Smith-Wade-El applauds historic investments in education, pioneering affordable housing initiatives in 2026-27 state budget
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus July 12, 2026 | 6:12 PM
HARRISBURG, July 12 -- State Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-Lancaster, celebrated the passage today of a 2026-27 state budget that he said will help achieve equity in Pennsylvania through historic investments in education and housing.
“Access to a high-quality education is the key to opportunity in an ever-increasingly competitive global economy,” Smith-Wade-El said. “This budget will ensure that historically underfunded schools can provide students the high-quality education they need to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.
“But students can’t thrive without stable housing,” he added. “This budget will help people find and keep their homes by protecting tenants and encouraging more housing development.”
The budget makes a $670 million investment statewide in education, which includes a $565 million increase to help rectify historic funding discrepancies, including a $50 million increase in basic education funding and a $50 million increase in special education funding to ensure every student can succeed.
Smith-Wade-El said school districts in the 49th Legislative District will benefit from significant funding increases:
- Lancaster School District: $4.2 million (4% increase)
- Penn Manor School District: $3 million (11.6% increase)
“We’re making sure cyber charter school students have the same protection and support from teachers and staff as their peers in brick-and-mortar schools – and enacting real consequences if the schools don’t put student safety first,” Smith-Wade-El said.
According to Smith-Wade-El, the 2026-27 budget will help increase Pennsylvania’s housing supply by authorizing accessory dwelling units, giving homeowners greater flexibility while increasing the supply of smaller, more affordable housing options for seniors, young adults, caregivers and working families.
In addition, the budget establishes an Affordable Housing Database within the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, with $5 million reserved for affordable housing projects already in the queue.
“I am also very proud that this budget, for the first time in 25 years, increases the cost-of-living adjustment to nearly 60,000 educators who retired before 2002,” Smith-Wade-El said. “Our retired educators devoted their lives to ensuring Pennsylvania’s children had the skills and the knowledge to succeed in life. This COLA increase will ensure they can live their retirement with dignity.”
Smith-Wade-El pointed out that the 2026-27 budget will help reduce Pennsylvanians’ financial stress through a Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, which will return nearly $200 million to 950,000 working families.
Smith-Wade-El applauded that the budget requires data centers with a peak capacity demand of more than 10 megawatts, for the first time, to report energy and water use annually to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
“Data centers’ enormous consumption of electricity and water shouldn't be hidden from the public,” Smith-Wade-El said. “This budget requires greater accountability and transparency so Pennsylvanians can understand how these facilities affect their environment and their wallets.”
The budget also includes the following funding increases and new investments:
- $7 million for SNAP/EBT chip cards.
- $24.2 million for rape crisis response, which nearly doubles funding for that program.
- A 20% increase, to $30 million, for the childcare recruitment and retention program.
- A 9.1% increase for early intervention services for children with developmental delays.
- A 31% increase for Grow PA Scholarships, which offer grants to in-state students who attend college in Pennsylvania, pursue a degree in a high-demand industry, and agree to live and work in that industry in Pennsylvania after graduation.
- Maintained funding levels for the program that provides cash grants to counties for the purchase and distribution of food to low-income residents and for farmers market food coupons – both of which received large increases in the previous budget.
- $6 million for avian flu surveillance and response.
- Critically needed increases for Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance and Children’s Health Insurance Program, along with funding to transition to chip-enabled cards for food assistance recipients.
“Rising inflation has been challenging for all Pennsylvanians,” Smith-Wade-El said. “This budget’s investments will strengthen our communities and will improve residents’ lives today and long into the future.”