Students in hospital programs, including partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), inpatient hospitalization programs, and day treatment programs maintain their right to a free public education.
Learn more about student rights in hospitals here.
Archives
Early Childhood Education: Transitioning Through Early Intervention
Children who qualify for early intervention services should not experience gaps in the educational services they are entitled to receive under federal and state law as they transition through programs: Infant and Toddler Early Intervention, Preschool Early Intervention, and school-age programs.
This fact sheet provides information on how parents can make sure their young children get the services they need when transitioning into different educational programs.
Transparency in Public Schools-Sunshine & Right-To-Know
The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act and Right-To-Know Law (RTKL) require that the public have access to the meetings of public agencies to promote transparency and accountability, and require public access to records and information about the operations and decisions of school entities.
Learn more about your rights and how to respond to violations of these laws by reading our fact sheet.
Rights of Pregnant and Parenting Students
Students who are pregnant and parenting deserve the opportunity to complete their education free from bias and discrimination and in a learning environment that is supportive and affirming.
This fact sheet explains the rights of pregnant or parenting students and identifies how to seek help if your rights are violated.
New Title IX Rule: Schools’ Obligation
This fact sheet highlights important comparisons between the 2020 and 2024 Title IX rule and explains the implications of recent legal challenges to the 2024 Title IX rule for students in schools across Pennsylvania.
The 2024 rule clarifies that Title IX prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics; reaffirms the rights of pregnant and parenting students; and broadens the protections for submitting complaints.
Right to Compensatory Damages for Disability Discrimination
In March 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents are not required to exhaust administrative procedures under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) before seeking relief in the form of compensatory damages under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).
This fact sheet provides an analysis of that case, Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, and prior decisions addressing the right to damages for students with disabilities.
MDJ Truancy Compliance Checklist
The purpose of Act 138 of 2016 is to improve attendance and deter truancy by consistently identifying and addressing attendance issues as early as possible with credible intervention techniques in order to preserve the unity of the family, avoid the loss of housing or entry of a child into foster care, or disruption of an intact family unit. This checklist identifies common issues that arise for MDJs who adjudicated truancy matters.
You may also be interested in A Judge’s Guide to Attendance Barriers (Truancy) and Act 138 and a screening tool for use by MDJs and MDJ Screener To Address Truancy Referrals.
School Transportation FAQs
Your child’s right to school transportation depends on the local policies adopted by your school district, the distance from your residence to the school, and whether your child has disabilities that require individualized transportation arrangements.
You can learn more here.
Early Interventions Step-By-Step Guide & Timelines
Early intervention (EI) services and supports are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities. This fact sheet provides information on the steps you can take as a parent or caregiver to make sure young children receive the services they need. You can access the full guide here.
To learn more about EI services, see also ELC’s Early Intervention Questions & Answers.
COVID Compensatory Services
Research shows that school-age children experienced significant learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This fact sheet explains the rights of students with disabilities to receive COVID compensatory services for the education, services, and supports they did not receive as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more here.
Challenging Sex or Gender Based-Harassment at School: Student Rights and Complaint Options
Gender-based violence and sexual harassment are widespread problems in K-12 schools throughout the country and in Pennsylvania. For example, nearly half of students in grades 7-12 reported experiencing sexual harassment in the 2017-18 school year. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has found that K-12 students who experience hostile behaviors, including sexual harassment and assault, are more likely to experience depression and anxiety as well as decreased participation and achievement in school. Students have the right to be free from sex- or gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence at school. Learn more here.
School Attendance and Truancy: Understanding the Basics
All students in Pennsylvania must attend school no later than age 6 until age 18 or graduation, whichever occurs sooner. In general, rules for attending school do not apply to youth under 18 who have a certificate of graduation from a regularly accredited, licensed, registered, or approved high school. Under the law, all students must attend school until their 18th birthday or graduation, whichever is sooner, unless they qualify for one of a few limited exceptions, as explained in this fact sheet. You can access the full guide here.
How to File a Complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) is the commonwealth’s key antidiscrimination law. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) enforces this state law, which prohibits discrimination in schools on the basis of race, color, ancestry, disability, religion, national origin, family status, and sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation). The PHRA affords broad protections against racial, sex-based, and disability discrimination.
To learn more about the process for filing a discrimination complaint and your role in the complaint process, click here.
Equity in School Sports for Transgender, Non-Binary, and Intersex Students
Playing sports provides many direct and indirect benefits to young people, and these benefits must be equitably offered to all students in public schools, including transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students.
You can learn more here.
Virtual School Programs and Cyber Charter Schools: What You Need to Know
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many students across Pennsylvania were exposed to “virtual learning” or “virtual school programs” for the first time. These are programs operated by a school district or charter school that offer an education program through computer-based or online programs and may also be referred to as “cyber” learning.
This fact sheet discusses district virtual school programs and cyber charter schools. To learn more, click here.
Your Student’s Right to Compensatory Education
If your child with a disability has been denied needed educational services required by law, your student is entitled to make-up educational services, or compensatory education.
Compensatory education is meant to put a student in the same position they would be in if the school had provided appropriate special education and supports in the first place. Because of that, compensatory education is highly individualized and broadly flexible to the needs of your student.
To learn more about how to receive compensatory education for your child, click here.
Please note – this document is available in Spanish.
The Right to Be Free From Bullying and Harassment
All students have the right to be free from bullying and harassment in school ‒ whether it is verbal, written, graphic, physical, or online. All forms of bullying and harassment are not permitted and require your school to investigate and intervene to ensure that the bullying and harassment does not continue. The problem must be addressed promptly, as students who are bullied are at increased risk of experiencing health problems and academic struggles and are more likely to drop out of school.
To learn more, click here.
Please note – this document is available in Spanish and Chinese.
Preventing Suspension and Expulsion in Preschool Settings
This fact sheet applies to young children in all preschool settings in Pennsylvania, including child care and daycare centers, Early Intervention, Head Start, private academic schools (PDE-licensed preschools), and school district pre-kindergarten. If one of these school settings seeks to suspend or expel your child, here are some things you should know about your rights.
You can learn more about those rights here.
Please note – this document is available in Spanish.
Suspension and Expulsion Tool Kit
This toolkit was developed to assist families and advocates to respond to efforts to suspend or expel students. It applies to all public schools (including charter schools) in Pennsylvania. If a school district or charter school seeks to suspend or expel your child or send them to an alternative education for disruptive youth (AEDY) setting, you may find this toolkit helpful.
Learn more here.
Your Rights to Oppose Book Bans
Attempts to ban books are on the rise nationally, and Pennsylvania is no exception. This worrisome trend is already negatively impacting Pennsylvania students, who have less access to the diverse viewpoints and ideas expressed in the books being banned.
While school districts have the power to select and, in some cases, remove books from public schools, there are important limitations on a school board’s ability to ban books. There are also actions that students, parents, and community members can take to fight back against these harmful policies.
Learn more about these actions here.