Long before closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, many Pennsylvania schools faced a different health crisis: unsafe facilities. Crumbling buildings, asbestos, lead, and other school facility health and safety risks plague many schools across Pennsylvania, particularly in low-income districts and those that enroll a high percentage of Black and Latinx students.
In this brief we (1) examine available evidence related to the condition of Pennsylvania’s school facilities, (2) review past, current, and proposed policies related to how the state funds emergency facilities expenses, and (3) discuss how other states provide for emergency school facilities funding.
State Funding to Ensure Safe and Healthy Facilities: Lessons for Pennsylvania
Date: October 2020
Related Publications
Publication
Students Experiencing Homelessness in Pennsylvania: A 2024 Update
This PACER brief provides RFA’s updated analysis of data on students experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania, highlighting prevalence, challenges with identification, disparities in educational opportunities, and impact on academic outcomes. Our main findings include that: Roughly…
Publication
Exploring the Diversity and Supports for School District of Philadelphia English Learners as they Prepare to Transition to High School
In Philadelphia, the School District (SDP) is home to a diverse community of English Learners (ELs) hailing from various ethnic backgrounds, cultures, and languages. ELs are students identified through the WIDA English proficiency screener, marked…
Publication
The Need for More Teachers of Color
This booklet, The Need for More Teachers of Color, was released as part of a Teach-In hosted by Research for Action on April 23, 2022, in FDR Park in Philadelphia. The booklet provides highlights of…
Publication
FAQ: Superintendents in Pennsylvania School Districts
Superintendent leadership plays an important role in charting the trajectory of school district operations and ultimately of student learning. Meanwhile, several school districts undergo a superintendent transition each year, yet relatively little is known about…
Publication
Final Report: Evaluation of the Aspiring to Educate Philadelphia Pilot
In November 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced the Aspiring to Educate (A2E) program and its intention to pilot the program in the Philadelphia area. The goals of A2E include diversifying and developing…
Publication
Recovering Credits in the School District of Philadelphia: High School Student Credit Recovery Utilization in 2018-19
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. The goal of school-year credit recovery…
Publication
Teacher Use of Digital Tools: Results of a Survey of District Teachers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Neshaminy
When schools in Pennsylvania and across the nation were suddenly shuttered in March due to COVID-19, teachers were faced with an enormous challenge: how to effectively teach and engage their students remotely when the vast…
Publication
Getting Back on Track: How Off-Track Ninth Graders Progressed in Later Years of High School, Class of 2017 and 2018
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. Students who successfully transition to ninth…
Publication
How Long Will it Take Me To Get to School?
Philadelphia’s high school selection process is a complex one for students and their families. Under normal circumstances, transportation to school is an important factor to consider. Average public transit times can vary widely by school…
Publication
Six Lessons to Facilitate Deep Ownership of Ambitious Instructional Reforms
In partnership with the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, RFA has been studying Philadelphia schools’ take-up of an instructional reform that has demonstrated positive impacts on teacher knowledge and student learning in math. The…
Publication
Student Mobility and Dropout in Philadelphia High Schools, 2013-14 through 2016-2017
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. Philadelphia offers an extensive array of…
Publication
Present from the Start: Ninth Grade Attendance Patterns in the School District of Philadelphia, 2015-2017
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. School learning starts with school attendance.…