Pennsylvania

Education Law Center statement on the completion of the 2016-2017 Pennsylvania budget

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

ELC Statement on the Final Passage of the 16-17 State Budget Bill

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

ELC advocacy informs new federal guidance for improving educational access for children in foster care

June 27, 2016

The Education Law Center’s long-time advocacy for children in foster care informed new joint guidance issued on June 23rd by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to ensure school stability and improve educational outcomes for the 270,000 children of school age in foster care.

This new guidance directs states, including Pennsylvania, on how to comply with specific provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act, the new federal law which replaced No Child Left Behind.  These provisions ensure that students placed in foster care will be permitted to remain in the same school even if they move and ensures immediate enrollment in a new school.  The law also requires schools and child welfare agencies to collaborate to provide transportation for students in foster care when needed and requires school districts and states to collect and report data on the academic achievement and graduation rates of children in foster care.

ELC is proud to be a founding member of the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education, along with the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law and the Juvenile Law Center. The Center will continue to work with federal and state officials on effective implementation of the new law in light of this guidance.

PA Supreme Court sets argument date for fair education funding lawsuit

June 16, 2016

Harrisburg, Pa.—The Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will hear oral argument for Pennsylvania’s landmark education funding lawsuit on September 13, 2016, in its Philadelphia courtroom.

The lawsuit, William Penn School District vs. Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, seeks to remedy decades of inequitable education funding that have robbed children of the resources they need to succeed. It argues that the state’s system of funding public education is so inadequate and unequal that it violates state constitutional provisions requiring a “thorough and efficient system of public education” and equal treatment under the law.

The suit was filed in November 2014 by a broad-based coalition of parents, school districts and non-profit organizations that have seen firsthand the devastating impact of these failures in classrooms and in children’s lives. The plaintiffs include: six school districts – William Penn, Panther Valley, Lancaster, Greater Johnstown, Wilkes-Barre Area and Shenandoah Valley – the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS), and the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference. The Public Interest Law Center and the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania are representing these plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs are asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to permit a full trial in this case by reversing a 2015 Commonwealth Court decision that dismissed the case as raising a political question. This reversal would allow the plaintiffs to present evidence that the state General Assembly has violated the Pennsylvania Constitution by failing to adequately and equitably fund Pennsylvania’s public schools.

“We are pleased that the Court will hear argument in September on the need to enforce the Constitution’s requirement that every child receive a quality, adequately funded, public education. Our inadequate, inequitable funding system leaves children without the most basic resources they deserve, and that they need to become productive members of society,” said Michael Churchill, of counsel for the Public Interest Law Center.

“After years of insufficient funding for our classrooms, protracted stalemates and in the absence of any method for linking school spending to state standards, court enforcement of the constitution is the only way we can guarantee that all children in Pennsylvania will have adequate resources to learn regardless of where they live and what school they attend,” said Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center. “We are confident that the courts will step in where the General Assembly has failed and begin upholding this important constitutional requirement.”

In the absence of judicial oversight, the Commonwealth has underfunded rural, suburban, and urban schools all over the state for many years. According to the petition filed by the plaintiffs, the General Assembly has adopted state standards that define the academic content children must learn but has failed to provide the funding necessary to give students an opportunity to meet those standards. As a result, students in underfunded schools struggle academically and fail to meet state standards.  While Pennsylvania recently adopted a school funding formula – which the attorneys for the plaintiffs acknowledge is a step in the right direction – only a small fraction of education dollars will be driven through that formula and state funding remains wholly inadequate to meet the needs of students.

If the plaintiffs win at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the case will return to the Commonwealth Court for a full trial on the merits.

All case documents can be viewed here: https://edfundinglawsuit.wordpress.com/

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The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania works to ensure that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education, including poor children, children of color, children with disabilities, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, English language learners, and other vulnerable children. For more information visit www.elc-pa.org or follow on Twitter @edlawcenterpa.

The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to improve the well-being and life prospects of vulnerable populations by ensuring they have access to fundamental resources including a high-quality public education, access to health care, employment, housing, safe and healthy neighborhoods and the right to vote. For more information visit www.pubintlaw.org or follow on Twitter @PubIntLawCtr.

Contact:

Barb Grimaldi, Public Interest Law Center, 267-546-1304, [email protected]

Anthony Campisi, Education Law Center, 215-735-6760 [email protected]

 

SICC Passes Resolution Pressing OCDEL to Ban the Use of Exclusionary Discipline in Early Childhood Programs

ELC applauds Pennsylvania State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) for passing a resolution urging the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) to develop a comprehensive statewide policy banning the use of exclusionary discipline in all early learning programs across Pennsylvania.

The Resolution was a direct result of our work, in collaboration with the ACLU and our early intervention and early childhood partners, who pressed the SICC to take this action. In March, ELC Pittsburgh Director Nancy A. Hubley and ACLU Executive Director Harold Jordan presented to the SICC on the compelling state and national data and new Federal guidance to highlight the damage done through exclusionary discipline. ELC pressed the SICC and OCDEL to develop and implement new statewide, interagency policies to address the discriminatory use of exclusionary discipline in Pre-K programs. At the conclusion of the presentation, SICC members introduced the resolution, which was ultimately passed on June 2, 2016.

The Resolution recognizes that all young children deserve to be in inclusive, high quality early childhood programs. It further acknowledges that for this to occur it is imperative that our youngest learners are not being suspended, expelled, and otherwise excluded from the learning environment. This is particularly important given that young African American children and children receiving, or who are eligible to receive, special education and early intervention services are disproportionately pushed out of early learning programs. The Resolution calls for OCDEL to address race and disability as it continues to build accountability and professional capacity for early learning programs to serve all children.

ELC acknowledges the good work OCDEL is already doing to move in this direction, with increasing attention and development of interagency supports, accurate data collection systems, and race-positive, gender-specific, and trauma-informed professional development. OCDEL is convening multiple forums this summer to continue the conversation with key stakeholders to inform the development of a statewide policy that not only bans exclusionary discipline in Pre-K programs, but further develops and supports the inclusion of all students in early education programs.

As ELC continues this work to limit and eliminate the use of exclusionary discipline in early childhood settings, we also remain committed to raising and addressing these issues in other forums, including school districts and the General Assembly, to extend this ban to students in elementary school.

Education Law Center applauds new Title IX guidance affirming protections for transgender students

May 13, 2016

The Education Law Center applauds the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education for today’s important guidance clarifying that Title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, protects transgender students. It makes clear that transgender students have the right to equal educational opportunities and to be educated in a positive school climate that is free from discrimination.

The Department of Education also released examples of best practices and policies, drawing upon the work that schools and partners across the country are already doing to support transgender students.

Here in Pennsylvania, we recognize Allegheny County Department of Human Services for its work and partnership in fostering collaborative, cross-system conversations about how we can best promote positive educational outcomes for LGBTQ youth in Allegheny County.

We also see Pittsburgh Public Schools leading the way with a new district-wide nondiscrimination policy for transgender students, developed with input from students, parents, educators, and advocates. This policy is in addition to the strengthened protections ELC advocated for in 2014, which resulted in stronger rules against harassment and bullying, more information about how to seek help and support, and a revised dress code that gives students the right to dress in accordance with their gender.

We still have a long way to go towards ensuring that schools are safe, inclusive, and affirming for all students, but today’s guidance represents an important step.

Related Coverage

  • In April, ELC Staff Attorney Cheryl Kleiman was quoted in TribLive on the need for positive school climate and policies that make schools safe and free from discrimination for all students.
  • In 2014, ELC was featured in an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette covering the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ effort to decrease the use of exclusionary discipline and increase protections and supports for LGBTQ students, parenting students, and English language learners.

 

Education Lawsuits Attempt To Rectify Pennsylvania’s Funding Disparities

Apr. 18, 2016 – Essential Pittsburgh WESA 90.5 FM

A current funding lawsuit alleges that Pennsylvania has broken its constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” education. We’ll talk with Cheryl Kleiman, Staff Attorney for the Education Law Center, one of the attorneys in the case. And Kevin McCorry WHYY Senior Education Writer who is contributing to the NPR reporting project “School Money” exploring how states pay for their public schools and why many are failing to meet the needs of their most vulnerable students.

 

 

Join us May 2 in Harrisburg for the Fight for Fair Funding

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Public schools in Pennsylvania are a far cry from the “thorough and efficient” system of education guaranteed under our state constitution. Years of neglect and stagnation in Harrisburg have left our children waiting for far too long. Budget cuts have forced school districts around the state to make dramatic changes. Without librarians, guidance counselors, nurses or even enough teachers, our students are suffering.

That’s why we want YOU to join Education Law Center and members of the Campaign for Fair Education Funding in Harrisburg on May 2nd! Register now to reserve your spot on a free bus from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, PA.

WHO: The Campaign for Fair Education Funding

WHAT: Rally for Fair Education Funding

WHERE: The Main Rotunda at the State Capitol, Harrisburg, PA

Buses of supporters are leaving from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

WHEN: Monday, May 2, 12:30 p.m.

(Buses from your respective locations will leave at various times that morning)

Click the link below to reserve your spot in the fight for fair education funding!

Rally-for-Fair-Education-Funding-Button

We hope to see you in Harrisburg on May 2nd! Need assistance registering? Email Spencer Malloy at [email protected].

Sign on to a letter urging legislators to increase funding for special education in PA

Mar. 2, 2016

State legislators are currently holding hearings regarding Pennsylvania’s proposed budget. Early next week, Appropriations Committee hearings will focus on education funding, including special education.

The voices of advocates for children with disabilities need to be heard. We are asking you to consider signing off on the attached letter urging legislators to increase funding for special education. This is a critical issue for students with disabilities who have been deeply impacted by significant underfunding for many years.

If you are involved with an organization that would be interested in signing on to our letter, please click here. Please fill out the form by 5 PM this Friday, March 4th.