Fiedler, Powell, Khan, Probst bill to address school facilities crisis in Pa. passes House
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus October 10, 2025 | 12:40 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct 10 – On Wednesday, the School Facilities Inventory Bill, H.B. 1701, passed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Allegheny, Rep. Tarik Khan, D-Phila., and Rep. Tarah Probst, D-Monroe/Pike, would address the issue of outdated and unsafe school buildings in Pennsylvania, facilitating the process by which school facilities are assessed and prioritized.
“You can’t fix a problem until you know the scope of what you’re dealing with, and this bill gets us to that place,” Fiedler said. “H.B. 1701 would help us compile comprehensive data on Pennsylvania’s school buildings and ensure that recommendations on our most urgent funding needs are made by experts. That way, we can move quickly and efficiently to support schools in making repairs.”
Fiedler noted that a wide scope of important building information would be provided, including the age of the buildings and their renovation history, building size and enrollment capacity. The assessments would also consider factors such as heating and ventilation, ADA compliance and environmental risk factors such as asbestos and mold.
Currently, there is no statewide inventory of the condition of school buildings, nor is there statewide criteria for assessing facilities’ needs. The legislation passed Wednesday would create a comprehensive school inventory and a school facilities advisory committee within the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The statewide public-school building inventory would allow the department and other experts to make recommendations for repairs with comprehensive, up-to-date information about conditions and the most urgent needs in the state.
"Pennsylvania's students deserve to learn in safe, modern and comfortable environments where investments in infrastructure are made strategically and sustainably,” Powell said. “The most meaningful recommendations are grounded in real data from real schools and real students – ensuring that every improvement directly supports better learning outcomes. I’m grateful to my colleagues for their collaboration and commitment in shepherding this important legislation through the House."
The legislation is supported by Pennsylvania State Education Association, Pennsylvania School Libraries Association, Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the PA Building Trades, and the Education Law Center.
“You can’t fix what you can’t see. This bill helps us spot schools that need help, give support where it’s needed most, and make sure all kids have safe, healthy places to learn,” Khan said.
“Older schools are in various stages of disrepair. Examples of unsafe and inadequate school facilities are well documented, but state officials do not have a holistic understanding of the problem across Pennsylvania. The bill provides a way to assess specific building conditions and how schools can address those needs,” Probst said.
At a recent hearing on the legislation, the House Education Committee heard expert testimony from the state Department of Education, architects, school facilities professionals and representatives from teachers' unions.
“Every Pennsylvania child deserves to have safe and comfortable learning environments. We know we have an urgent need in school districts across Pennsylvania to address aging school buildings, but what we don’t know is their actual current conditions,” said Education Committee Majority Chair Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh. “I am pleased to see Rep. Fiedler’s legislation pass the House. Her bill would take the necessary steps to get this information compiled, so we can best serve the schools using the most outdated facilities.”
In 2023, Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional. The ruling stated that it is not enough for students to learn in facilities that are “generally safe” but that facilities must be “safe and adequate” to be conducive to learning.
In 2023, the legislature authorized the first facilities improvement funding of $100 million in the state budget, and in 2024, they allocated $125 million. Despite this historic funding in the last two state budgets, progress on addressing the facilities crisis has been delayed. If passed, this legislation would increase the efficiency and speed with which the state Education Department can use this funding to support schools.