A LANDMARK DECISION: EDUCATION IS A ‘FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT’
On Feb. 7, 2023, Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer issued a historic ruling in the Pennsylvania school funding case, declaring the PA school funding system unconstitutional.
“All witnesses agree that every child can learn. It is now the obligation of the Legislature, Executive Branch, and educators, to make the constitutional promise a reality in this Commonwealth.”
The Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center, who represent petitioners in the case, along with O’Melveny & Myers LLP, released the following joint statement:
“Today’s decision declaring Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional is a historic victory for Pennsylvania’s public school children. It will change the future for millions of families, so that children are no longer denied the education they deserve. The court recognized that our schools require adequate funding to meet our constitution’s mandate. It’s time for our state legislature to fund public schools in every corner of Pennsylvania so all students, whether or not they live in a wealthy community, can receive the quality public education guaranteed in our state constitution.”
Read our press release and the court’s full decision.
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the Commonwealth Court decision.
We’ve spent many years in the fight for fair school funding, so we are thrilled about this decision. We know this is a mighty win for students across the state of PA!
The decision is final. It was not appealed.
It is now the responsibility of the governor and the legislature to develop and implement a plan for bringing the state’s school funding system into constitutional compliance, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to access a “comprehensive, effective, and contemporary public education” – the standard set by the court.
IMPLEMENTING A REMEDY
The state’s Basic Education Funding Commission took on the task of developing a remedy responsive to the court ruling. After holding 11 public hearings around the state in fall 2023 to elicit testimony from stakeholders and experts, the commission issued a majority report on Jan. 11, 2024. It found that Pennsylvania school districts are underfunded by more than $5.4 billion and recommended a seven-year plan for the state to close this massive funding gap.
2024-25 budget: The Pennsylvania House in June 2024 voted to advance a plan closely aligned with the commission’s report. But ultimately what was adopted by the legislature and signed into law by the governor as part of a July 2024 state budget agreement was an acknowledgment of the problem but not a long-term plan.
The budget agreement acknowledged and started to close the adequacy gap, using a new funding stream to provide a recurring $494 million exclusively to underfunded school districts. The state also committed to calculating each district’s funding shortfall, putting the state’s share of that shortfall at $4.5 billion. However, legislators artificially reduced the size of the state’s funding shortfall by undercounting students in poverty, and they did not commit to the House-approved seven-year timeline to reach adequacy.
See an interactive map of Pennsylvania school districts and their school funding “adequacy gaps.”
2025-26 budget: The governor made his budget proposal in February 2025, including a second installment of $494 million in adequacy funding. ELC and Public Interest Law Center issued a joint statement in response.
Our efforts to ensure full compliance with the court’s ruling continue.
BACKGROUND ON THE CASE
Do you want to learn more about the history of the case? Check out key resources below that were prepared in advance of and in preparation for the 2021-22 trial:
• A chronology of the case and relevant court documents can be found here.
• Read our 2021 Q & A about the lawsuit.
• Watch a short video about the case.
• Read a column about the case by our executive director.
• Read, download, print, and distribute fliers and fact sheets about the lawsuit.
• Read about our other past and present funding advocacy on our “Fighting for Fair School Funding” page.
KEY MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF THE CASE
We filed our lawsuit in November 2014, challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s inadequate, inequitable school funding system. (Here is a short summary of our complaint.)
Seven years later, the case – filed on behalf of six school districts, two statewide associations, and several parents – finally went to trial in November 2021 at the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg with Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer presiding.
The trial lasted for nearly four months. Post-trial proceedings culminated in oral argument on the legal issues in the case on July 26, 2022.
More than six months later, on Feb. 7, 2023, the court ruled in our favor.
Read more about the case here at FundOurSchoolsPA.org, a website devoted to the lawsuit jointly produced by the Education Law Center and our co-counsel, the Public Interest Law Center. It was updated with daily highlights each day during the trial. Read press coverage of the trial and its aftermath here.
