Lawmakers celebrate policy for urgent school facility repairs in FY 2026-27 state budget
Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler July 17, 2026 | 12:48 PM
HARRISBURG, July 17 – State Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila.; Lindsay Powell, D-Allegheny; Tarik Khan, D-Phila.; and Tarah Probst, D-Monroe/Pike, on Thursday celebrated the inclusion of the school facilities inventory in the fiscal year 2026-27 state budget.
Introduced in 2024, the school facilities inventory was designed to address the urgent issue of outdated and unsafe school buildings in Pennsylvania, an issue that leads to educational disparities for students across the state. The statewide public school building inventory will allow the Department of Education and other experts to make recommendations for repairs using comprehensive, up-to-date information about building conditions and the most urgent needs in the state.
“Every day as parents, we make sure our kids have a healthy lunch, dress them for the weather, and remind them to be kind and give school their best. But too many parents in Pennsylvania don’t have the peace of mind that they’re dropping their child off at a safe school building – that their kid won’t be exposed to asbestos, or be in a classroom with a leaky roof, or have to deal with an unusable wheelchair ramp,” Fiedler said. “We’ve made huge steps in the school facilities crisis with funding in the last three state budgets, and now the school facilities inventory will make smarter, more efficient use of those dollars.”
“The condition of a school sends a message to every child who walks through its doors. Every student deserves a safe, healthy, and inspiring place to learn,” Khan said. “This bill will help us identify problems in our school facilities so we can fix them and make meaningful investments in our children and in our future.”
“For the first time ever, thanks to this year’s School Code, Pennsylvania will compile comprehensive facilities data from our public schools. This is a crucial next step in our work to understand the current state of our facilities in order to provide equity in our public schools across the state,” Probst said.
“The physical spaces where our students learn for 180 days a year are just as critical to their success as the classes they take and the teachers who support them,” Powell said. “If we don’t know what problems schools across the state are facing, we cannot make informed decisions about where facility investments are needed most. Now, thanks to the inclusion of the school facilities inventory in this year’s budget, we will be able to help communities that need it the most and make sure that every student can have a safe, successful education, regardless of their ZIP code.”
“It is genuinely hard to take notes when you have to wear mittens in the classroom,” said state Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, majority chair of the House Education Committee. “The quality of a school building has a direct impact on how a child learns. Chair Fiedler’s bill will, for the first time, allow us to know the current ages and conditions of school buildings across the commonwealth. I was happy to work on the legislation with her and her team, and I am pleased to see this get to the governor’s desk as part of this year’s budget plan.”
Bill sponsors partnered with educators, school facilities staff, school business officials and advocates in Pennsylvania’s education policy space to refine the bill, with the House Education Committee holding an extensive informational hearing about the bill in 2025. Ultimately, the language for the school facilities inventory earned the support of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, the Pennsylvania School Libraries Association, the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Pennsylvania Building Trades and the Pennsylvania Education Law Center.
“PASBO commends the legislature for the inclusion of the statewide school facilities inventory language in the commonwealth’s School Code. For the first time, Pennsylvania will have a comprehensive picture of the age, condition, capacity and utilization of school facilities across the commonwealth, providing policymakers with objective data to guide future decisions. This inventory will help identify infrastructure needs, support long-term planning, and ensure state resources are directed where they are needed most. PASBO appreciates the General Assembly’s recognition that safe, functional and well-maintained school facilities are essential to student success and community well-being,” said Dylan Wyatt, director of advocacy for PASBO.
“The Commonwealth Court made clear that safe school facilities are essential to giving every student a quality education,” said Aaron Chapin, president of PSEA. “PSEA was proud to work with Rep. Fiedler to establish a system to inventory school facilities, the first step toward ensuring every student has access to safe, modern learning environments. We encourage school districts to partner with the Department of Education to provide the information needed so that the commonwealth can address school facility equity in a fair and timely way.”