Schweyer: Budget delivers wins for Pennsylvania students, schools and communities
Rep. Peter G. Schweyer July 12, 2026 | 3:32 PM
HARRISBURG, July 12 – State Rep. Schweyer today issued the following statement on the final passage of the 2026-27 state budget:
“The General Assembly and Governor Shapiro came together and passed a balanced, bold, and bipartisan budget that puts students and communities first. This budget continues our constitutional obligation to ensure schools are fairly funded and that all students, regardless of where they live, have the opportunity to succeed.
“The new spending plan includes $565 million for the third installment of adequacy and tax equity funding, a $50 million increase for basic education funding, and a $50 million increase for special education funding.
Schweyer added, the schools in the 134th district will see the following amounts:
- Allentown School District: $22.8 million increase in state support (equal to 8.2%).
- East Penn School District: $1.5 million increase in state support (equal to 5.9%).
- Salisbury Twp. School District: $176,200 increase in state support (equal to 3.3%).
(Note: these numbers reflect the total state increase combining increases in the Basic Education Formula, Special Education Formula, and the Ready to Learn Grant, aka Adequacy Formula line items.)
“Beyond the financial support for our students, this budget addresses student wellness, safety and health. Cyber charter students will now need to be actually seen by their instructors (and not just have their devices on) to be marked present. Students who are habitually truant will also be prohibited from transferring to a cyber charter school in the middle of the school year unless a judge rules it is in the child’s best interest.
“Schools will also now be required to investigate reports of bullying and immediately notify parents or guardians of the students involved, and school employee training will now be expanded to include suicide prevention and cyberbullying prevention.
“We are implementing new policies for schools and their local law enforcement agencies to understand the layout and grounds for your child’s school; we are establishing a database of the age and status of all public schools in PA, and we are clarifying the lead remediation requirements for school drinking water to follow FDA allowable standards.
“When it comes to student health, public school students in grades K-5 will have access to 30-minute recess periods every day during the school year. We are creating a new Eating Disorder Advisory Committee to provide resources for students’ grades 6-12. And we are updating student BMI calculation requirements to so that they are conducted by healthcare professionals while ensuring student privacy and confidentiality.
“We are reducing waitlists for students choosing to study at a Career and Tech Center like Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI), by allowing CTCs to administer the occupational competency exams before students are in the 12th grade.
“For students pursuing their academics after high school, we are expanding the eligibility for the Grow PA Scholarships to include accelerated master’s degrees and establishing a process for students to petition for eligibility if their course of study tracks into an on-demand field.
“This budget plan continues the massive and highly successful investments in our students and includes many policy changes that will help keep our children safe and healthy. I am so unbelievably thankful to my colleagues in the Education Committee, my hardworking and dedicated committee staff and all the incredible folks that worked tirelessly to get this budget to Governor Shapiro’s desk.”