A historic lawsuit meant to address funding disparities in Pennsylvania public schools has a tentative start date, seven years after it was originally filed.

The suit first brought by school districts, parents, and advocacy groups in 2014 says the state's funding formula shortchanges students from low-income communities and is a violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution's requirement that “a thorough and efficient system of public education" be provided to all. 

Maura McInerney, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs, told reporters Friday that, on average, the poorest school districts in Pennsylvania receive $4,800 less per student than the wealthiest school districts, with Black and Latino students disproportionately impacted.

The legal case, stalled by a judicial back and forth, now has a tentative Sept. 9 trial date.

THE CONTEXT: An analysis commissioned by the litigants found $4.6 billion more is needed for all students to be educated to the state’s own standards.

As Spotlight PA reported, the study's conclusions, based on state data over the past decade, depicted widening gaps in education spending between affluent and poor communities — and parallel divides in academic performance.

Gov. Tom Wolf, one of the defendants in the state school funding lawsuit, has proposed a $1 billion plan bankrolled by a personal income tax hike on high earners to close the gap and grow educational investment in a state currently ranked 47th in the nation for K-12 spending. 

But the plan saw little early support from the state's Republican majority, and while there are now billions of earmarked federal COVID-19 relief dollars headed to Pennsylvania, advocates say long-term changes are necessary — and a seven-year-old lawsuit may finally force the issue.