]
September 12, 2023 – Commonwealth Court’s February 2023 decision finding our school funding system unconstitutional was crystal clear: Now is the time to build a public school funding system that ensures that children in every community have the resources they need to succeed academically, civically, and socially. The work to build a new school funding […]
August 31, 2023 – Pennsylvania’s students with disabilities can now receive a free and appropriate public education until they turn 22—a policy change that will provide months of additional support to young adults across the commonwealth at a crucial juncture in their lives. Today, as part of a settlement reached in a federal class action […]
Commonwealth Court has directed the General Assembly to ensure that public schools have sufficient funding to provide all students with access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary public education. That judgment is now final. It’s time to act.
July 11, 2023 – The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) seeks to ensure that students with disabilities are prepared for “further education, employment, and independent living” after they leave high school. Under the IDEA, students have a right to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE), including services to support their individual needs, […]
Education Law Center – PA and Public Interest Law Center statement on the 2023-24 Pennsylvania Budget July 6, 2023 – “Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional system of public school funding continues to leave the students who need the most support with the least, because they live in low-wealth communities. The increases in this year’s budget, while appreciated, do […]
June 21, 2023 – Today, Commonwealth Court President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer again ruled in favor of petitioners in Pennsylvania’s school funding lawsuit, denying a motion for post-trial relief filed in February by Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler. Senate President Ward and Minority Leader Cutler have not yet […]
March 7, 2023 – One month ago, in a historic ruling, Commonwealth Court declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional and ordered the governor and legislature to fix it. The court recognized what Pennsylvania parents and educators have known for years: hundreds of thousands of children in low-wealth districts are being denied their fundamental right to […]
February 7, 2023 – Today, Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer ruled that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional and must be reformed. In a 786-page decision, the court found that “All witnesses agree that every child can learn. It is now the obligation of the Legislature, Executive Branch, and educators, to make the constitutional […]
