Philadelphia Eagles Support ELC with $25K Grant
ELC has received a $25,000 grant from the Philadelphia Eagles Social Justice Fund, through which the Eagles organization provides a one-to-one match to donations by players and staff. Education is one of the Fund’s priorities, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with the Eagles in the important work of ensuring access to…
MoreParents in Chester Upland Ask Court to Suspend Charter School Conversion Process, Conducted in Secret
Parents and a community organization in Chester Upland School District have filed an emergency motion to suspend a process to outsource the entire district’s operations and schools to charter operators. This request for proposals process has taken place in secret, with no public notice and no opportunities for parents and other community members to weigh…
MoreNational Report Exposes Harmful Academic Credit Transfer Policies, Practices for Youth in Juvenile Justice System
Philadelphia, PA (October 8, 2020): Juvenile Law Center, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Education Law Center-PA have released the report Credit Overdue: How States Can Mitigate Academic Credit Transfer Problems for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System. The report details the problems facing tens of thousands of youth on any given day in our country…
MoreELC’s 2020 Back-to-School Guide for Pennsylvania Public School Students
The Education Law Center (ELC) has updated our “Back-to-School” guide for families, students, and schools. The information and fact sheets below now include COVID-related considerations for the upcoming school year. School days during the pandemic may look very different. Students and families face unprecedented challenges. But they continue to have important education rights and protections under…
MoreELC and 80 other Organizations Urge Gov. Wolf to Maintain Educational Equity During School Closures
In a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf and state Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera, the Education Law Center and more than 80 other community, parent, and child advocacy organizations across Pennsylvania called for an executive order and rigorous guidance to schools, requiring them to provide educational services to all children, including individualized programs to meet…
MoreMessage from ELC on COVID-19
A message from ELC to our clients and colleagues concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
MoreCOVID-19 – Information on Supporting Older Youth
This publication aims to give you concrete tips and resources so that you can play a vital role in supporting young people in Pennsylvania during the COVID 19 crisis so they can stay healthy and maintain their educational success.
MoreEducation Law Center Recent Successes
ELC’s work is organized around three priority areas: fighting for fair funding, ensuring equal access, and stopping the school-to-prison pipeline. We have made important progress in those areas in recent months. Read more about our work and highlights of the past year.
MoreELC Files Complaint Against Charter School, Challenging Refusal to Admit Child with Disability
ELC filed a complaint in Pennsylvania’s Common Pleas Court on October 17, 2019, on behalf of a first-grade student who was illegally denied enrollment in a public charter school on the basis of her disability. ELC contends that this action by Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School (MCSCS) of Philadelphia violates the child’s rights under…
MoreNew! 2019 Back-to-School Guide
As students head back to school, Education Law Center (ELC) has compiled and updated a number of “Back-to-School” resources and reminders about laws and policies that families and schools should be aware of this year. If you have questions about a particular issue at your school, please call ELC’s helpline at 215-238-6970 (Eastern/Central PA) or…
MoreGovernor’s Executive Order Calls for Reform of Residential Placements: A Joint Statement With Juvenile Law Center
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order on July 31, creating a new Office of Advocacy and Reform, with a new Child Advocate position to act as an ombudsman for youth in the state’s residential facilities. The order establishes a 25-member Council on Reform, tasked with developing a report and recommendations by Nov. 1 to ensure the…
MoreCeaseFirePA, Education Law Center Statement on Bill Authorizing Arming More School Personnel
Senate Bill 621, which broadens the categories of school personnel who can carry weapons in schools, approved by the Pennsylvania legislature, was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on July 2, 2019. The Education Law Center and CeaseFirePA had opposed the bill and urged the governor to veto it. In a joint statement on…
MoreFunding Increases in PA Budget Are Welcomed but Not Sufficient, ELC Says
The tentative budget agreement between Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf and legislative leaders that was announced on June 24 includes a significant boost in special education funding. There are other bright spots in the budget, but state education funding still falls far below what is needed. ELC executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr issued a statement on the…
MoreClass Action Suit Against Glen Mills Schools and Pa. Officials Cites Abuse of Children, Deprivation of Education
Lawyers from the Education Law Center, Juvenile Law Center, and Dechert LLP filed a class action lawsuit April 11 in Philadelphia on behalf of hundreds of youth who were held at Glen Mills Schools, a residential facility located in Delaware County. This site, the oldest reform school in the country, housed as many as 1,000…
MoreELC Applauds U.S. DOJ Agreement to Overhaul PA’s Alternative Education Programs to Protect Students with Disabilities and English Learners but Says Agreement Ignores Racial Disparities
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a comprehensive agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), settling a federal civil rights investigation triggered by the Education Law Center’s 2013 complaint challenging discriminatory practices in the state’s disciplinary “alternative education” programs. Read ELC’s full news release here. The programs covered by the agreement are…
MoreELC Responds to 2019-20 Budget Proposal of Gov. Wolf
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced his proposed 2019-20 budget before the General Assembly on Feb. 5. The Education Law Center and other child advocacy groups had urged the governor to make a bold school funding proposal, including $400 million in new funds for basic education and $100 million for special education. The increases in is…
MoreThird Circuit Issues Groundbreaking Precedential Decision Regarding Rights of Homeless Students
In response to a motion filed by ELC, the Third Circuit has re-issued its opinion in G.S. vs. Rose Tree Media School District as precedential, which means that the Court’s opinion can be used to support arguments in similar cases in other courts. ELC filed the motion following a positive ruling which marked a major…
MoreELC Files Comments with the US Department of Education Concerning Proposed Title IX Regulations
The Education Law Center (ELC) filed comments strongly opposing the Department of Education’s (DOE) proposed rules regarding Title IX investigations. The proposed rules would protect schools from liability at the expense of the students who are most likely to experience sexual harassment: 78% of LGBTQ K–12 students in Pennsylvania are harassed on the basis of…
MoreYouth in Pa. Residential Institutions: Unsafe, Disconnected, Denied Quality Education
This column by ELC legal director Maura McInerney and Juvenile Law Center staff attorney Kate Burdick highlights the urgent need to address harmful practices in Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice and child welfare residential facilities. Two recent reports laid out the harm being done to children in these placements – and proposed needed reforms, including bringing children…
MoreImproving Supports for Philadelphia’s 15,000 English Learner Students
In January 2019 testimony about English learners to the Philadelphia school board’s Student Achievement and Support Committee, Education Law Center Legal Director Maura McInerney brought attention to reductions in ESL instruction and support, barriers to special education evaluations and services, the failure to provide interpretation and translation services, and lack of access to special admission schools and…
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