On February 7, 2023, Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania's current school funding system is unconstitutional.

And the judge issued a clear directive: "All witnesses agree that every child can learn. It is now the obligation of the Legislature, Executive Branch, and educators, to make the constitutional promise a reality in this Commonwealth."

We are calling on members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to make your top legislative priority working with Governor Shapiro to fund public schools in every corner of the commonwealth so that all students will receive the quality public education they are guaranteed in our state constitution.

For a generation, Pennsylvania’s legislative leaders have refused to live up to their constitutional responsibility to provide adequate and equitable funding to public schools so that all students receive a quality public education that will allow them to be successful in school and in life after graduation.

We call on you to take action now to support the commonwealth’s public school students. Every day that the General Assembly fails to act to ensure full and fair school funding is a day that students are deprived of basic resources. Our children cannot afford to wait any longer.

Read the court order below:

NOW, February 7, 2023, following trial in this matter, Petitioners’ Petition for Review is GRANTED. The Court DECLARES as follows:

1. The Education Clause, article III, section 14 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, requires that every student receive a meaningful opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically, which requires that all students have access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education;

2. Respondents have not fulfilled their obligations to all children under the Education Clause in violation of the rights of Petitioners;

3. Education is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Pennsylvania Constitution to all school-age children residing in the Commonwealth;

4. Article III, section 32 of the Pennsylvania Constitution imposes upon Respondents an obligation to provide a system of public education that does not discriminate against students based on the level of income and value of taxable property in their school districts;

5. Students who reside in school districts with low property values and incomes are deprived of the same opportunities and resources as students who reside in school districts with high property values and incomes;

6. The disparity among school districts with high property values and incomes and school districts with low property values and incomes is not justified by any compelling government interest nor is it rationally related to any legitimate government objective; and 3 7. As a result of these disparities, Petitioners and students attending low wealth districts are being deprived of equal protection of law.

Read the full decision here: https://pubintlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/02.07.23-Memorandum-Opinion-Filed-pubintlaw.pdf