July 19, 2016 – AP
PHILADELPHIA — Civil rights lawyers have sued a third U.S. school district over what they call a practice of denying older refugee and immigrant students a meaningful education by steering them to alternative high schools. Continue reading
July 19, 2016 – by Colin Deppen – PennLive
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against a Lancaster school district arguing that the district has denied refugee children the learning opportunities afforded to them by law. Continue reading
July 19, 2016 – by Kara Newhouse – LancasterOnline.com
Some of the neediest students are being turned away at the doors of Lancaster city schools, a group claims in their lawsuit against the school district. Continue reading
July 19, 2016 – by Corey Mitchell – Education Week
The American Civil Liberties Union and Education Law Center have filed a lawsuit against the Lancaster, Pa., schools, claiming the district barred English-language-learner refugee students from attending traditional high schools because of their age. Continue reading
July 19, 2016
LANCASTER, PA – The ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Education Law Center, and pro bono counsel Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a federal lawsuit today alleging that the School District of Lancaster (SDOL) has been illegally refusing to enroll older immigrant students with limited English proficiency (LEP) or diverting them to an inferior, privately operated disciplinary school, rather than allowing them to attend the district’s regular high school. The plaintiffs include six refugees aged 17-21 from Somalia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burma who have fled war, violence, and persecution in their native countries. Continue reading
July 13, 2016
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, issued the following statement on the completion of the 2016-2017 Pennsylvania budget:
“While we are encouraged that this year’s recently approved state budget with accompanying revenue will include an additional $200 million in funding for basic education, $20 million in special education, and $30 million in early education, this increase still falls far short of what our children need and what Governor Wolf originally requested. It will allow school districts to plug some budget holes in the short term but will prevent schools from making important investments to improve student performance in the long term. It also locks in long-term structural inequities that will continue to leave many of Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren behind.
“Even with the passage of the 2016-2017 budget, proper funding for public education remains wholly inadequate and inequitable in Pennsylvania. Tens of thousands of schoolchildren can no longer wait for the long-term, sustained investments in education they need to succeed. That is why we are vigorously pursuing Pennsylvania’s fair funding lawsuit before the state Supreme Court to implement a long-term solution to ensure that the Commonwealth meets its constitutional requirement to provide a ‘thorough and efficient’ public school system that serves all children regardless of their ZIP code. We look forward to presenting our case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on September 13, 2016.”
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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
PHILADELPHIA: 1315 Walnut Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19107 | 215-238-6970
PITTSBURGH: 429 Fourth Avenue Suite, 702 | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 412-258-2120
July 1, 2016
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, issued the following statement on the final passage of the 16-17 state budget bill.
“While we are pleased that the General Assembly has approved an additional $200 million in funding for basic education, $20 million in special education, and $25 million in early education, this increased appropriation still falls far short of what our children need and what Governor Wolf originally requested. And while we applaud the state for utilizing a new bipartisan funding formula to distribute the basic education dollars more fairly, this formula is only as good as the money that funds it. This year’s amount is insufficient to close the massive adequacy gaps that exist.
This agreement will allow school districts to plug budget holes in the short term, but it will also prevent schools from making important investments to improve student performance. At the same time, this budget locks in long-term structural inequities that leave many of Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren behind.
Even as we call on the Governor and the General Assembly to continue to work together to bring needed resources back into our schools, we know that tens of thousands of Pennsylvania children can no longer wait for the long-term, sustained investments in education they need to succeed. That is why we plan to continue vigorously pursuing Pennsylvania’s fair funding lawsuit before the state Supreme Court in September to ensure that the Commonwealth meets its constitutional requirement to provide a “thorough and efficient” public school system that serves all children regardless of their ZIP code.”
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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
PHILADELPHIA: 1315 Walnut Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19107 | 215-238-6970
PITTSBURGH: 429 Fourth Avenue Suite, 702 | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 412-258-2120