Pa. school funding system ruled unconstitutional

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Pennsylvania judge ruled Tuesday the state's funding of public education falls woefully short and violates students’ constitutional rights, siding with poorer districts in a lawsuit that was first launched eight years ago in pursuit of potentially billions of dollars in additional annual support.

Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer found that the state has not fulfilled its obligations to the poorest public schools under the state constitution.

She said in a nearly 800-page ruling that current funding violates those students’ rights to what should be a “comprehensive, effective, and contemporary” system.

• The lawsuit was filed more than eight years ago
• It was argued over four months last year in Commonwealth Court
• A Lehigh Valley lawmaker declared the ruling a win for children

Parents, schools and organizations argued last year that the state's funding discriminates against students based on where they live and the wealth of their communities.

The lawsuit was filed by poorer school districts against Republican state legislative leaders. It was argued in Commonwealth Court during a four-month trial.

The Bethlehem Area School District was asked to join the lawsuit at the time, but decided against it because of the potential cost. On Tuesday, Superintendent Joe Roy said he agreed with the ruling because the current funding system is inequitable.

"When you look at districts that are overfunded and when you look at districts who are underfunded, it's clear districts who have a larger percentage of students of color are the largest ones that are most underfunded," he said. "And then you take into account rural districts that are so poor and have no industry and no property values, they're in bad shape as well."

Legal observers say it has the potential to be one of the biggest court cases in Pennsylvania history.

Lehigh Valley lawmakers were quick to react to the decision.

"Hopefully, this decision will spur the General Assembly to move away from local school property taxes and towards a fairer funding mechanism that fully utilizes our fair funding formula," said state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton.  "A child’s zip code should not determine the quality of their education.”

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, said the ruling was a win for children in places like Allentown.

“This ruling will be appealed. The legislature and the governor will need to address its conclusion," he said.

"However, let's be clear: it’s time to end the many decades when Allentown students have attended older facilities, had fewer resources, less robust equipment, and underpaid teachers. This ruling must start a chain of events that ensures kids in Allentown and poorer districts throughout the state will get the same world-class education as students in wealthier districts, regardless of zip code."

The Public Interest Law Center and the Education Law Center, which helped represent the plaintiffs, hailed the decision as “a historic victory for students,” saying it will “change the future for millions of families.”

Cohn Jubelirer wrote that students in areas 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,” and that disparity “is not justified by any compelling government interest nor is it rationally related to any legitimate government objective.”

She said the result is that students in lower-wealth districts are being deprived of their constitutional right to equal protection of law.

Lawyers for the school districts and others who sued presented evidence during last year’s trial that schools are underfunded by $4.6 billion, an estimate that they say does not account for gaps in spending on special education, school buildings and other facilities.

At its heart, the lawsuit argued Pennsylvania's method of paying for public schools did not meet an explicit standard in the state constitution that lawmakers provide a “thorough and efficient system" of education.

Republican leaders in the General Assembly had told the judge school subsidies were adequate and growing. Republican leaders in the state House and Senate indicated the decision was being reviewed.

Cohn Jubelirer found that achievement gaps are wider for certain historically disadvantaged groups, including Black students, Hispanic students, English-language learners, poorer students and others.

“Educators credibly testified to lacking the very resources state officials have identified as essential to student achievement, some of which are as basic as safe and temperate facilities in which children can learn,” Cohn Jubelirer wrote. “Educators also testified about being forced to choose which few students would benefit from the limited resources they could afford to provide, despite knowing more students needed those same resources.”

Cohn Jubelirer’s decision did not direct the Legislature on how much state aid to distribute, or how to distribute it. Rather, she wrote that the court is in “uncharted territory with this landmark case,” and left it to the governor, lawmakers and the school districts that sued to come up with a plan to address the constitutional violations.

As state attorney general last year, newly elected Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro filed a brief that supported the lawsuit’s aims.

LehighValleyNews.com staffers Jim Deegan and Sarah Mueller contributed to this report.