Legislative Update

General Assembly Adopts New Education Funding Formula: Act 61 of 2008

On July 4, 2008, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a state budget that increased basic education funding by $275 million - the largest dollar increase in at least two decades - and ensured that public education would remain a priority by locking funding targets into law. The budget included a new education funding formula based upon the General Assembly’s 2007 Costing-Out Study, which determined the spending necessary for all students in all Pennsylvania school districts to achieve the state’s academic standards. The formula's use of real student counts (abandoned by the state after 1991) and real information about the spending needed for academic success are important milestones. Legislators and the Administration should be rightly proud of this accomplishment. Of equal importance is the following language in Act 61: “In furtherance of the General Assembly’s long-standing commitment to providing adequate funding that will ensure equitable state and local investments in public education and in order to enable students to attain applicable federal and state academic standards, it is the goal of this Commonwealth to review and meet state funding targets by fiscal year 2013-2014.” With the enactment of this legislation, the state has set a clear goal – adequate funding to enable all students to achieve, equitably distributed among our school districts, by 2013-14.

Governor Ed Rendell signs education funding legislation into law at Upper Darby High School.

Budget Resources

Education Budget Details from the PA Department of Education

Act 38A (Senate Bill 1389): FY 2008-2009 State Budget

Act 61 (House Bill 1067): Education Code Legislation Establishing a New School Funding Formula