Education Law Center Statement on Passage of HB 1522

May 25, 2016

Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center issued the following statement following the passage of HB 1552:

“As HB 1552 heads to Governor Wolf’s desk after being passed by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the General Assembly, Pennsylvania is poised to join most other states in the nation in using a funding formula to fairly distribute basic education dollars based on student and district needs.

This bipartisan formula takes into account student factors — such as the number of students living in poverty, the number of students who are English Language Learners, and the number of students enrolled in charter schools, as well as school district factors — including the effort and capacity of school districts to raise funds at the local level.

While this formula is a major step forward for equitable public education funding, it will only be effective if the General Assembly appropriates sufficient dollars to fund our schools. Currently the legislature is woefully underfunding our schools, in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution. We call on the General Assembly to appropriate a $400 million increase in basic education funding as well as an increase in special education and early education funding as a down payment to restore critical services to students.”

 

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The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, and children experiencing homelessness.

www.elc-pa.org | www.facebook.com/educationlawcenter | www.twitter.com/edlawcenterpa

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