The Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center say the impasse between House Democrats and Senate Republicans over Pennsylvania’s budget threatens to stall the momentum of work to fix the Commonwealth’s school funding crisis.
The groups helped represent plaintiffs at the landmark William Penn School District et al. v. Pa. Department of Education case that found Pennsylvania’s school financing system violated the Constitution’s education clause and equal protection laws.
“Our constitution requires lawmakers to adequately and equitably fund public schools,” he said Deborah Gordon Klehrexecutive director Education Law Center-PA. “Instead, they fail to do their most basic job – passing a budget. Pennsylvania children receive no compensation for the years they spend in underfunded classrooms.”
“A child’s right to a good public school must not be compromised by horse trading in Harrisburg,” he said Dan Urevick-Ackelsbergsenior lawyer at the Law Firm Center for Public Interest Law. “Adequate funding means smaller class sizes, safe and modern facilities, and qualified staff in every classroom. The General Assembly started us on this path last year. They must continue.”
In July 2024, the General Assembly allocated $500 million of the $4.5 billion needed to close the adequacy gap between what school districts have and what the state must provide. It’s an essential first step, but the group says the pace of progress is “far too slow.”
“Every day of delay harms children in both House and Senate districts, among Democrats and Republicans alike,” the press release said.
The Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center say the General Assembly must take action now to:
- Adopt the budget without further delay;
- Invest at least $500 million in funding adequacy financing and work to shorten the timetable for achieving funding adequacy;
- Increase funding for basic and special education; AND
- Pass long-awaited cybersecurity charter funding reform.
“Pennsylvania students cannot afford more political gridlock,” the statement reads. “Lawmakers must stop dragging their feet and pass a budget that meets their constitutional obligation to provide every child with the education they deserve.”
