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    Summary of State Appropriations for Education

    The following file contains a summary of the funding levels for the state education appropriations in the Enacted 2024-25 Fiscal Year Budget.

    2024-25 Enacted Summary of State Edu​cation Appropriations​​ (Excel)

    Basic Education Funding

    The Enacted 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes $8,157,444,000 for the Basic Education Funding appropriation. This amount is a $285,000,000 (3.62%) increase over the 2023-24 enacted fiscal year appropriation. The enacted budget includes:

    • Increase of $225,000,000 in the student-weighted distribution formula to continue sustained investment in school district basic education programs.
    • Increase of $60,000,000 to provide a hold harmless relief supplement

    2024-25 Estimated Ba​sic Education Funding​ (Excel)

    Ready to Learn Block Grant

    The Enacted 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes $821,500,000 for the Ready to Learn Block Grant.  This amount is a $526,000,000 increase (178%) over the 2023-24  fiscal year appropriation.  The enacted budget includes:

    • $295,500,000 for Ready To Learn Block Grant Foundation
    • $526,000,000 for Adequacy and Tax Equity supplements

    2024-25 Enacted Ready to Learn Block Grant (Excel)

    Special Education Funding

    The Enacted 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes $1,486,815,000 for the Special Education appropriation. This amount is a $100,000,000 increase (7.21%) over the 2023-24  fiscal year appropriation.

    For the Special Education Funding component, new dollars after the 2013-2014 fiscal year total approximately $430,100,000.

    2024-25 Estimated Special Education Funding​ (Excel)

    The Enacted 2024-25 fiscal year Special Education appropriation also includes funding of approximately $109,179,178 for the following components, per Pennsylvania School Code: Special Education Contingency Fund, Core Services funding to Intermediate Units, Institutionalized Children's Program funding, special education for wards of state students, and special education for students placed out of state.

    Cyber Charter Transition 

    The Enacted 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes $100,000,000 for the Cyber Charter Transition appropriation to reimburse school districts for the cost of tuition paid to cyber charter schools. 

    2024-25 Enacted Cyber Charter Transition (Excel)

    Secondary Career and Technical Education Subsidy

    The enacted 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes approximately $118,027,000 for the Secondary Career and Technical Education Subsidy.

    Governo​​​r Shapiro's proposed 2024-25 fiscal year budget includes $94,537,0000 for the Secondary Career and Technical Education Subsidy (SCTES).

    The formula for the SCTES ​​is described in section 2502.8 of the Pennsylvania Public School Code.

    Reimbursement is provided for the following vocational programs: agriculture education, distributive education, health occupations education, ho​​me economics education (gainful), business education, technical education, trade and industrial education, or any other occupational-oriented program approved by the Secretary of Education.

    The subsidy is calculated as ​follows:

    • ​Determine the vo​​cational average daily membership (VADM) by: multiplying the average daily membership of students in vocational programs in a career and technology center by 0.2668; multiplying the average daily membership of students in vocational programs in a school district (SD) or charter school by 0.2178.

    • Determine the based ​​earned for reimbursement (BER) using the state median actual instruction expense per weighted average daily membership (AIE/WADM) and the equalized mills (EqM):

      ​BER = State Median AIE/WADM – Highest EqM – SD EqM x $200
                                                                   Highest EqM – Lowest EqM

    • The formula amount equals the lesser of the AIE/WADM or the BER multiplied by the greater of the market value/personal income aid ratio or 0.3750 multiplied by the VADM

    • Beginning in the 2019-20 fiscal year, payments will not be proportionately reduced in accordance with section 2502.8 (f).

    • The following files provide proposed funding allocations for the 2024-25 fiscal year.  The 2023-24 file will be updated in May to reflect updated 2022-23 Average Daily Membership and Actual Instruction Expense.  The data updates will impact allocations moving forward.

    2024-2025 Proposed Secondary Career and Technical Education Subsidy​ (Excel)