Feb. 19, 2015 – The Commonwealth Court will hear oral argument in William Penn School District, et al., v. Pennsylvania Department of Education, et al. on Wednesday, March 11th at 9:30 a.m. in Harrisburg. This case challenges the failure of legislative leaders, state education officials, and Pennsylvania’s Governor to uphold their constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient system of public education. Continue reading
School Funding
York City School District questions await Wolf team
Jan. 18, 2015 – By Angie Mason, York Daily Record – With the appointment of a York City School District receiver put on hold, many are now looking at how Gov.-elect Tom Wolf could intervene when he takes office next week.
Pennsylvania schools sue state in bid to reform funding
Suit calls state school funding arbitrary and irrational
Nov. 23, 2014 – By Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – In 1999, the state Supreme Court ruled that the question of state school funding was a political issue for the Legislature, not one for the judiciary.
Now, a new lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court last week once again seeks a judicial order, this time armed with state test results showing schools failing to meet state academic standards and a study commissioned by the Legislature quantifying the disparity in resources.
Op-Ed: School funding shouldn’t be ‘accident of geography’
Nov. 16, 2014 – By Jennifer Desmarais, Special to LNP – As a school board member in the School District of Lancaster, I am proud to serve my community by attending monthly meetings, participating on district task forces, and being visible in our school community.
Editorial: The hunt for fair education funding formula goes on
Nov. 15, 2014 – Editorial, Delaware County Daily Times – It is an unfair, unlevel playing field. That’s not especially new. Even outgoing Gov. Tom Corbett, who became the poster boy for an out-of-whack education funding system courtesy of brutal cuts enacted in his first years in office, agrees.
Thorough and Efficient? A video short on Pennsylvania’s School Funding Lawsuit
The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed suit in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 10, 2014 on behalf of six school districts, seven parents, and two statewide associations against legislative leaders, state education officials, and the Governor for failing to uphold the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” system of public education.
Sheila Armstrong – Parent, Petitioner
The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed suit in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 10, 2014 on behalf of six school districts, seven parents, and two statewide associations against legislative leaders, state education officials, and the Governor for failing to uphold the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” system of public education.
Joe Bruni – William Penn School District Superintendent, Petitioner
The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed suit in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 10, 2014 on behalf of six school districts, seven parents, and two statewide associations against legislative leaders, state education officials, and the Governor for failing to uphold the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” system of public education.
Joe Bard – Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, Petitioner
The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed suit in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 10, 2014 on behalf of six school districts, seven parents, and two statewide associations against legislative leaders, state education officials, and the Governor for failing to uphold the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” system of public education.
Joan Duvall-Flynn, NAACP – Pennsylvania State Conference, Petitioner
The Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed suit in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 10, 2014 on behalf of six school districts, seven parents, and two statewide associations against legislative leaders, state education officials, and the Governor for failing to uphold the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” system of public education.
School districts, parents, activists sue Pennsylvania over school funding
Nov. 11, 2014 – Kristen Graham, Philadelphia Inquirer – Alleging that Pennsylvania’s education-funding system is “irrational and inequitable,” a group of parents, school districts, and organizations on Monday sued the commonwealth, saying it had failed to provide all students with an appropriate education.
Three NEPA schools challenge funding
Nov. 11, 2014 – By Robert Swift, Scranton Times-Tribune – A Wilkes-Barre mother joined school districts and advocacy groups Monday in a lawsuit calling for an end to sharp inequities in funding for public education throughout Pennsylvania.
Schools suing Pa. Department of Education over funding
Nov. 10, 2014 – By Adam Clark, Allentown Morning Call – Saying Pennsylvania’s new academic standards have given them legal might, six school districts and seven parents are suing the state Department of Education and state officials over what they claim is an “irrational school-funding system.”
Parents and School Districts File Suit against PA State Officials for Failing to Maintain Fair and Adequate System of Public Education
Nov. 10, 2014 – Today six school districts, seven parents, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS) and the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court against legislative leaders, state education officials, and the Governor for failing to uphold the General Assembly’s constitutional obligation to provide a system of public education that gives all children in Pennsylvania the resources they need to meet state-imposed academic standards and thrive in today’s world. Continue reading
School advocates sue Pennsylvania over funding
Nov. 10, 2014 – Peter Jackson, Associated Press – Public school advocates sued top state officials Monday, alleging that an irrational system of distributing state subsidies is creating academic inequities and depriving many students of the “thorough and efficient” public education system that the state constitution guarantees.
Lawsuit: School Funding in Pennsylvania is Unconstitutional
Nov. 10, 2014 – By Patrick Kerkstra, Philadelphia Magazine – Seventeen years ago, the city and School District of Philadelphia filed suit against Pennsylvania, accusing it of failing to provide sufficient education funding in violation of the state Constitution, which obligates the state legislature to “provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education.”
ELC Testimony to the Basic Education Funding Commission
Oct. 21, 2014 – Pittsburgh | Good afternoon, my name is Cheryl Kleiman and I am a staff attorney with the Education Law Center in Pittsburgh. I appreciate the opportunity to appear in front of the Basic Education Funding Commission on behalf of the parents, students, and stakeholders we serve.
Commission Gathers Feedback For Basic Education Funding Formula
Oct. 22, 2014 – By Deanna Garcia, WESA – A commission charged with examining the state’s basic education funding formula heard from a number of education officials at an Allegheny County hearing this week.
ELC Kicks Off New School Funding Campaign
Oct. 6, 2014 – The Education Law Center, along with more than 40 other organizations, today launched a new campaign for fair education funding for all of Pennsylvania’s K-12 public schools.
“ELC has been leading school funding reform efforts for years. This latest campaign reflects our long-standing commitment to providing all of Pennsylvania’s children — regardless of where they live — the resources necessary to succeed in the classroom and beyond,” said ELC Executive Director, Rhonda Brownstein, a founding member of the campaign, and one its executive committee members.
The campaign has the support of more than 40 organizations throughout Pennsylvania representing educators, business, labor, faith-based organizations and civic and child advocacy groups who want to see Pennsylvania develop a predictable, sustainable and long-term solution to funding its public schools.
Cheryl Kleiman, staff attorney for the Education Law Center, is working with the campaign to engage Western Pennsylvania organizations and build cross-state consensus.
“We are excited about launching this campaign to ensure every public school has the resources it needs,” she said. “A fair, equitable and transparent funding formula will make a big difference for all Pennsylvania’s children – especially our most at-risk students, who too often lack basic supports and services in their public schools. How we address that at the local and state level has tremendous implications for Pennsylvania’s future.”
The Education Law Center is the only statewide legal advocacy group whose mission is to ensure that all of Pennsylvania’s children have access to quality public schools, including poor children, children of color, children with disabilities, children in the foster care system, English Language learners, and other at-risk children. For more information about ELC’s work and its role in the Campaign for Fair Education Funding, please contact Cheryl Kleiman at 412-258-2120 ext. 357.