Every student has the right to a high-quality K-12 public education, regardless of zip code, race, or income. Students must have access to safe school facilities, skilled educators, rigorous and current instructional materials, and pathways to explore their interests and talents.
Children First advocates on behalf of the approximately 1.75 million students attending public school in Pennsylvania. Children First and our coalition partners have successfully fought to secure a fair funding formula in Pennsylvania, increased Basic Education and Career & Technical Education funding in the state budget, and implemented Level Up, a funding instrument that prioritized the 100 most underfunded school districts in the state.
Now we’re working on a long-term funding solution for PA students. There is still work to be done to ensure that state policymakers provide all students, particularly those from historically marginalized populations, with the K-12 educational resources they need to succeed.
EDUCATION POLICY PRIORITIES
- Improve the education of 1.75 million public school children with $5.1 billion in new state funding across seven years to begin to repair the aftermath of chronic underfunding.
- Increase the share of Black and Hispanic high school graduates by promoting policies that boost their social and academic success.
- Prepare at least 25,000 high school graduates for real-world jobs by tripling access to career-related learning in Pennsylvania with $215 million in new CTE funds.
- Advance state, local, and school district policies that promote healthy school development, racial equity, and tolerance.
- Build an educator pipeline that works to diversify our teacher workforce
INITIATIVES
K-12 Education
Early Learning
PA Schools Work
PA Schools Work fights for equitable, adequate funding necessary to support educational excellence. Investing in public education excellence is the path to thriving communities, a stable economy and successful students.
Related Tools
School Board Candidate Guidebook
Are you interested in running for a local school board?
Don’t know where to start?
Start here with us using the Children First Action Fund’s School Board Candidate Guidebook.
To be eligible to run for school board in Pennsylvania one must be:
- A citizen of Pennsylvania and resident of the school district for at least one year
- Of good moral character
- At least 18 years of age
- There may be other restrictions impacting specific individuals under state or federal law.
The information in this guidebook is what you’ll need to make a strong candidate for school board member.
A Year For Transformation – BEFC Fact Sheets
Pennsylvania’s current school funding system is unconstitutional, and this is the year to fix it. Last February, after a trial that spanned eight years, the Commonwealth Court ruled that our current school funding system has failed to educate all students and has disproportionately harmed students in low-wealth school districts. Now, it’s now up to the General Assembly, the Governor, and education officials to fix the system. It’s their job; it’s our future. This is the Year for Transformation: A World-Class Education for Every Child in Pennsylvania.