ELC 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,…
MoreHistoric Victory in the Fight for Fair Funding!
On Feb. 7, Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer issued her ruling in the Pennsylvania school funding case. The Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center, who represent petitioners in the case, released the following joint statement: “Today’s decision declaring Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional is a historic victory for Pennsylvania’s public school children. It will…
MoreELC Praises New State Regulation Protecting Against Anti-LGBTQ and Racial Discrimination
ELC applauds the adoption of the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission’s final regulation putting in place new significant new nondiscrimination protections for Pennsylvania students. It provides important protections for LGBTQ students, who have been increasingly subjected to discrimination, hostility, and exclusion in our schools. The new regulation also provides a more comprehensive definition of the term race,…
MoreELC Open Letter to Hempfield School Board Calls for Rejection of Prohibition on Trans Athletes
Responding to to concerns from parents and community members in Hempfield (Pa.) School District, ELC sent this open letter that urges opposition to proposed prohibitions on transgender students’ participation in school sports. We call for the school board and district to reject the proposed policy because it illegally discriminates against transgender students. We urge the…
MoreU.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Carson v. Makin Has Alarming Implications for PA
The June 21, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carson v. Makin mandates that Maine use its public school funds to educate children in private religious schools. Never before has the Supreme Court forced a state to fund religious education. The ruling is antithetical to our country’s history and its long-held commitment to a separation…
MoreWe Must Address Racist Violence, School Shootings [Trigger Warning: Gun Violence]
We join in grieving for all the victims of the deadly racist attacks in Buffalo that targeted the city’s Black East Side community. We vow to continue to challenge racist ideologies that motivate these hate-filled attacks. We also join in mourning the senseless violence in Uvalde, Texas, resulting in the death of at least 19…
MoreRead ELC’s New Special Education Funding Report
The Education Law Center’s new report Fixing the Special Education Funding Gap details the large decline in the state share of special education funding over the past decade. Inadequate funding for basic education and special education programs creates a dual funding gap, one that particularly affects students in low wealth school districts. These districts serve…
MoreJoin ELC in support of the RISE Act
ELC has long supported Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act – a federal bill which would allow students with disabilities to present an IEP or 504 plan as proof of a disability when requesting accommodations in college. The bill is now in the House Education and Labor’s Mental Health Package (see H.R. 7780) and will be marked up tomorrow!…
MoreOn school funding, Pennsylvania is not doing its job. That’s why we’re in court.
Education Law Center executive director Deborah Gordon Klehr wrote, “All Pennsylvanians need to know that our state is failing by inadequately and inequitably funding our schools. Pennsylvania once made a legislative commitment that 50% of education funding would come from the state ‒ but that commitment was not enforced and was abandoned decades ago.” Read…
MoreGov. Wolf Signs Credit Transfer Bill
Students facing some of the greatest barriers to timely high school graduation finally get some relief. On January 26, Governor Wolf signed SB 324 into law as Act 1 of 2022, bringing a successful conclusion to a 10-year effort. The law requires school districts to provide one-on-one assistance to students who are at risk of…
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