William Penn School District et al. v. Pa. Dept. of Education, 294 A.3d 537, 962 (Pa. Commonw. Ct. 2023)

The lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s school funding system went to trial in Commonwealth Court beginning Nov. 12, 2021. The trial lasted for nearly four months, followed by post-trial briefing and oral argument in July 2022. The court rendered its decision on Feb. 7, 2023, finding that Pennsylvania’s school funding system violates the state constitution’s education clause and equal protection provisions. The court also ruled that education is a fundamental right in our state. A more complete history is below.

Additional information about the case and implementation of the court’s decision is available at FundOurSchoolsPA.org, a joint website developed by the Education Law Center and Public Interest Law Center.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE CASE

The case, initially filed in 2014 on behalf of parents, school districts, and statewide organizations in response to the failure of Pennsylvania’s legislature to adequately and equitably fund public education, was remanded to Commonwealth Court in September 2017 by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the claims in our case are subject to judicial review.

On remand, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court overruled a set of objections filed by state legislative leaders, allowing the case to proceed and moving our school funding lawsuit closer to trial. Read more in the May 7, 2018, news release.

Thereafter, in response to a motion to dismiss asserted by legislative leaders, the court ruled that the state’s adoption of an education funding formula did not render the case moot. The court denied the respondents’ petition to dismiss the case as moot in an order issued August 21, 2018, clearing the way for the case to move toward trial, as described in this news release. The court agreed with our arguments emphasizing the continuing decline in funding available for classroom expenses and the widening gaps in spending between low-wealth and high-wealth districts. Read more in the July 6, 2018, news release and the August 7, 2018, news release.

In a scheduling order issued on December 6, 2018, the court set a tentative trial date for 2020, as described in this news release. In the two years following this order, the court issued several briefing orders and updated the schedule.

In summer 2020, the parties completed the extensive pre-trial phase known as discovery, through which all parties gather evidence to support their case through the exchange of documents, witness statements, and other means. Over the course of the discovery process, the parties completed more than 70 depositions. The parties exchanged multiple expert reports and rebuttals. Filings relating to motions for summary judgment were submitted in late 2020. The court issued rulings on those motions in early 2021, the last major step before scheduling the case for trial; read our March 2021 news release.

In an April 1, 2021, order, the court set a schedule for pretrial filings and tentatively scheduled the trial for the fall. In summer 2021, the court ruled on several motions in limine (motions to limit evidence), denying a motion by respondents to preclude the introduction of evidence of racial disparities.

The court scheduled trial to begin on November 12, 2021, in Courtroom 3002 of the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg. Trial concluded with closing arguments on March 10, 2022. Daily summaries of trial testimony can be found here.

Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer, who presides over the case, issued her decision on Feb 7, 2023, in which she declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional. You can read the full decision here.

Republican legislative leaders filed a motion Feb. 17, 2023, for post-trial relief in Commonwealth Court, seeking reconsideration from Judge Jubelirer and preserving possible issues for appeal.

On June 21, 2023, following oral argument on May 22, 2023, Judge Jubelirer denied that motion. In their challenge, they had claimed errors in the court’s landmark ruling and asked the court to reverse its decision.

The July 21, 2023, deadline for filing an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court passed without any further court action. Consequently, the Feb. 7 ruling became final.

Read our Frequently Asked Questions document about the Commonwealth Court decision.

MEDIA COVERAGE

For a more extensive sample of media coverage of the trial, see www.fundourschoolspa.org.

The communities are side by side. They have wildly different education outcomes – by design (10/7/2021, USA Today)

Highly Watched Pennsylvania School Funding Case Heads to Trial, Years After Low-Income Districts Sued to Overturn a ‘System of Haves and Have Nots’ (11/12/2021, The 74)

Pa. lawmakers have neglected their duty to quality education across the state | Opinion (11/12/2021, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Guest editorial: Lawsuit has serious ramifications (12/27/2021, The Sentinel)

Hite testifies lack of resources holds back Philly students (1/11/2022, Chalkbeat Philadelphia)

Petitioners in PA Fair Funding Lawsuit Conclude Testimony, Respondents to Begin Making Their Case This Week (1/31/2022, Erie News Now)

Fair funding trial petitioners hold press conference after closing arguments (3/11/2022, The Tribune-Democrat)

Landmark Pa. school funding case decided: The state’s system is unconstitutional (2/7/2023, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Court: Present Pennsylvania School Funding System Is Unconstitutional (2/7/2023, Forbes)