The Decision Stands: Legislative leaders will not appeal our school funding victory to the PA Supreme Court |
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The failure of legislative leaders to appeal means the Court's comprehensive Feb. 7 opinion is now final and there is no excuse for state lawmakers to delay action any further.
The Court has tasked our leaders in Harrisburg with "delivering a system of public education that the Pennsylvania Constitution requires – one that provides for every student to 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."
Respondents are legally obligated to meet this charge. And our schoolchildren cannot wait any longer. It is time for our leaders in Harrisburg to work together to comply with the Court’s ruling and fulfill their duty to deliver a constitutionally compliant system of public education.
To deliver on the constitution's promise, state leaders must determine what level of funding is needed to allow students in every community--regardless of wealth--to attend a public school that provides the meaningful opportunities guaranteed by the constitution. This must include special education, pre-K, and school facilities, in addition to K-12 instruction. Right now, Pennsylvania does not even attempt to determine how much public schools need, but we know they are missing the mark by billions of dollars.
Because of this, low-wealth school districts in every corner of the state have fewer resources to serve students with greater needs--the students who need to most have the least, because the state shortchanges their communities. As the Court wrote, low-wealth districts "are deprived of the same opportunities and resources" as more affluent areas.
The work of developing and implementing a new system that ensures adequate and equitable funding will begin with the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission. State leaders have promised to develop a plan for a constitutional funding system in time for next year's state budget process. When public hearings are announced, we will work to ensure that this promise is kept.
Legislators' decision not to appeal was covered in news outlets statewide. Speaking in a press conference covered by the Associated Press, our senior attorney Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg made it clear what a constitutional system would look like--and addressed the recent push for private school vouchers. "Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg of the Public Interest Law Center said sending money to private schools does not move Pennsylvania “one dollar closer” to complying with the ruling.
Compliance will be measured by ensuring each school district has enough staff, a modern curriculum and safe school buildings, he said.
“The outcome has to be a system that provides school districts enough resources so they can provide their students with all of those things,” Urevick-Ackelsberg said."
School funding in the news:
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On Sept. 13, we'll head to the PA Supreme Court in our case taking on state firearm preemption laws |
Oral argument will be held in Philadelphia City Hall.
Gun violence is a daily reality in neighborhoods that have faced decades of disinvestment and segregation. Since 2020, the Law Center has sought to clear the roadblocks to local action on gun violence in our lawsuit taking on Pennsylvania’s firearm preemption laws, which block most local gun regulations. In a fractured decision on May 27, 2022, Commonwealth Court dismissed our case. We appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking them to reverse the dismissal and send the case back to the lower court for discovery and trial.
We’ll share more information on how you can support our clients in the coming weeks. At argument, we will make the case, with co-counsel from Hogan Lovells and the Philadelphia Law Department, that family members of gun violence victims deserve their day in court. Our clients, residents of Philadelphia and Allegheny County who have lost family members to gun violence, and CeaseFirePA, an organization that advocates for gun safety laws, know that the status quo for Pennsylvanians in communities that face endemic gun violence violates our state constitution, which guarantees a fundamental right to life and liberty.
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PA prematurely ends services for students with disabilities. We went to federal court to change that. |
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is clear: students with disabilities have a right to receive special education services in public schools until they receive a high school diploma or turn 22. But in Pennsylvania, those critical services are cut off as much as a year prematurely for many students due to the PA Department of Education's policy and practice of aging students out of special education at the end of the school year in which they turn 21.
On July 11, we filed a federal class action lawsuit against the PA Department of Education, demanding that they comply with federal law and provide special education services to eligible students until their 22nd birthday. We were joined by pro bono co-counsel from Berney & Sang.
Each year there are about 17,000 special education students in Pennsylvania between the ages of 18-21. Our client, A.P., is a 19-year-old student with multiple disabilities in the Lower Merion School District. He receives a number of services to help him prepare to successfully transition to adult life--but under Pennsylvania's current policy, that support will be cut off more than six months before his 22nd birthday, contrary to federal law.
The Philadelphia Inquirer covered the case. “My son has still not even regained the skills that he lost during the pandemic,” Lisa Lightner, a parent and advocate, told a reporter. “So to lose a year of school at a crucial time is so tough.”
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Check out our 2022 Annual Report, The Time is Now |
With every issue we tackle, we know the time is now—we owe that urgency to our neighbors, our clients, our communities and our supporters.
In the digital edition of our 2022 Annual Report, The Time is Now, you’ll find inspiring stories of meaningful victories in the fight to address some of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s most urgent injustices: underfunded schools, unsafe housing, gun violence, and more. Best viewed on desktops!
The print edition of this report will be arriving soon in the mailboxes of our donors, volunteers, and pro-bono partners. If you would like to receive a copy, and do not receive one by the end of August, please contact Steph Davis at sdavis@pubintlaw.org to request a print edition.
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Our executive director, Brenda Marrero, will be leaving the Law Center on Aug. 18 |
Brenda Marrero will be stepping down as the Law Center’s executive director on August 18. She will continue on as a leader in Philadelphia’s public interest legal community as Chief Operating Officer at Community Legal Services.
In the more than two years since Brenda took the helm in January 2021, the Law Center has continued to win high-impact victories with our clients, standing up to discrimination and poverty. Brenda’s leadership was invaluable in increasing our ability to stand alongside the communities we serve with urgency and empathy. We thank her for her service and wish her well in her new role.
Our legal director, Mimi McKenzie, will step in as interim executive director and legal director as we conduct a national executive search. In the coming weeks, we will share more information about how to submit candidates for consideration as our next executive director.
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Get your tickets today!
Our annual celebration, The Time is Now, will be held Sept. 20 at the Fairmount Water Works
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Mark your calendars! Join us to celebrate and support our work at the Fairmount Water Works on September 20 for our annual celebration, The Time is Now! Tickets and sponsorships are now available - reserve your spot today! Tickets at the early bird price are $175 and $100 for nonprofit friends and colleagues--make sure to take advantage of this advance deal!
This year, we honor those who stand with us to take on gun violence by clearing the roadblocks for local action. We will recognize the people who made our case against firearm preemption, which blocks most local gun safety measures, possible: our clients, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh residents who have lost loved ones to gun violence; our pro bono counsel Hogan Lovells; and Nancy Bregstein Gordon, founder of CeaseFirePA.
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Our client Stanley Crawford (right) |
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Honoree spotlight: Stanley Crawford is one of 10 clients in our case taking on firearm preemption. After his son William was shot and killed in 2018, he has dedicated his life to preventing gun violence, founding the Black Male Community Council of Philadelphia.
In a recent interview for our 2022 annual report, Mr. Crawford was asked why he joined our case to remove the roadblocks to local gun safety laws.
"Number one is my humanity," he said. "My humanity is connected with those individuals that have had a loved one murdered. My humanity is with those who are going to be a part of this club that nobody wants to be in. Anything that we can do as human beings to save another human being’s life, it should be on the table. Philadelphia getting its own gun laws is just one piece of the puzzle."
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Check out our event webpage for more information about the evening's entertainment, venue, and our generous sponsors who make The Time is Now possible and support all of our work.
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We submitted comments to the Federal Housing Finance Agency urging protections for tenants |
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently solicited feedback on tenant protections at multifamily properties with government-backed mortgages. The Law Center encouraged the FHFA to condition government-backed loans for apartment buildings and other multifamily rental properties on a set of tenant protections: housing quality requirements, bans on discrimination and retaliation, and safeguards to prevent displacement. In our comments, we describe our experience representing tenants who face source-of-income discrimination based on their use of Housing Choice Vouchers--despite a Philadelphia law barring this discrimination--and the work of Renters United Philadelphia (RUP), which organizes tenants to assert their right to safe and quality housing. FHFA action to improve housing quality and protect renters would directly benefit RUP members and many other renters in Philadelphia. To illustrate, we highlighted the problematic conditions in one Fannie Mae-backed multifamily building in the Frankford section of the city where RUP has organized. Read our comments here.
The FHFA has an opportunity to strengthen protections for renters nationwide. "By tying a prohibition on source of income discrimination to the hundreds of billions of dollars the Enterprises spend each year on mortgages, the FHFA could both standardize source of income protections across the country and make those protections meaningful, particularly for Black and Brown renters," we write.
Additionally, by including explicit prohibitions on retaliation against renters who assert their rights as a condition of federal loans, FHFA could strengthen a crucial tool to protect housing quality. "Tenants’ ability to exercise their rights, whether in the form of requesting repairs or joining an organization like RUP, is a critical component to improving housing conditions," we write. "Government officials, advocates, lawyers, and nonprofits can all endeavor to improve our housing system, but tenants themselves who know and assert their rights will certainly be the best architects of sustainable change. The FHFA should consider conditioning government-backed loans on a set of standard nationwide protections against retaliation."
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Ralphal 'Rap' Curry: An extraordinary champion for students in the William Penn School District |
All of us at the Law Center were sad to learn that Ralphal "Rap" Curry, athletic director for the William Penn School District, died July 21, at 51. Mr. Curry was an educator and coach in the William Penn School District, a district client in our school funding case, for nearly 20 years, becoming athletic director in 2006. He was an extraordinary advocate and champion for the students in William Penn, his alma mater.
Mr. Curry shared testimony during the school funding trial, describing the efforts his student-athletes go through to keep up with their peers in districts with more resources. “We're [not] saying look how bad we're being treated,” Curry said. “We're saying: Look how much work we have to put in to give our kids a fair enough opportunity to feel like that they can make it from their circumstance.” Recently, he spoke with WHYY's Schooled podcast. "Coach Rap does not believe in the status quo," reporter Aubri Juhasz said. "William Penn’s football field doesn’t have lights. Coach Rap couldn’t afford to buy them, so he came up with the money to rent portable ones so the team could play games on Friday nights."
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Michael Churchill named Philly Mag's "Best of Philly" Friend to Philly Kids |
"The [school funding] ruling — which could upend how schools are funded in the state — was the culmination of relentless work by Churchill and Philly’s Public Interest Law Center," Philly Mag wrote. "Churchill’s doggedness gave the students and families of Philadelphia and other low-wealth PA districts one concrete result: hope." Help congratulate Michael on Facebook!
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