ELC Files Complaint Challenging Lack of Education at Allegheny County Jail
December 21, 2023 – A state administrative complaint filed today by the Education Law Center claims that school-age youths with disabilities at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) are not receiving a free appropriate public education in contravention of their rights. Allegheny County Jail serves approximately 2,000 individuals each day who are awaiting adjudication of charges…
MoreHistoric Victory in the Fight for Fair Funding!
On Feb. 7, Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer issued her ruling in the Pennsylvania school funding case. The Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center, who represent petitioners in the case, 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…
MoreRead ELC’s New Special Education Funding Report
The Education Law Center’s new report Fixing the Special Education Funding Gap details the large decline in the state share of special education funding over the past decade. Inadequate funding for basic education and special education programs creates a dual funding gap, one that particularly affects students in low wealth school districts. These districts serve…
MoreOn school funding, Pennsylvania is not doing its job. That’s why we’re in court.
Education Law Center executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr wrote, “All Pennsylvanians need to know that our state is failing by inadequately and inequitably funding our schools. Pennsylvania once made a legislative commitment that 50% of education funding would come from the state ‒ but that commitment was not enforced and was abandoned decades ago.” Read…
MoreSchool funding court case about helping students become productive citizens
“In the Pennsylvania’s court system, there is case presently being heard against the government related to school funding. The case is especially important as the outcomes will impact Pennsylvania’s economic standing for years to come.” Read this op-ed by former Pa. Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak.
More‘It’s about children struggling’: Pa. school funding trial kicks off with plea by plaintiffs
“A landmark case that could dramatically change the way Pennsylvania funds its public schools began in Commonwealth Court today, seven years after it was filed. The case centers on wide spending gaps among the state’s poorest and wealthiest school districts.” Read this report from WHYY/Keystone Crossroads.
MorePa. lawmakers have neglected their duty to quality education across the state
ELC’s executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr wrote: “For decades, Pennsylvania lawmakers have shunned their responsibilities when it comes to school funding, severely shortchanging many school districts. The result is grave inequities that have impacted generations of students. In a trial that begins on Nov. 12, a group of petitioners is challenging the state funding system…
More5 takeaways from Pennsylvania’s ongoing, landmark school-funding trial after one month
“Over more than four weeks of testimony, the landmark trial in the challenge to Pennsylvania’s school-funding system has featured superintendents and teachers from rural, urban, and suburban communities describing cash-strapped schools — including Delaware County’s William Penn district — that struggle to meet state academic standards.” Read this recap from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s education reporters.
MorePa. school funding case update
An episode of Smart Talk from WITF (Harrisburg) reviews the status of the school funding court case with guests Mallory Falk, WHYY Philadelphia education reporter; Brenda Marrero, executive director, Public Interest Law Center; and Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director, Education Law Center – PA.
More“Storage Closets and Locker Rooms Being Used as Classrooms”
Testimony in the Pennsylvania public education funding lawsuit highlighted serious issues facing schools around the Commonwealth. “Witnesses painted a grim picture of what a normal school day looks like for many students throughout Pennsylvania, and how the COVID-19 pandemic made things worse.” Issues dealing with infrastructure like classroom space and capacity, ventilation systems, and more…
MoreSchool funding in Pa. is about to go on trial — here’s what you need to know
In 2014, a group of school districts, parents, and advocates embarked on a legal journey that could upend the way Pennsylvania funds its schools. Those petitioners head to court in Harrisburg on Nov. 12. “William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education et al. — colloquially referred to as Pennsylvania’s school funding…
MoreYour View: Why we are suing Pennsylvania over School Funding
Education Law Center executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr wrote about the unconstitutionality of Pennsylvania’s current school funding system, and the funding lawsuit in Commonwealth Court where trial is scheduled to start November 2021.
MoreThe communities are side by side. They have wildly different education outcomes – by design
USA Today reporter Alia Wong analyzes two neighboring Pennsylvania school districts and finds that the schools are funded based on the community’s local wealth, leaving one community at a huge disadvantage.
MoreSchool Funding Lawsuits Move the Needle on Fairness
Education Law Center executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr wrote about the history of school funding lawsuits that have been filed in dozens of states besides Pennsylvania. “We see from the experience of other states that school funding lawsuits have been strikingly successful at moving the needle toward fairness,” she wrote. “Decisions in such lawsuits spur…
MoreHistoric school funding trial date moved to Oct. 12
There is a new start date for the trial in our historic lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s school funding system. The date is moved back a month to Oct.12. The later date allow superintendents and other petitioners who filed the case against state officials additional time to provide up-to-date specifics to supplement the evidence and testimony gathered…
MorePa.’s poorest school districts will get more money next year. Public education advocates say the budget still falls short.
Pennsylvania’s state legislature approved a new budget for 2021-22 but chose to put billions into a Rainy Day Fund rather than addressing the urgent need to address adequacy gaps facing many school districts. Education Law Center executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr, like other advocates, sees the budget deal as a missed opportunity. Read coverage of…
MoreELC Testifies on Barriers to Education Success before PA Senate Education Committee
ELC staff attorney Hetal Dhagat addressed educational barriers that impact Black and Brown students, low-income students, students with disabilities, and immigrant and refugee students in testimony to the PA Senate Education Committee on April 23, 2021. She spoke at a hearing on K-12 education reforms in Western Pennsylvania, the last of three hearings that the…
MorePhiladelphia Eagles Support ELC with $25K Grant
ELC has received a $25,000 grant from the Philadelphia Eagles Social Justice Fund, through which the Eagles organization provides a one-to-one match to donations by players and staff. Education is one of the Fund’s priorities, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with the Eagles in the important work of ensuring access to…
MoreAdvocating for Legislative Action to Address Underfunding
ELC policy director Reynelle Brown Staley was among the panelists who testified to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee public hearing on fair education funding in Coatesville on Aug. 12, attended by over 100 people. Highlighting statements from parents and superintendents across the state, she spoke to the devastating impact of state underinvestment in education, particularly on…
MoreLunch-Shaming Must End
In a July 28, 2019, letter to PennLive, ELC legal director Maura McInerney questions new language in the Pennsylvania School Code that allows school districts to serve “alternative lunches” to students whose families have lunch debt. Read her letter.
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