Above: The co-chairs of the Basic Education Funding Commission, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Rep. Mike Sturla, during the commission's final meeting on January 11.

It has been nearly a year since Commonwealth Court declared Pennsylvania's system of public school funding unconstitutional, responding to our clients' lawsuit. Now, there is a serious plan on the table to fund every public school in Pennsylvania based on what students need to succeed--not on local wealth.

For the last several months, we've closely followed the work of the Basic Education Funding Commission, as they heard from educators, experts and taxpayers across Pennsylvania. The bipartisan panel of legislators, joined by designees of Governor Josh Shapiro, were charged with devising a school funding system that meets the promise of our state constitution: one that gives every student, no matter what, the opportunity to receive an effective, comprehensive and contemporary public education.

On January 11, the Basic Education Funding Commission voted to adopt a plan that, if fully implemented, would make a life-changing difference for Pennsylvania students. The plan set a measured and meaningful target, based on what school districts that meet Pennsylvania's academic standards are currently spending, for the cost to provide students with the support they need to succeed academically, civically and socially. The report adopted by the commission found that Pennsylvania public schools are collectively underfunded by $5.4 billion--and set out a plan for the state to close 94% of this gap within seven years, targeting funds to students in low-wealth school districts that have been shortchanged for decades. The plan also proposes additional funding for districts that have made the highest local tax effort to fill in the gaps left by years of inadequate state funding.

The plan is not perfect. Seven years is too long to wait, and the proposal does not include investments in Pre-K education, which the court identified as an essential part of a constitutional public education system.

But it would be transformational. Our clients, and our partners at Education Law Center-PA and O'Melveny, challenged an upside-down school funding system, where the students who need the most support have the least, because their communities are not wealthy. This proposal would help these small towns, suburbs and big cities begin to fill their classrooms with the thousands of teachers, counselors, and librarians their students deserve. As our senior attorney Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg explained to the Associated Press, the proposal is "a commitment to do what the commonwealth never does: which is actually come up with a figure, a reasonable, evidence-based figure for what every school district needs to educate their children."

We shared what this plan could mean for students and communities across Pennsylvania in an op-ed in the Lancaster LNP by Urevick-Ackelsberg and Maura McInerney of Education Law Center-PA. "As the commission acknowledged, these are large numbers — 'large because it is a comprehensive solution to a large problem,'" we wrote. "The payoff — a changed life trajectory for hundreds of thousands of children — is even greater."

Now, the General Assembly and Governor Josh Shapiro must make this proposal a reality, starting with the Governor's budget address on February 6. “The time for action is now,” Superintendent Brian Waite of our client Shenandoah Valley School District said, “and we hope legislators recognize their constitutional duty to ensure public school students receive a thorough and efficient education.”

Left: Brent Landau.

We are proud to announce the appointment of Brent Landau as the Law Center's next executive director, effective February 26, 2024. He is currently serving as global managing partner at Hausfeld, where he manages a firm of more than 170 attorneys and has litigated numerous antitrust and human rights class actions. With over two decades as a plaintiffs’ attorney, Landau maintains an active pro bono practice, exemplified by his involvement in the Law Center’s recent case challenging nuisance auto-body shops in Southwest Philadelphia on behalf of homeowners.

“Brent is a truly brilliant attorney with a deep commitment to the Law Center’s mission, and a history of landmark victories working on behalf of people who have been denied fundamental rights,” said Law Center Board Chair Molly Flynn in a statement. “We have complete confidence in Brent’s leadership and are so excited for the future of the Law Center, as we continue to fight for strong public schools, our unencumbered right to vote, environmental justice and much more alongside Pennsylvanians who face discrimination and poverty.” Help us welcome Brent by liking his post on LinkedIn!

Brent's appointment was covered by the Legal Intelligencer. “The Law Center works on issues that don’t have easy answers and can take years to address, which requires perseverance, thoughtful legal strategies, and partnering with our communities," he said. "It is an exciting challenge and I’m eager to get started.” 

In Pennsylvania's 2022 General Election, more than 10,000 voters who returned their mail-in ballots on time were disenfranchised because they had made a harmless clerical mistake: writing an incorrect date, or no date at all, on their ballot envelope. In a victory for voters last November, the federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, responding to a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups including the Pennsylvania NAACP, found that rejecting these ballots for immaterial clerical errors violates federal law. That decision was appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals by the Republican National Committee.

On January 12, we filed an amicus brief in support of fair mail-in voting rules that would stop Pennsylvania from disenfranchising voters for paperwork mistakes, representing SeniorLAW Center, an advocate for older Pennsylvanians. We're asking the Third Circuit to uphold the lower court's decision.

Older voters are more likely to rely on mail-in voting, and are more likely to be disenfranchised for minor mistakes on paperwork. In Philadelphia, voters over age 50 cast 72% of mail-in ballots in 2022—and 81% of mail-in ballots that were rejected for clerical errors. “We should not make voting harder with pointless red tape, especially for vulnerable voters like older Pennsylvanians,” Law Center senior attorney Ben Geffen said. “The District Court rightly recognized that rejecting thousands of mail-in ballots for a harmless paperwork mistake does not uphold our right to vote, and the court’s decision should stand.” Read more here.