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HARRISBURG, PA (Feb. 24, 2025) — As the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee held its FY 2025-26 budget hearing with the state Department of Education today, PSEA President Aaron Chapin called on lawmakers to take the next step in a multiyear effort to fix Pennsylvania’s inequitable public school funding system.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed FY 2025-26 state budget includes funding increases for basic education, special education, and the state’s student teacher stipend program, among other initiatives, and ensures that Pennsylvania stays on track to fix the state’s unconstitutional school funding system.

“Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal takes the next crucial step in a multiyear plan to fully and fairly fund our public schools,” Chapin said. “Lawmakers now have an opportunity to partner with the governor to build on progress made over the past several years that has put more educators in classrooms, repaired more crumbling school buildings, and put more students across Pennsylvania on a path to success.

“Pennsylvania’s students have waited decades for policymakers to take the kind of bold action needed to address the urgent funding needs in their schools. We must keep the momentum going. Now is not the time to shift into reverse.”

Chapin said it is also necessary for lawmakers to consider the level of state funding needed to provide increasingly expensive special education services to a growing number of students statewide.

“We welcomed Gov. Shapiro’s proposal to increase special education funding but strongly believe that an increase of at least $100 million is necessary at a time when the need for and cost of special education services is on the rise,” Chapin said.

Chapin noted that while negotiations over the finer details of the budget will continue in the weeks and months ahead, he believes Pennsylvania is headed in the right direction on school funding.

“Gov. Shapiro has shown a remarkably strong commitment to public education and so have a majority of pro-public education lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House,” he said. “PSEA looks forward to working with all of our elected leaders to enact a final state budget that provides as much of a funding increase as possible for our public schools.”

Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.