Education Law Center-PA

ENSURING THAT ALL CHILDREN IN DELAWARE COUNTY HAVE ACCESS TO A QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION

Through legal representation, impact litigation, community engagement, and policy advocacy, the Education Law Center-PA (ELC-PA) advances the rights of underserved children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, multilingual learners, LGBTQ+ students, and children experiencing homelessness.

How You Can Help Support Delco Students: From ensuring equitable education funding for local public schools to promoting inclusive school climates, Delco families work alongside ELC-PA to fulfill our mission. Please consider supporting our work today, as we continue to build a brighter, more just future for all school children in Delaware County.

A Leader in Legal Advocacy: ELC-PA has a long and proud history of supporting and defending the rights of students in Delaware County.

We won a historic Commonwealth Court decision declaring the state’s funding system unconstitutional and establishing that education is a fundamental right. The decision grew out of a lawsuit filed in 2014 on behalf of the William Penn School District in Delaware County and five other districts, two statewide organizations, and several parents. State officials must now take action to ensure that districts like William Penn, Upper Darby, Chester-Upland, and Southeast DelCo have the resources they need to ensure the right to education. 

This outcome will benefit generations of children.

For example, in 2024-25 and 2025-26, Upper Darby School District received ~$14.6 million in adequacy funding (with a $52.3 million adequacy gap remaining), which in response to our lawsuit, directs targeted funding to the districts that need it most. Investments made through the adequacy formula are already delivering real benefits for students, such as supporting, maintaining, and expanding essential services that include kindergarten, lower class sizes, STEM education, tutoring, and more. 

With your help today, we can make education equity and justice a reality.

To learn more, please visit elc-pa.org. 

We are deeply grateful for your support!