July 12, 2026 – Governor Shapiro today signed the state’s FY26-27 budget after it was passed by the state Senate and House with supermajorities in both chambers. The state’s fresh budget includes key investments that will support education, revitalize Pennsylvania’s economy and workforce, and address the cost of living crisis that residents across the Commonwealth face every day.
The portion of education funding included in the FY26-27 budget is $565 million to fund education for equity and adequacy. This adequacy investment represents the third round of education funding awarded by the General Assembly following the Commonwealth Court’s ruling that found Pennsylvania’s education funding system unconstitutional.
Senator Hughes shared the following statement on the third consecutive year of funding for history education for students, teachers and administrators in Pennsylvania:
“This funding was never guaranteed. From the moment Judge Jubelirer ruled that Pennsylvania’s education funding system was unconstitutional in February 2023, the Senate and House Democrats knew we would have to fight every step of the way to secure the funding our school communities deserve.
“Working with Governor Shapiro, we have delivered on this commitment for the third year in a row.
“This funding continues our work to fix a broken system that has left too many students without a 21st century learning environment. This is earnest money that allows our schools to make critical improvements to teacher and administrator staffing, learning opportunities, after-school programs and student support services.
“Ensuring this year’s adequacy and capital funding has been a point of contention for me, the Senate and House Democrats as we negotiated the budget with our Republican colleagues. It must be made clear that Republicans have been steadfast in their insistence on including this adequacy funding in the budget – funding that ensures that 70 percent of Pennsylvania schools will be funded under the Constitution – until the very end.
“I’m proud that we were able to do this for schools across the commonwealth.”
###
