Parents Urge Philadelphia City Council to Address Preschool Pushout
PHILADELPHIA, August 6, 2026 — Parent advocates today urged Philadelphia City Council to address preschool pushout – the suspension, expulsion, and exclusion of young children from early learning programs – sharing firsthand accounts of how these practices harm children and families and disproportionately affect Black and Brown children and children with disabilities. To learn more…
MoreJoint Statement from Education Law Center-PA and Public Interest Law Center on the Passage of the 2026-27 Budget
July 12, 2026 — Pennsylvania lawmakers today approved a third consecutive budget that increases adequacy funding for public schools, providing critical investments for addressing the state’s obligation to adequately and equitably fund our schools. But as the struggles of many school districts demonstrate, greater investments are required. Read the full statement here.
MoreELC-PA Responds to Supreme Court Decision on Transgender Students’ Participation in School Sports
The Education Law Center-PA is deeply disappointed in the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, and the continuing pattern of targeting and excluding trans young people from equal opportunities in our schools. The Court held that Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause do not prohibit states…
MoreELC-PA to State Leaders: Do Not Abandon Civil Rights Protections
In a news release on June 17, 2026, Education Law Center – PA denounces the the federal administration’s unlawful transfer of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services out of the U.S. Department of Education. Until this action can be reversed by the courts, ELC-PA urges Pennsylvania’s Department…
MoreELC-PA Files Complaint to Remedy Preschool-to-Kindergarten Transition Failures in the Philadelphia School District.
ELC-PA filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education on behalf of thousands of children with disabilities who transition each year from Preschool Early Intervention to kindergarten in the School District of Philadelphia (District). The District and PDE have failed to ensure that legally-required transition processes are followed and the…
MoreELC-PA Files Complaint Challenging Educational Deficiencies at Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service Center
On December 11, 2025 ELC filed a state administrative complaint against the School District of Philadelphia and the PA Dept of Education challenging continuing educational deficiencies for students with disabilities detained at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service Center (“PJJSC”). The complaint was filed on behalf of individual students and all students similarly situated to remedy…
MoreStatement on Senate Passage of Pennsylvania CROWN Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMedia Contact: Lindsay Wagner, [email protected], (215) 701-4264 Education Law Center-PA Statement on Senate Passage of Pennsylvania CROWN Act Today, by an overwhelming, bipartisan, 44-3 vote, the Pennsylvania Senate approved the CROWN Act (HB 439), which protects Pennsylvanians against racial hair discrimination based on hair type, hair texture, or protective hairstyles like braids, twists,…
MoreEfforts to Dismantle the U.S. Department of Education Threaten Students with Disabilities
For Immediate Release: October 15, 2025 For More Information: Lindsay Wagner, (215) 701-4264, [email protected] Widespread layoffs in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) have effectively eviscerated federal enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires that the U.S. Department of Education bear the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that local…
MoreNo Cuts and No Excuses: PA Budget Must Include Full Adequacy Funding for Public Schools
Joint Statement from the Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 28, 2025 Contact: Lindsay Wagner, Education Law Center-PA, 215-701-4264, [email protected] Anna Sophie Tinneny, Public Interest Law Center, 267-546-1304, x224, [email protected] HARRISBURG — All children in Pennsylvania are entitled to a comprehensive, contemporary, effective public education. Yet nearly two…
MoreELC Denounces Ruling in Mahmoud v Taylor; Schools Must Uphold Their Duty to Ensure Safe, Inclusive Learning Environments
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today in Mahmoud v. Taylor is yet another devastating attack on our public schools and LGBTQ+ students. Importantly, the ruling centered on individual religious objections and does not prevent educators from continuing to create inclusive school environments for all children. ELC urges Pennsylvania educators to resist any move away from…
MoreELC Submits Comments on New Early Intervention Procedures.
ELC joined with other leading advocates for young children in Pennsylvania to submit comments to the Office of Child Development and Early Learning regarding its new procedures for the Commonwealth’s Early Intervention (EI) complaint system under both Part B and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Early childhood education, including EI, plays…
MoreELC and ACLU Share Guidance for Schools and Families Concerning Immigration Enforcement
Following the Trump Administration’s executive order rescinding the “sensitive locations” policy that barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting enforcement actions at schools, playgrounds, and bus stops, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Education Law Center have shared a letter of guidance about interacting with ICE with Pennsylvania public school district…
MoreHearing Officer Orders School District to Allow Student Back in School
Following an expedited due process hearing in November, a hearing officer ordered that Shamokin Area School District must allow a fifth-grade student with mental health disabilities to return to school after her unlawful indefinite exclusion. To address our country’s longstanding discriminatory exclusion of students with disabilities from schools, including a law in Pennsylvania that relieved…
MoreELC Comments on PHRC Proposed Guidance for Evaluating Claims of Bullying & Harassment under the PHRA
On August 29, 2024 ELC submitted comments to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) regarding their proposed Guidance on Evaluating Claims of Bullying and Harassment Under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA). ELC strongly supports the proposed guidance as an important vehicle for clarifying the rights and protections of students. Additionally, ELC recommends that the…
MoreState Directs School District of Philadelphia to Award Compensatory Education, Revise Procedures for Students with Disabilities at PJJSC
In response to ELC’s systemic complaint filed in March on behalf of students with disabilities at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center (PJJSC), the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education recently issued a decision, finding in our favor on all seven issues raised. The ruling requires the School District of Philadelphia to determine…
MoreELC Files Complaint Challenging Lack of Education at Allegheny County Jail
December 21, 2023 – A state administrative complaint filed today by the Education Law Center claims that school-age youths with disabilities at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) are not receiving a free appropriate public education in contravention of their rights. Allegheny County Jail serves approximately 2,000 individuals each day who are awaiting adjudication of charges…
MoreCivil Rights Complaint Challenges Discriminatory Policies in Pennridge School District
NAACP, PairUP Society, and Bucks County Families File Federal Civil Rights Complaint Challenging Discriminatory School Policies November 15, 2023 – Several Bucks County families have joined with civil rights and advocacy groups to file a federal civil rights complaint on behalf of parents and students in the Pennridge School District, challenging the District’s discriminatory policies…
MoreLegislative leaders will not appeal to the PA Supreme Court in the school funding lawsuit
Legislative leaders will not appeal the comprehensive, decisive Feb. 7 school funding order. The decision is now final and it’s time to create a system that ensures high quality public education for all children. Read our joint statement with Public Interest Law Center and O’Melveny here.
MoreState Budget Nearly Finalized; Private School Vouchers Blocked … for Now
Last night, the Pennsylvania House and Senate finally both approved a new state budget for 2023-24. With our co-counsel at the Public Interest Law Center, we issued a joint statement on the state budget and the blocking of a private school voucher bill. Read our statement here. There is critical work to be done in…
MoreSchool District of Philadelphia Ordered to Award Compensatory Education Services to Tens of Thousands of Students with Disabilities to Address COVID-Related Deprivations of FAPE
As a result of a complaint filed by ELC on behalf of all children with disabilities in the School District of Philadelphia (District), PDE’s Bureau of Special Education has ordered the District to review and assess data for all students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 accommodations plans to determine necessary make-up services,…
More