April 21, 2015 – by Kristen A. Graham and Martha Woodall, Philadelphia Inquirer – A lawsuit contending that Pennsylvania’s system of school funding is broken will move to the state’s top court, attorneys vowed Tuesday after a lower court dismissed the case brought by school districts, parents, and advocates. Continue reading
Philadelphia
Beyond ‘failing schools’: The difficulty of fairly comparing public schools on uneven playing field
BY KEVIN MCCORRY, April 9 2015 – by Kevin McCorry, WHYY/NewsWorks – File this story under “wonky but important.” Continue reading
Law students advocate for Phila. public school families
April 7th – By Jennifer Wright, The Daily Pennsylvanian – Penn students have the chance to be there for the best times in the lives of Philadelphia public school students. But a few have chosen to help with some of the worst. Continue reading
School-funding system ‘broken,’ Pa. judges hear
March 11, 2015 – by Kristen Graham, Philadelphia Inquirer – Pennsylvania’s system of education funding is broken, and the courts must force lawmakers to make it right, attorneys for school districts, parents, and organizations that have sued the commonwealth told a panel of judges here Wednesday.
Pennsylvania schools sue state in bid to reform funding
Philadelphia’s shift in discipline policy
Dec. 9, 2014 – By Dan Hardy, Philadelphia Public School Notebook – In the wake of the catastrophic Columbine school shooting in 1999, many school district leaders, politicians, and police summed up their response to school violence with two words: zero tolerance.
Infractions that once might have prompted a discussion of motive and intention instead often led to immediate, automatic suspensions, expulsions, and calls to police.
Commentary: State needs a rational fix for its method of funding charter students with disabilities
Dec. 1, 2014 – by David Lapp, Education Law Center – Pennsylvania’s calculation for funding special education in charter schools is broken. In Philadelphia, special education tuition paid by the District to charter schools has doubled from $11,000 per student to over $23,000 per student in just 12 years. During the same period, special education revenue to the District from the state stagnated at under $5,000 per student.
Suit calls state school funding arbitrary and irrational
Nov. 23, 2014 – By Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – In 1999, the state Supreme Court ruled that the question of state school funding was a political issue for the Legislature, not one for the judiciary.
Now, a new lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court last week once again seeks a judicial order, this time armed with state test results showing schools failing to meet state academic standards and a study commissioned by the Legislature quantifying the disparity in resources.
Lawsuit: School Funding in Pennsylvania is Unconstitutional
Nov. 10, 2014 – By Patrick Kerkstra, Philadelphia Magazine – Seventeen years ago, the city and School District of Philadelphia filed suit against Pennsylvania, accusing it of failing to provide sufficient education funding in violation of the state Constitution, which obligates the state legislature to “provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education.”
Casey, nurses stress need for health professionals in schools
Sept. 8, 2014 – By Taunya English, Newsworks – With the deaths of two Philadelphia schoolchildren still in the news, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is proposing more funding for school nurses.
DN Editorial: Sick of it all
May 23, 2014 – Philadelphia Daily News Editorial – The death of any child is a tragedy. The death of two children who fell ill while at school is unspeakable. And while the cause of death for a first-grader at Andrew Jackson School has not been determined, both cases demand that we take a hard look at the impact the district’s budget realities may be having on children.
What happened to Bache-Martin School?
May 16, 2014 – by William Bender and Solomon Leach, Philadelphia Daily News – Fifth-graders have been sent to kindergarten. An eighth-grader was banished to first grade.
Draconian “behavior contracts” stipulate to whom certain children can speak and where they can eat breakfast.
These are among the incidents that have fueled concerns at Bache-Martin Elementary in Fairmount this year, and left parents asking: What has happened to our school?
Action Item: Attorney Action Day for Education
Join fellow Philadelphia lawyers to tell City Council that Philadelphia cannot function without good public schools, and high-quality public schools require adequate funding.
Philadelphia’s schools can’t provide the basic programs and services our children need to have an opportunity to learn —class sizes have grown, counselors and nurses reduced, libraries closed. The local economy on which the legal community depends will continue to decline without a strong system of public education.
While the state education budget continues to be inadequate and inequitable, there are options to provide local funding. City Council can move on those options now, but needs encouragement to secure the resources necessary for our schools.
WHO: Leading Philadelphia Attorneys
WHAT: Take Action on School Funding
WHERE: Outside City Hall, North Broad Street entrance
WHEN: Thursday, April 24, 11:45 a.m.
RSVP today! http://www.eventbrite.com/e/lawyers-day-of-action-for-education-tickets-8171817125
The haves vs. the have nots
April 15, 2014 – by Julia Bergman, Axis Philly – Ask the average Philadelphian what their top concern is and they’re likely to say education.
The city has become a battleground for debates over fair and sufficient funding for public schools. At the forefront of that debate is what many consider debilitating cuts to education made by Gov. Tom Corbett.
Read the full story: http://axisphilly.org/article/the-haves-and-have-nots-of-education-spending/
Philly district orders school police to stay out of level 1 offenses
March 25, 2014 – by Kevin McCorry, Newsworks – Philadelphia School District has directed school police officers to stop responding to calls related to Level 1 student conduct offenses. The proscribed violations range from “failure to follow classroom rules” to “truancy” to “verbal altercations” to “inappropriate touching/public displays of affection.”
Community raises concerns over universal enrollment plan
January 14, 2014 – Bill Hangley, Jr., The Philadelphia Public School Notebook – If supporters of universal enrollment were hoping for a ringing endorsement from parents and families on Monday night, they didn’t get it.
Trying to live up to special-ed law amid the Philly school budget crisis
October 16, 2013 – by Kevin McCorry –
The Philadelphia School District has at least 20,000 evaluated special-needs students. Each year, the district pays millions in legal fees and lawsuit settlements based on its failure, both proven and alleged, to meet their needs. This year, due to budget cuts, the district shed close to 3,000 staff members.
Read the full story:
https://whyy.org/articles/trying-to-live-up-to-special-ed-law-amid-the-philly-school-budget-crisis/
ELC Report: School Nurse Shortage Jeopardizes Student Health and Safety
May 7, 2013 – The health and safety of Philadelphia’s public school students is in jeopardy following the elimination of more than 100 school nurse positions, according to a new report from the Education Law Center conducted with assistance from the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Currently, 195 nurses are serving approximately 200,000 public school students. That’s one nurse per 1,025 students. National research recommends one nurse per 750 healthy students, according to the ELC report.
One of the results of the nurse shortage has been an increase during the 2012-13 school year in non-medical school personnel administering medications and treatments to students on a regular basis.
A current school nurse explained the risks of continuing that approach.
“Children who have chronic health problems such as asthma, diabetes, or food allergies are not safe in schools without a full-time school nurse. Numerous medication errors have already occurred as a result. If the District continues on the current path, we will soon realize the real cost,” said one of the school nurses who participated in the research.
Beyond the immediate health risks, the lack of school nurses places the School District of Philadelphia at risk legally.
“The District is legally obligated to provide specific nursing services to children with special education needs and those with qualifying disabilities, such as asthma and diabetes,” said Education Law Center Senior Attorney Maura McInerney, who co-authored the report. “If school nursing services are not provided to ensure that children can learn and are properly accommodated in school, they may suffer discrimination in violation of federal and state law,” she said.
ELC reviewed research on public health and school nurses, conducted in-depth interviews, and surveyed more than 70 representatives of organizations serving children with disabilities, school nurses, and families of children with healthcare needs.
Based on that research and additional research on student health and safety, ELC recommends that the District take the follow steps to fix the current crisis:
- Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to clarify the value of nurses in the School District of Philadelphia.
- Adopt a student-to-school nurse ratio on a “per school” basis that accounts for the impact of students with acute and chronic medical needs and special education needs. This ratio will ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws that protect both students with disabilities under the IDEA and those with qualifying disabilities under Section 504.
- Eliminate reliance on untrained personnel to perform duties of a school nurse.
- Utilize nursing students from various local universities to perform discrete tasks with supervision by a registered and licensed school nurse.
“We recognize the fiscal crisis facing the District but we cannot afford to overlook the essential and cost-effective role that school nurses play in supporting learning — from ensuring consistent attendance to identifying medical needs to ensuring that children with disabilities receive needed support.”
The School Nurse Shortage in Philadelphia: Prognosis & Prescription for Change
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The Education Law Center is a non-profit, statewide legal advocacy organization, dedicated to ensuring that all of Pennsylvania’s children have access to a quality public education.
CONTACT:
Education Law Center
Office: 215-238-6970