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PA *Still* Needs a Budget:
Contact Your Lawmakers
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ELC-PA attorney Christine Porter (at podium) joins our partners at a rally for increased state funding on July 7 in Pittsburgh.
As Pennsylvanians continue to wait for the passage of a state budget that is now one month overdue, ELC-PA joined a Pittsburgh news conference in July, organized by 412 Justice, to urge lawmakers to provide school districts across the Commonwealth with the funding our students need. ELC-PA attorney Christine Porter called for school funding increases of at least $500 million to address public schools’ adequacy gap, $75 million for basic education, and $40 million for special education. She also urged lawmakers to enact much-needed reforms to the way cyber charter schools are funded.
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The legislature has a constitutional duty to adequately fund our public schools. The Commonwealth Court held in its historic 2023 ruling: “It is now the obligation of the Legislature, Executive Branch, and educators to make the constitutional promise a reality in this Commonwealth.” Many students go back to school this month, and districts still do not have their state budget allocations.
| | Together we must urge our state lawmakers to address a $4.5 billion adequacy gap for our public schools. Please contact your legislators and urge them to build on Gov. Shapiro’s proposal, which includes a second installment of $500 million in funding for the 348 school districts the state identified as underfunded as well as increased funds for basic education, special education, early childhood education, and cyber charter funding reforms. | | |
ELC-PA Supports Relaunch of
Youth & Public Safety Caucus
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ELC-PA legal director Maura McInerney speaks at Youth & Public Safety Caucus news conference July 1, 2025.
ELC-PA’s legal director, Maura McInerney, joined state lawmakers and advocates in Harrisburg in July to support the relaunch of the bipartisan House Pennsylvania Youth & Public Safety Caucus and its shared goal of improving the safety and well-being of young people across the commonwealth. The caucus seeks to implement the 2021 recommendations of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force to reform the state’s juvenile justice system.
At a news conference announcing the caucus’ new statewide initiative, speakers emphasized the need to examine current safety conditions and resource outcomes for Pennsylvania youth. The findings will inform policy proposals and resource recommendations to strengthen youth safety and well-being.
Focusing on the rights, current needs, and future of youth in the juvenile justice system — who, due to systemic and individual racism, are disproportionately youth of color — McInerney noted that they continue to be deprived of access to a quality education — a fundamental right guaranteed to them by the state constitution.
"By denying our youth in the juvenile justice system a quality education, we not only deprive them of a high school diploma — we limit their lifelong opportunities and their ability to achieve economic prosperity and success,” she said.
McInerney called for three specific legislative reforms:
1. Ensure school stability and access to local public schools whenever possible;
2. Establish clear academic standards for on-grounds schools and mandate annual oversight and monitoring by the PA Department of Education; and
3. Ensure successful re-entry to a neighborhood school.
To learn more about the educational rights of students in the juvenile justice system, view ELC-PA’s fact sheet here.
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ELC-PA Works to Enforce ESY Rights
for Students with Disabilities
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Extended School Year (ESY) services are essential for many children with disabilities who experience learning loss over the summer or who need continued practice to retain critical skills. Under the law, ESY eligibility must be determined individually, and services must be tailored to meet each child’s unique needs.
Unfortunately, ELC-PA continues to see many school districts improperly limit ESY to students with only certain disabilities or provide a “one-size-fits-no-one” approach — which is not permitted under the law.
When ELC-PA represented “Javier’s” mother at his first IEP meeting, it appeared that his charter school was following this same approach. Javier is a 7-year-old student who loves math and laughing with his friends. As a child with ADHD, he needs significant support when he becomes frustrated or dysregulated. A key part of Javier’s IEP includes supports provided by his school to help him navigate challenging academic assignments and provide support if he becomes overwhelmed. The case manager told the IEP team that Javier did not qualify for ESY simply because he was a student with an “Other Health Impairment,” which is legally incorrect. When ELC and Javier’s mother pushed back, the case manager added that even if Javier did qualify, the proposed one-size-fits-all ESY programming would be too limited to meet his needs.
With ELC-PA’s support, Javier’s mother successfully advocated for an individualized ESY plan that focused on helping him develop critical skills. As a new student with a behavior support plan, Javier needed summer programming to ensure the behavior support plan could be implemented consistently by school staff. Javier’s mother successfully advocated for Javier to receive ESY services while participating in the school’s summer programming offered for all students, with a one-on-one aide and behavioral supports.
As a result of ESY services, Javier has made significant progress — and his mother, equipped with information and advocacy tools from ELC-PA, continues to be a powerful voice for her son.
If you have questions about your child’s rights to ESY, please contact ELC’s Helpline!
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ELC-PA Applauds Gov. Shapiro’s
Successful Challenge to
Unlawful Withholding of Federal Funds
| | U.S Supreme Court Allows Federal Education Department's Layoffs to Proceed | | |
ELC-PA has warned that dismantling the U.S. Department of Education will have a devastating impact on school children across Pennsylvania and cause even more grievous harm upon student populations who are the least-well served and supported.
On July 14, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Administration’s emergency request to proceed with its March 11 reduction in force (RIF), allowing the removal of 1,378 U.S. Department of Education employees. This overturned a lower court ruling that found that the administration’s “true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department” without Congress’ approval, as required. While the High Court gave no explanation, Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, calling the decision “indefensible” for giving “the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out.”
Despite assurances from U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon that statutory duties will continue, the RIF has severely weakened key offices, including federal student aid, civil rights, education research, and others. Importantly, the termination of staff in the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination in schools, is already paused due to an injunction in a separate lawsuit. However, the Administration is expected to appeal that ruling next.
Legal Director Maura McInerney said, “This week’s developments underscore a dangerous executive overreach that threatens students in Pennsylvania with dire consequences.”
| | ELC-PA Skadden Fellow Makayla Harrison: Ensuring Access to a Quality Public Education for Students Residing in Hospitals | | |
Skadden Fellow Makayla Harrison is nearing completion of her two-year fellowship at ELC-PA, during which she has dedicated her time to providing direct representation and legal advocacy on behalf of students who are residing in behavioral health hospitals across Pennsylvania. Due to systemic racism, these students are disproportionately Black and Brown, and many are in foster care. These children often remain in behavioral health hospitals for several months — and sometimes more than a year — largely because of systemic failures in the child welfare system to secure appropriate foster placements for youth with significant behavioral health needs.
While state and federal laws require school districts to provide educational services to students residing in hospitals, we know through our representation, advocacy, and partnerships with organizations serving youth in foster care that students in hospitals are frequently deprived of the educational services to which they are entitled — and many receive no education at all in violation of their rights. Thanks to support from the Skadden Foundation, Makayla’s project has led to individual legal victories and significant reforms for students residing in Philadelphia’s hospitals.
Join us Tuesday, Aug. 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m., for a webinar with Makayla as she shares key findings and policy recommendations from her fellowship. She will also highlight more about the education rights of students residing in psychiatric hospitals and additional reforms that are needed to ensure access to a quality education for these students.
Register here.
| | Join us for ELC-PA’s
50th Anniversary Celebration! | | |
We invite you to join us on Sept. 25 for the Education Law Center’s 50th anniversary celebration at the Switch House in Philadelphia.
We will proudly recognize three visionary changemakers uplifting the power of collective action: Jolley Bruce Christman, Jennifer Rice, and the William Penn Foundation.
Sponsorships are available now! ELC’s premier fundraiser serves as a unique opportunity to connect with key stakeholders in education advocacy and reform. Please contact Ariella Gregson to learn more about partnership benefits.
Special thanks to our generous sponsors. Click here to see our list of early sponsors and add your name! We hope you will celebrate this special milestone with us!
| | Advancing Rights for Students
Who Experience Educational Disruptions:
Act 1 of 2022 | | |
ELC-PA attorneys not only represent students in individual cases and undertake impact litigation to secure systemic reforms, but we also lead and support legislative efforts that improve outcomes for the students most marginalized by our education system.
ELC-PA was major driving force behind Act 1 of 2022, landmark legislation that removes educational and graduation barriers for students who experience “education instability,” defined as one or more school moves in a school year due to experiencing homelessness, foster care, or juvenile justice involvement. After a decade of advocacy, ELC-PA successfully secured a new law requiring school districts to accept all full and partial credits earned in prior schools, waive local graduation requirements when appropriate, and designate a “Point of Contact” to ensure timely enrollment, appropriate school placement, and provide an individualized graduation plan for students in high school. The law also waives fines and fees for these students.
The legislation was rooted in a common story: students who change schools mid-year often faced insurmountable school-based barriers to graduating on time. They encounter enrollment delays, local graduation requirements that differ from their prior school, and unaligned curricula. Credits earned in one school often are not accepted at another, and partial credits earned may not count at all. Data indicate that children experiencing homelessness and those in foster care are often pushed out of school before graduating due to these barriers.
Our work on Act 1 began in 2009, when we identified an urgent need to address the challenges faced by students who are “highly mobile” and experiencing barriers to high school graduation. We also studied successful state laws in California and Maine, and we partnered with Juvenile Law Center to involve youth advocates in reviewing and strengthening the bill.
Since Act 1’s adoption, we know that more students are graduating on time and some districts have expanded their protections to include migrant students and youth who are pregnant and/or parenting.
ELC-PA’s work and advocacy on Act 1 was directly informed by the lived experiences of our clients like B’chanti Miller, who changed schools multiple times while in foster care and earned a high school diploma. In September 2022, B’chanti received ELC’s Advocacy Award for her work on Act 1.
To learn more, read our Act 1 factsheet.
| | From Our Video Library:
On Challenging Injustice and Making Change | | ELC-PA attorney Paige Joki reflects on the organization's longstanding commitment to challenging injustice, its relentless advocacy on behalf of students and families, and its role in driving meaningful, lasting change. | | Thank You to Richard L. Berkman
and Toni Seidl for Advancing
Legal Advocacy in Pennsylvania | | |
The Education Law Center-PA is pleased to announce that Richard L. Berkman, retired Dechert LLP partner and longtime civic leader, and Toni Seidl, longtime advocate for children and social justice, have made a landmark series of charitable contributions totaling $900,000 to three leading legal nonprofits in Pennsylvania, including the Education Law Center-PA.
“Rick and Toni’s commitment to justice and educational opportunity is unwavering,” said Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director of Education Law Center-PA. “This investment will allow us to expand our work for students whose rights are too often ignored or violated.” Learn more.
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ELC-PA staff gather to thank our summer interns on July 29
Thank you to our incredible 2025 summer interns, Antoinette Williams, Lia Rocchino, Ethan Story, Taylor Trimble, Kyle Jacobson, Cam Lucas and Ja'Kyle Bibbens!
Interested in working with ELC-PA? Click here to see a list of our job opportunities.
| | 50 YEARS: Rooted in Justice, Advancing Equity | |
Education Law Center | 215-238-6970 (Philadelphia) | 412-258-2120 (Pittsburgh)
| | A copy of the official registration and financial information of the Education Law Center may be obtained from the Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-880-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. | | | | |
