Landmark Opinion Finds Public School Funding Inadequate

Continued from page 12 intermediate or rational basis scrutiny, the Court indicated that it would still find a violation.

Searching For Answers

So, what then is the remedy? The Court, perhaps wisely, declined to fashion one itself. The Court mandated only that the state must ensure that every student receives 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.”46 How they do that is their decision.47 As such, the Court was willing to give the Legislative and Executive branches, along with their administrative agencies, “the first opportunity” to work with the Petitioners to “devise a plan” to fix the issue.48 The options for reform, the Court opined, “are virtually limitless.”49

The Order imposed no timeline for state performance. Instead, the Court left the parties with this closing statement: “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.”50

No Appeal Has Been Filed

To date, no appeal has been filed. As a result of post-verdict motions, the thirty-day deadline to do so has not expired as of this writing, although some advocates involved in the case have cautiously expressed that they do not expect one.

Now-Governor Shapiro, who filed an amicus brief in support of the Petitioners as Attorney General, along with former Reading School District Superintendent and now Education Secretary Khalid Mumin, are expected by the Petitioners’ counsel to be “partners in getting to work.” Governor Shapiro’s first budget included a proposed

1 William Penn Sch. Dist.; Panther Valley Sch. Dist.; The Sch. Dist. of Lancaster; Greater Johnstown Sch. Dist.; Wilkes-Barre Area Sch. Dist.; Shenandoah Valley Sch. Dist.; Jamella and Bryan Miler, parents of K.M., a minor; Tracey Hughes, parent of P.M.H., a minor; Pennsylvania Assoc. of Rural and Small Schools; and The National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeoplePennsylvania State Conference, Petitioners v. Pennsylvania Dept. of Ed.; Kim L. Ward, in her official capacity as President Pro-Tempore of the Pennsylvania

Senate; Mark Rozzi, in his official capacity as the Speaker of the House of Representatives; Josh Shapiro, in his official capacity as the Governor of the Comm. of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania St. Bd. Of Ed.; and Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, in his official capacity as Acting Secretary of Education, Respondents, 2023 WL 1990723, p. 3. (hereinafter “Op.”)

2 Op. p. 2.

3 Op. p. 2.

4 Op. p. 18.

5 Op. 632-33.

6 Op. p. 634 (emphasis in original).

$567 million increase in general education funding, a $103.8 million increase in special education funding, and $100 million for remediation of environmental hazards in schools.51 It did not change the way the state distributes funding, and the governor called it a “down payment” with next year’s budget intended to increase funding and address the equitability of distribution. Critics note that the large figures track inflation and oppose his recent support of vouchers.

Additionally, the state Basic Education Funding Commission, which is a bicameral, bipartisan group of legislators and appointees, has been tasked with creating a new, more equitable funding formula. The Commission is currently holding hearings, with the next meeting scheduled mid-July.52 The Committee’s recommendations will still need legislative approval, although it does have a positive track record, as it is the same Commission which created Governor Wolf’s improved educational funding formulation.

The significance of the Court’s acceptance of the harsh realities facing educators across the Commonwealth cannot be overstated, especially in our time of “alternate facts.” The decision may give a glimmer of hope to weary education professionals, even if experience tells them not to expect too much.

The political wheels will undoubtedly continue to grind slowly, but for the first time in a very long time, the fortunes of low-income districts may be forced to change. As so much of our collective future depends on how we address this issue, we should all continue to watch closely.

7 Op. p. 636.

8 Op. p. 10.

9 Op. p. 707.

10 Op. p. 777.

11 The Morning Call, Five Takeaways From Pennsylvania’s Landmark School Funding Trial After One Month, THE MORNING CALL, December 27, 2021, https://www.mcall. com/2021/12/27/ five-takeaways-frompennsylvanias-landmarkschool-funding-trial-afterone-month/.

12 Op. p. 653.

13 Op. p. 654.

14 Op. p. 654.

15 Op. p. 654.

16 Op. p. 655, 680.

17 Op. p. 681.

18 Op. p. 678.

19 Op. p. 680.

20 Op. p. 680-81.

21 Op. p. 681.

22 Op. p. 682.

23 Op. p. 682.

24 Op. p. 683.

25 Op. p. 683.

26 Op. p. 684.

27 Op. p. 686-87.

28 Op. p. 690.

29 Op. p. 695, 696.

30 Op. p. 691.

31 Op. p. 693.

32 Op. p. 698-702.

33 Op. p. 704-05.

34 Op. p. 712-713.

35 Op. p. 715.

36 Op. p. 716-17.

37 Op. p. 717.

38 Op. p. 717-718 (emphasis in original).

39 Op. p. 697-98.

40 Op. p. 747.

41 Op. p. 763.

42 Op. p. 770.

43 Op. p. 769-70.

44 Op. p. 772.

45 Op. p. 772.

46 Op. p. 776-77.

47 Op. p. 776.

48 Op. p. 775-76.

49 Op. p. 776.

50 Op. p. 778.

51 Marley Parish, Shapiro touts proposed K-12 spending as ‘a real downpayment on the future of education’, PENNSYLVANIA

CAPITAL STAR, March 15, 2023, https://www. penncapital-star.com/ education/shapiro-toutsproposed-k-12-spending-asa-real-downpayment-onthe-future-of-education/.

52 Eric Scicchitano, Hearing focuses on new formula, READING EAGLE, June 9, 2023.