School-Funding Suit Clears Legal Hurdle In PA
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Philly.com- On Monday, a lawsuit that has the potential to reshape the way schools are funded in Pennsylvania cleared another legal obstacle.
A panel of Commonwealth Court judges swept away some of the state’s objections to a suit, brought by plaintiffs including Philadelphia parents and the William Penn School District in Delaware County, that contends Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unfair, inadequate, and unconstitutional.
The court overruled a claim by Republican lawmakers that William Penn and the other petitioners had not proven that the current funding system caused harm to students. Judges did, however, say they wanted to hear more information about whether education is a fundamental right.
Lawyers for House Speaker Mike Turzai have argued that students have “no fundamental right to equal education” under the state constitution.
The funding formula does not discharge the state from its obligations, said Maura McInerney, an Education Law Center lawyer representing the plaintiffs along with the Public Interest Law Center. Just 2 percent of all education funding flows through that formula.
Trump Withdraws US From Iran Nuclear Deal
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Today President Donald Trump declared that he was pulling the US our of the Iran nuclear deal. This decision unravels the foreign policy achievement of Barack Obama, further isolating the United States from its Western allies.
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” Mr. Trump said at the White House in announcing his decision. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
Dancing College Grads Dragged Aggressively Off Commencement Stage
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During a spring commencement ceremony, The University of Florida’s staff aggressively dragged 21 graduates off the stage this weekend as they celebrated their achievements.
“In general, I don’t think I’ve ever been handled in that manner, not even by my parents,” Oliver Telusma told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Monday. “It’s kind of embarrassing, kind of degrading.”
Another student, Nafeesah Attah, told “GMA” the dances were symbolic gestures of joy that had meaning rooted to their fraternities and sororities. She said the response of the white university staff member who grabbed her and the others and shoved them off stage “was not arbitrary.”
“It was definitely contingent on your race … other white students who were dancing were not perceived as a threat,” Attah said.
University of Florida President Kent Fuchs acknowledged that the school had been “inappropriately aggressive” when rushing the students off stage to move the ceremony along.
