PA Senate Democrats

FOR EVERY PENNSYLVANIAN

Education

Education

We have made big strides in providing additional funding to public schools over the past decade, but, as the Fair Funding court case rightly points out, we have a lot more to do. Educational opportunities should not be determined by a zip code – ALL students deserve access to a high-quality education regardless of where they live, what they look like, or how they learn. Pennsylvania Senate Democrats are focused on removing roadblocks and providing robust, fair, and equitable educational opportunities for all the Commonwealth’s students.

  • We must continue to meet our constitutional mandate and address the court’s ruling to equitably fund our schools. Over the last two years we have made progress by providing $2 billion in new funding for K-12 schools, raising total K-12 public education funding to over $11 billion for the first time in Pennsylvania history.
  • The Senate Democrats introduced, fought for, and won passage of the Student Teacher Stipend Program, one step in addressing our educator personnel shortage. A lot remains to be done, but we will continue to find innovative programs to attract professionals to careers in public education.
  • School buildings must be safe for our students to learn in. We have been leading the charge to provide state investments in school infrastructure and recently achieved enactment of the Public School Facilities Improvement Program. Unfortunately we need billions of dollars in more funding to address the years of nascent state funding, so we will continue fighting.
  • Ensure that children are prepared for school, including access to the technology they need to succeed in the classrooms and the meals they need before and during the school day.
  • Make higher education accessible to students of all socio-economic backgrounds by strengthening PASSHE schools and community colleges.
  • Reform charter schools and charter school funding so that they meet the same rigorous standards that our school districts must attain.
  • Recent studies have shown that there remains systemic racism within our state’s system of higher education. We need to root out racism at every level, but we cannot tolerate it within our state institutions.
  • Retain highly skilled and experienced educators by requiring public schools to pay a minimum base salary that reflects the important work our teachers do.
  • Provide mental and behavioral health treatment access, especially as we exit the pandemic.