November 2024

Tell Your Story: How Is

School Funding Making a Difference?

As the school year unfolds, we are collecting stories from across Pennsylvania about the critical new resources and improvements that have been made possible by the state’s $1.1 billion increase in education support, as the legislature moved to respond to the 2023 Commonwealth Court ruling in our successful school funding lawsuit. For example:

Wilkes-Barre: Additional state funds allowed the district to add 40 new positions for teachers, counselors, and other professional employees.

Johnstown: Funding enabled the addition of a reading specialist and was vital in negotiating a teachers’ contract that will help stem teacher attrition.

Titusville: Funds supported a career counselor, summer and afterschool programming, credit recovery, math programs, and raises for support professionals.

You can help! Along with our PA Schools Work coalition partners, we are circulating a brief survey, seeking stories from educators, families, and community members. How are new state investments making a difference in your school? What additional resources are still needed? Please take a few minutes to complete it if you have a story to share about a school. These will be helpful in urging the state legislature to #FinishTheJob of adequately funding our schools.

Pittsburgh School Closure Decisions

Must Be Grounded in Equity

The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Education is currently reviewing a proposed “facilities utilization plan” that would close 14 schools, open three new schools, and reconfigure 12 schools. We urge the district to pause its consideration of the proposed plan until it has worked to fully understand the impact of previous school closures, including the effects of shuttering school buildings in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods.

Any school closure decisions should be grounded in equity and consider the outcome of previous school closures, with a focus on ensuring the educational success of those students who are often least well-served by public education, including Black and Brown students, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners. We support the efforts of Education Rights Network and other community partners who are demanding greater transparency and community engagement in this process.

Vote! Make a Difference on Nov. 5!

We are a few short days away from Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Like every election, education issues are effectively on the ballot. The national and state officeholders we elect will play pivotal roles in determining policies impacting school children in Pennsylvania.

Have a plan to exercise your right to vote. Make sure that your voice counts! If you have not returned your mail ballot yet, find out when and how to return your ballot or check the status of your ballot here. If you are voting in person, you can find your polling place here.

More Pa. School Districts Target LGBTQ+ Students With Discriminatory Policies

Preventing LGBTQ+ students from accessing programs and facilities in schools is illegal. It violates the federal Title IX law, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and other civil rights laws. But we continue to see anti-LGBTQ+ extremists on Pennsylvania school boards push through harmful policies that exclude students from sports teams, stigmatize them based on their bathroom use, and deny students’ requests to use affirming and correct names and pronouns.

In October, South Western School District in York County cut windows into the bathroom identified for transgender student use, invading students’ privacy, an extreme addition to the stigmatizing differentiations of bathroom assignments under their board policy.

Meanwhile, in both Penn Manor School District in Lancaster County and Southern York County School District, the school boards took up new policies developed by the Independence Law Center, a religious extremist group; the policies require a parental request for any change to students’ names and pronouns and require sports participation to be based on students’ gender assigned at birth.

ELC advised concerned families opposing the policies and sent letters to the boards of Southern York County and Penn Manor demanding that they uphold their nondiscrimination obligations and reject these policies. While parents supported our stance and our letter received media coverage, both districts voted to adopt these harmful policies.

We continue to work with our PAWInS (Pennsylvanians for Welcoming and Inclusive Schools) coalition partners to turn the tide in school districts that are adopting hateful policies. It is well documented that hostile school environments directly harm the mental health and academic performance of LBGTQ+ students.  Students and families are encouraged to contact ELC for advice about their rights and legal options. 

Philly Schools Maintain Services

for Students Experiencing Homelessness

With federal American Rescue Plan funding running out, school and city leaders in Philadelphia this week agreed to use $2.3 million in district funds to continue services for students experiencing homelessness through June 2025. The funding will maintain an important partnership between the district and providers who support older youth experiencing homelessness.

In July, ELC testified before Philadelphia City Council in favor of this critical funding and advocated for a greater focus on older youth, including students who age out of foster care and into homelessness. Learn more about the rights of students experiencing homelessness in our fact sheet.

Defending the Right of Students

to Enroll in School

Through our Helpline, ELC often supports the rights of students to enroll in public schools. For example, ELC staff intervened this fall on behalf of an immigrant youth and successfully secured his enrollment in school after he was wrongly told by school staff in his neighborhood school that because he had just turned 18, he would have to attend an alternative program.

In fact, all students have the right under Pennsylvania state law to attend school until they graduate or until the end of the school term when they turn 21. And students who need English language instruction are entitled to attend a program that can meet their language needs, and cannot be deferred to an inferior program because they are “older."

Giving Tuesday: Save the Date

Celebrate #GivingTuesday with the Education Law Center on Dec. 3! On this global day of giving, please consider supporting ELC with a gift of any size.

As we look forward to 2025 and our milestone 50th year of ensuring all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education, we hope you will lend us a hand.

We can’t do this work without you. Not only do we need your support, but we also need your help to spread the word. Please take the opportunity to tell your friends and family why you believe in ELC’s work and encourage them to support us too!

Follow our social media accounts for updates.

Join the ELC Team!

ELC is seeking a policy director based in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Harrisburg.

ELC is seeking a director of our Western Pennsylvania office in Pittsburgh.



See our website for a description of internship opportunities at ELC.

Black Educators Resist Anti-CRT Backlash by Research for Action

This State Requires Schools to Teach the Bible. Parents and Teachers Are Suing by Brooke Schultz for Education Week

Controversy and conspiracies dominate this Pa. school district after extremist takeover by Amanda Fries for Spotlight PA.

Philly is bracing for school closings, relocations, new buildings. Here’s how you can weigh in by Kristen A. Graham for The Philadelphia Inquirer.