As a result of the passage of the 2025-26 state budget the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is moving to implement new policies included in budget-related legislation.

Act 47 of 2025 updated the Public School Code to streamline the certification process for new and existing teachers, giving them more flexibility to teach multiple grades with the same certification. The legislation also reduces educator certification fees, provides new pathways for CTE educators to demonstrate their qualifications, and expands early literacy initiatives. It also reforms Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school law to save public schools an estimated $178 million this school year and improve student safety by holding cyber charter schools accountable when they fail to comply with the requirement to visibly see and communicate with all students at least once per week.

 Updates to the Public School Code in Act 47 of 2025 include:

• STREAMLINING TEACHER CERTIFICATIONS: Offering certifications that allow educators to teach grades PreK-6 and 7-12 rather than only grades PreK-4, 4-8, or 7-12. This change will enable administrators to more easily place educators in crucial educator workforce shortage areas, and expands the grade levels that educators are able to teach.
• REDUCING CERTIFICATION FEES: Reducing educator certification fees, making it more cost effective for individuals to obtain certification.
• EXPANDING THE EDUCATOR WORKFORCE: Creating pathways for individuals with inactive teaching certificates to return to the classroom and for superintendents to become certified CTE directors.
• CREATING NEW PATHWAYS TO CERTIFICATION: Allowing prospective CTE teachers to demonstrate their occupational skills and knowledge based on a review of their credentials and work experience rather than by taking an expensive test.
• EXPANDING EARLY LITERACY INITIATIVES: Expanding early literacy in schools across the Commonwealth by requiring all public schools to adopt evidence-based reading curriculum and identify and provide targeted assistance to students with reading deficiencies.
• REFORMING CYBER CHARTER LAW: Saving $175 million for school districts across Pennsylvania by redefining the cyber charter school funding formula, thereby reducing the tuition payments school districts pay to cyber charter schools.
• IMPROVING STUDENT SAFETY: Improving the health and safety of cyber charter school students by holding cyber charter schools accountable when they fail to comply with the requirement to visibly see and communicate with all students at least once per week.    

The 2025–26 budget delivers more than $900 million in additional funding for pre-K–12 public education. The investments in this year’s budget include:

• $565 million in new adequacy funding to expand support to all school districts across the Commonwealth and a $105 million increase for Basic Education Funding. The adequacy funding formula was expanded to drive out more money to schools.
• $40 million increase for Special Education Funding.
• $125 million for school infrastructure improvements to create safe, healthy learning environments — including $25 million for the Solar for Schools program to lower energy costs and promote sustainability.
• $100 million in annual mental health and school safety funding for K–12 schools, ensuring every student has access to the resources and support they need to thrive.
• Expanded access to school meals, providing universal free breakfast for more than 1.7 million students and free lunch for 22,000 eligible students, with nearly 93 million breakfasts served during the 2024–25 school year — a 13.8 percent increase over two years — including over 70 million meals for students at risk of hunger or from low-income families.

To view the press release, click here.