April 27, 2017 – Philadelphia Inquirer– by Kristen Graham
The Philadelphia School District should permanently prohibit out-of-school suspensions of children through fifth grade, a group of child advocates says, contending the district currently uses exclusion from school at “alarming rates” for its littlest learners. Continue reading
April 27, 2017 – Newsworks – by Bill Hangley
When Delaware County’s Chester Upland School District raised taxes last summer for the fourth year in a row, it was just the latest move in a long-running attempt to bring a chronically deficit-ridden district back to financial health. Continue reading
April 25, 2017 – Public News Service PA – by Andrea Sears
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Legislation to reform charter schools in Pennsylvania could come up for a vote any day now, but education advocates say the bill doesn’t fix the problem. House Bill 97 could be the first major reform of the state’s charter-school law since it was enacted 20 years ago. Continue reading
April 19, 2017 – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – by Molly Born
A proposal in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to end out-of-school suspensions for most elementary students comes as Pittsburgh Public Schools is exploring a plan of its own for its youngest learners. Continue reading
April 19, 2017 – PennLive – by Jan Murphy
After putting in place a rash of laws over the past two decades to stem the tide of school violence and keep guns out of educational settings, a state lawmaker now wants to reverse course. Continue reading
April 5, 2017 – The Philadelphia Tribune – by Stacy M. Brown
HARRISBURG — Year after year, African-American students and other minorities have faced much harsher discipline in public schools than their peers, based on information provided by the state Department of Education. Continue reading
LANCASTER, PA (March 28, 2017) – A nine-month legal battle over the placement of newly-arrived older immigrant students, mostly refugees, in the School District of Lancaster is ending with a comprehensive settlement.
March 10, 2017 – The Philadelphia Tribune – by Maya Earls Continue reading
March 7 2017 – As the General Assembly debates Pennsylvania’s education budget for next year, the Education Law Center released a report today highlighting how persistent state underfunding of schools has entrenched widespread inequities and inequalities, particularly in schools that serve lower-income families and large numbers of students of color. Continue reading
Feb. 22, 2017
The Education Law Center released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s withdrawal of federal Title IX guidance: Continue reading
“Governor Wolf’s proposed increase in state funding for basic, special, and early education in next year’s budget is welcome given the Commonwealth’s difficult budget situation. His proposal to increase early education funding by $75 million and to allocate additional funding to early intervention services represent crucial investments that will help ensure more children enter school ready to learn. But while any additional funding helps, the Governor’s proposed increase of $100 million in basic education and $25 million in special education funding will not be enough to allow schools to close longstanding resource gaps. Our schools currently face a $3 billion adequacy gap. And Pennsylvania ranks 46th in terms of state share of K-12 education funding and has the largest gap in the nation between what our poorest and wealthiest districts receive. Continued educational investments are key to the Commonwealth’s long-term economic competitiveness. We must build off recent successes, including modest increases to basic education funding and the adoption of a fair funding formula to equitably distribute new educational investments to the districts and students who need help the most. We will continue to work with the Governor and the General Assembly to ensure that the budget reflects Pennsylvanians’ priorities and the needs of our students.”
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The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, LGBTQ students, and children experiencing homelessness. For more information visit https://elc-pa.org/ or follow on Twitter @edlawcenterpa.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2017
PHILADELPHIA (January 30) – The federal Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today upheld the rights of immigrant students to receive equal educational opportunities in the School District of Lancaster. The opinion emanates from a federal class action lawsuit, Issa, et al., v. School District of Lancaster challenging the District’s treatment of immigrant students aged 17-21.
“This case is more important now than ever. It affirms the right of immigrant and refugee students to a meaningful education that overcomes language barriers.” said Maura McInerney, senior staff attorney of the Education Law Center and one of the lawyers for the students. “The decision sends a clear and unequivocal message to all public schools that they have a duty to provide sound and effective English language services. Many immigrant students, particularly those newly arrived in the U.S. with limited prior education have unique and significant language needs that must be proactively addressed. They cannot languish in classrooms where they cannot access the curriculum.”
The Third Circuit affirmed the August 26th decision of Judge Edward Smith of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which held that the School District violated the civil rights of older immigrant students under the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) by diverting them to an inferior, privately operated alternative school, Phoenix Academy, that failed to address their significant language needs. Judge Smith’s order granted a preliminary injunction directing the School District to immediately enroll the student plaintiffs in the regular high school, McCaskey. The School District appealed that order to the Third Circuit.
“Our refugee clients came to America with a vision that a good education is the ticket to success. We are thrilled that the courts have opened the schoolhouse gates for them.” said Vic Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania who argued the case in the Third Circuit. “We will continue to push the District to extend this relief to all immigrant students in similar circumstances. They are all legally entitled to a meaningful education that permits them to learn English.”
Kathleen Mullen, of counsel with Pepper Hamilton LLP, added, “With this ruling, the Court has plainly rejected the School District’s claim of unfettered decision-making authority when its programs fall short of protections provided by federal law. The School District claimed that it graduates these students as evidence of their success at overcoming language barriers, but the District Court found ample evidence, and the Third Circuit today affirmed, that pushing these students to a quick graduation is not the same as ensuring their right to overcome language barriers.”
The lawsuit was filed in July 2016 by the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and pro bono counsel from Pepper Hamilton LLP on behalf of a group of refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Burma who had fled violence and persecution before being resettled in the U.S. The lawsuit is a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the named plaintiffs and all other immigrant and refugee students similarly denied or delayed enrollment to the main high school and diverted instead to Phoenix, which offers inferior English instruction on an accelerated structure.
The action is ongoing before Judge Smith in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The students are being represented by Vic Walczak, Molly Tack-Hooper, and Michelin Cahill of the ACLU of Pennsylvania; Maura McInerney, Kristina Moon, and Alex Dutton of the Education Law Center; Kathleen Mullen, Thomas A. Schmidt, III, Megan Morley, Katrina Long, Kaitlin M. Gurney, and Hedya Aryani at the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLC; and Seth Kreimer of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Click here to download the Court’s January 30, 2017 decision.
Click here to read more about the case.
December, 2016
Students with disabilities are some of Pennsylvania’s most at-risk children, and insufficient funding has led to deep cuts to resources and staff support in special education services. Continue reading
December 2, 2016
Philadelphia, Pa. – A federal class action lawsuit challenging the failure a major school district to provide translation and interpretation services to limited English proficient parents of children with disabilities is moving forward. This week a federal judge soundly rejected a request by the School District of Philadelphia to throw out any of the seven claims asserted against them in a case involving more than a thousand children with disabilities whose parents speak little or no English. The case will now proceed with fact discovery and class certification proceedings.
The lawsuit filed in 2015 by the Public Interest Law Center, the Education Law Center-PA, and Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP alleges that parents and their children are illegally denied the opportunity to participate in the special education process and receive critical services because they don’t understand or speak English and are provided with documents in English that they don’t understand. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs’ claims of national origin discrimination.
Under federal disability law, children with disabilities are entitled to an educational planning process, including meetings and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), to ensure they receive a free and appropriate public education. The complaint alleges that the School District refuses to sufficiently interpret the meetings or translate the documents related to this process in a timely manner, preventing parents from meaningfully participating in making informed decisions regarding educational placements and services. The complaint further alleges that as of the 2013-14 school year, there were 1,500 students learning English who received special education services, and 1,887 students with IEPs who spoke a language other than English at home.
The School District sought to dismiss every count of the complaint, including claims brought under laws protecting children with disabilities and those protecting against discrimination based on national origin. The Court denied the motion in its entirety, holding that the plaintiffs had stated valid legal claims.
“This decision is a profoundly moving one for me,” said Anna Perng, an activist in the Asian American community who assists limited English proficient parents. “I grew up with a learning disability. My immigrant parents were not able to get me services and supports due to lack of interpretation and translation in the IEP process. Today, I run a monthly support group for immigrant parents to help them advocate for their children with disabilities. I applaud the Public Interest Law Center, Education Law Center and Drinker Biddle & Reath for fighting to ensure that all students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education. We are one step closer to realizing the promise of federal special education law: all means all.”
“This decision stands for a proposition enshrined in the civil rights laws of our country, that parents and children who do not speak English have the same rights to participate in our education system as those who do, ” said Michael Churchill, of Counsel at the Public Interest Law Center.
“This case is about the critical need for translation and interpretation services during the special education process,” said Chanda A. Miller, a Drinker Biddle attorney who argued the case before the Court in September. “We are pleased that the Court has ordered this case to go forward, so that one day all parents in the School District of Philadelphia, regardless of their English proficiency, may have the same opportunities to participate in their children’s special education plans.”
The U.S. Department of Education is closely following the case and previously issued a “Dear Colleague” letter in response to DOJ’s filing, clarifying that state educational agencies and school districts have “independent responsibilities to provide LEP parents of children with disabilities meaningful access through timely and complete translation and oral interpretation.”
“This is a potentially precedent-setting case that is being watched in other jurisdictions,” said Maura McInerney, Senior Attorney at Education Law Center-PA. “The Court’s ruling sends an important message that our disability and civil rights laws create enforceable protections and that all parents — including those with limited English proficiency — have an unequivocal right to meaningful participation in the special education process. They cannot be discriminated against on the basis of language and national origin and their children have a right to equal educational opportunities.”
The lawsuit builds from two administrative special education hearings during which the hearing officer found that the District had violated the rights of the students and parents to meaningfully participate in their children’s education. However, the hearing officer stated that he lacked the authority to order systemic change to remedy the situation.
The complaint asks the Court to order the District to provide complete and timely translations of special education documents; to notify parents that they are entitled to such documents in their native language; to provide sufficient oral interpretation services for key encounters pertaining to special education services; and to provide bilingual evaluations for all students who need them.
Parents of children with disabilities who have not had educational documents translated for them should contact the Education Law Center at 215-346-6905 or the Public Interest Law Center at 215-627-7100.
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The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to improve the well-being and life prospects of vulnerable populations by ensuring they have access to fundamental resources including a high-quality public education, access to health care, employment, housing, safe and healthy neighborhoods and the right to vote. For more information visit http://www.pubintlaw.org or on Twitter @PubIntLawCtr.
The Education Law Center-PA works to ensure that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, and children experiencing homelessness. For more information, visit https://elc-pa.orgor follow @edlawcenterpa on Twitter.
November, 2016
The Education Law Center-PA (ELC) is deeply concerned by ongoing racist, homophobic, xenophobic, and misogynistic rhetoric and incidents in schools. We assure our partners across the state that we will continue holding school districts to their legal obligations to maintain a school atmosphere where students can thrive and do not face fears of violence or discrimination.
ELC remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to quality public education. We advocate on behalf of our most vulnerable students, including children living in poverty, children of color, children with disabilities, English Language Learners, and LGBTQ students, to ensure that prejudice and bigotry do not impede their civil rights. We have been privileged to spend the last 41 years working on behalf of students and families and will continue to adapt to whatever challenges are to come.
We are reminded that the road to educational equity is a marathon, not a sprint, and we promise to continue working in the courtroom and in the community to protect the following rights of Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren:
Students have the right to attend schools free of discrimination and harassment based on their race, color, or national origin.
Students with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education and to be educated in the regular education classroom to the maximum extent appropriate for the student with the disability. Students have the right to accommodations in school and cannot be punished for behavior related to their disability.
Students have the right to practice their religion in school and must be allowed to wear religious clothing and head coverings.
Students have the right to enroll in public school regardless of immigration or citizenship status. Students who are English Language Learners have the right to programming that helps them overcome language barriers.
Gender discrimination and sexual harassment are illegal. Students also have the right to wear clothing consistent with their stated gender. Some Pennsylvania school districts have adopted policies to expressly protecting rights based on gender identity. Litigation is ongoing to protect the right of students to use restrooms and locker-rooms that are consistent with their gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer students have the same right to be free of discrimination and harassment as other students.
Students have the right to be free from bullying by students and adults, and students cannot be retaliated against for reporting bullying.
Students have the right to free speech and cannot be censored unless the speech is obscene, creates an imminent threat, or is significantly disruptive. This includes the right to publish articles in a school paper, to refuse to salute the flag, and to wear political armbands.
The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, LGBTQ students, and children experiencing homelessness. Every situation is different. If questions remain about how the law applies to a situation or if you think your rights have been violated, contact us by visiting www.elc-pa.org/contact or by calling 215-238-6970 (Philadelphia) or 412-258-2120 (Pittsburgh).
Click here to download a PDF version of this statement.
The best gift you can give your young child is quality early learning. Quality PreK sets your child on a path to being more likely to graduate from high school, reduces the likelihood of needing special education services, and raises achievement in school and life.
Education Law Center applauds the City of Philadelphia for expanding quality Pre-Kindergarten programs across the City providing 2,000 more slots for three- and four-year olds starting January 4, 2017. To be eligible, a child must have turned 3 by September 1, 2016 who be a resident of the City of Philadelphia.
Families interested in enrolling their child can call 844-PHL-PREK to speak with a trained professional who will help you locate quality Pre-K programs and child care options near you and determine whether you qualify for public programs to help pay for child care. Over the next four years the City will create a total of 6,500 locally-funded, quality pre-K seats. For more information, go to PHLprek.org, or enroll by calling 844-PHL-PREK.
Nov. 14, 2016 – Philadelphia Inquirer – by Kathy Boccella Continue reading
October 28, 2016
Truancy is an urgent issue across the Commonwealth because the cost to our children and communities is so high: absence from school results in lower academic achievement, higher drop-out rates, and increased involvement in the juvenile justice system. Truancy also correlates with long-term negative outcomes including drug use, unemployment, victimization, and adult incarceration. The Education Law Center-PA (ELC) has worked on this issue for years and urged lawmakers to adopt data-driven, evidence-based approaches that we know can effectively prevent and reduce truancy, re-engage students and parents, and make our schools a safe and supportive environment for children and their families.
Pennsylvania’s newly enacted truancy legislation, adopted this week, represents a significant overhaul of the state’s truancy laws. To the credit of legislators and advocates, the new law recognizes the core principle that the root causes of truancy must be addressed promptly, on the front lines in schools, and on an individualized basis. In this way, the legislation is a very positive step forward. However, in other ways, the new law departs significantly from evidence-based approaches and may harm vulnerable students and parents.
Lawmakers undertook this legislation in direct response to the 2014 death of Eileen DeNino, a Berks County mother who died while jailed for failing to pay court costs and fines associated with her children’s truancy. Yet, the new law maintains jail time and fines levied at parents that called lawmakers into action in the first place. Instead of reducing fines and eliminating jail time, the new legislation actually increases the fines and maintains jail time requirements, albeit at three days instead of five. Families can now be subject to progressive fines of $500 and $750 per citation for repeat offenses, $350 more than the prior $300 cap.
”This legislation is a far cry from the originally-proposed ‘Eileen’s Law,’ which eliminated any possibility of jail for truancy and kept fines at bay,” said Alex Dutton an Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellow at the Education Law Center. “Simply put, despite important reforms that should be celebrated, this legislation fails to address the most inequitable aspects of Pennsylvania’s truancy law, leaving poor families exposed to excessive fines and jail that are proven not to reduce truancy.”
Research studies consistently show that imposing such punishments on parents is completely ineffectual in solving truancy. Data affirms that fines and court costs trap families in court systems and institutions, perpetuating a cycle of poverty that is racially inequitable. Studies in both Texas and California have highlighted that Black and Latino students are disproportionality criminalized and punished for truancy at rates that do not match corresponding disparities in attendance rates. Fines and jail punish families rather than support them to overcome barriers to education. Without a quality education, life outcomes sharply decline. Additionally, fines stick with families for years, driving them deeper into oppressive systems, making it more difficult for students and parents to obtain employment, maintain stable housing, overcome health challenges, and develop and sustain social connections.
“Going forward, local magistrates must apply the new law in light of its stated purpose: eliminating truancy, reducing collateral consequences of convictions on youth, and maintaining stable and healthy families,” said Maura McInerney, Senior Staff Attorney at the Education Law Center. “While the legislation provides magistrates with discretion to impose more fines upon families than ever before, magistrates must exercise this discretion with sensitivity to the real issues that poor families face across Pennsylvania and with an awareness that fines and costs perpetuate racial inequities in our society.”
Those at the forefront of truancy reform and best practices have championed individualized approaches to truancy reduction that address the unique barriers that each student faces to school attendance. Importantly, the new legislation embraces this core principle and requires schools to lead with this approach before resorting to the courts. Under the new law, schools are required to convene individualized student and parent conferences before passing truancy matters to the courts. Schools must also make attempts to meaningfully engage parents in this process by providing official notice in the language preferred by the parent and contacting parents via telephone. Schools who fail to hold conferences and meaningfully engage parents to participate will see their citations thrown out of court.
In addition, schools are no longer permitted to suspend, transfer, or expel students for their non-attendance—“a practice that was all too widespread, yet totally illogical,” said Dutton. Moreover, students who have been deemed truant can now apply to expunge their records immediately upon earning a high school diploma or its equivalent—an essential reform that will sharply limit the collateral consequences that such convictions have on youth as they age into adulthood.
Importantly, the legislation provides local magistrates with significant discretion to impose fair consequences upon students and parents aimed at eliminating the root causes of a student’s truancy. This includes discretion to impose fines, jail, and referrals to the Department of Transportation for automatic driver’s license suspension, a practice which entraps poor people in a cycle of debt. Armed with discretion, it is imperative that local officials apply the law according to its purposes in an effort to avoid the imposition of punitive consequences like fines and jail.
“We look forward to working with partners and stakeholders across the Commonwealth to implement the new law to promote racial justice and access to education for Pennsylvania’s poorest and most vulnerable children and youth,” said Dutton. “Education Law Center will continue to support families facing the most difficult challenges in getting their children to school everyday, and will work closely with local districts and law enforcement to find solutions that will empower parents, students, and communities.”
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The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, LGBTQ students, and children experiencing homelessness. For more information visit https://elc-pa.org/ or follow on Twitter @edlawcenterpa.
Oct. 20, 2016 – The Philadelphia Public School Notebook – by Bill Hangley, Jr.
This year brought some good news for Katie Christ.
“I finally got textbooks!”
That’s a welcome addition to Christ’s high school classroom in Delaware County’s William Penn School District, where she’s taught students who are learning English for 11 years.
But new textbooks are just the start of what she needs for her English learner (EL) classes. For other needed materials – novels and short stories, online language instruction, computers, snacks – she’ll keep doing what she’s always done: find freebies on the internet, borrow from the English or history departments, raise private donations, or pay from her own pocket.
“I don’t mind spending the money when I see the outcomes,” said Christ, who estimates she spends $1,000 of her own money a year and raises about $3,000 more online.
One online source of funds is a website where donors can give to classroom projects. “Without Donors Choose, I wouldn’t be able to do what I want to do,” she said.
And when it comes to the bigger things that only her district can provide – like more staff to support students, more time in the school day to collaborate, or a fully stocked computer cart – she’ll cross her fingers and hope for a better budget next year.
“I only have two computers in the classroom. One of them’s mine,” Christ said. “I had a computer cart, but they couldn’t handle the new updates. They were old when I first got them.”
Read the rest of the article at the Philadelphia Public School Notebook.