On April 14, 2026. the PA House passed HB 2400, the PA House Budget proposal. The bill contains nearly $700 million to help close long‑standing funding gaps among PA school districts. This is the third year of increased funding for Pennsylvania schools. All 102 House Democrats were joined by five Republicans to pass the budget with a 107-92 vote.

Nearly 80% of the budget’s expenditures are dedicated to just two state agencies: the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) with $21.9 billion and the PA Department of Education (PDE) with $20.6 billion. Roughly $1 billion of the increase to DHS will fund Medicaid increases, which Democrats said will shrink if the state increases the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour, which is the federal minimum, to $15 per hour.

The budget proposal now moves on to the PA Senate where Republican leadership has stated that the budget will not pass in its current form. Last year, disagreements between Senate Republicans and House Democrats over spending caused the budget to be passed 135 days past the June 30th deadline.

On April 15, 2026, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Deputy Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) Amy Lena highlighted the importance of investing in career and technical education (CTE) and how those investments are expanding access to CTE in Pennsylvania schools and have helped 3,000 additional students across the Commonwealth enroll in CTE classes.

Since 2023, the Shapiro Administration has increased funding in CTE by $65 million – nearly 50 percent – helping to expand access for students, not only in career and technical centers (CTCs), but also through CTE programs right in their high schools. As a result, CTE enrollment has continued to grow under the administration, with more than 3,000 additional students engaging in CTE and career readiness programming.

An example of the effective use of this funding is Williamsport Area High School. The school offers 15 different CTE programs, including an Educator Rising program which was created under with the use of such funding in 2023 to engage and prepare secondary students interested in pursuing a career in education. At Williamsport, the program is designed for students who aspire to become educators, and provides a comprehensive foundation in teaching and learning through coursework such as Methods in Education, Developmental Psychology, Educational Technology, Neuroscience in Education, and more. The district also offers a Classroom Management Simulator for current educators and staff in the district, allowing them to practice management techniques and instructional strategies through six different scenarios they may encounter in the classroom.

Subsequently, during the 2024-25 budget cycle, Williamsport Area School District (WASD) was able to use more than $700,000 in adequacy funding to continue expanding and establishing CTE programs in their high school, including a state-of-the-art $3 million welding lab.

For more on how (WASD) has enhanced CTE programming, click here.

On April 15, 20256 Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe participated in a roundtable with students and staff at Pottstown Middle School to show how mental health supports implemented in the Pottstown School District have improved outcomes in student success across the school district.

Since January 2023, Pennsylvania has made available nearly $375 million to our schools to support student mental health and security needs, which is a piece of the nearly $3 billion increase the Shapiro Administration has made available to schools to give them the resources they need to create opportunity for every student to succeed.

In  the Pottstown School District, such funding was used to hire a coach focused on student mental health and wellbeing. That coach has helped students go from failing every class to getting good grades, being on track to graduate, and attend college. As a result, the school district has also seen a 90 percent decrease in problematic behaviors like skipping class, a 20 percent decrease in failing grades, and a 40 percent increase in regular attendance

Presently, Governor Shapiro has included another $111 million in his 2026-27 budget proposal for school safety and mental health supports. Thus far, under the Shapiro Administration more than 800 schools have expanded access to mental health services, and more than 200 counselors have been hired since 2023.

For more details on the Pottstown School District program, click here.