2026-08-11T18:54:28-04:00 2025-09-30 WITHUMSMITHBROWN PC 1835 MARKET STREET SUITE 1710 PHILADELPHIA PA 191032945 990 2024-10-01 232581102 Education Law Center - PA % MANAGEMENT EDUC 2152386970 1800 John F Kennedy Blvd Suite 190 Philadelphia PA 19103 DEBORAH GORDON KLEHR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 2152386970 2026-08-11 true true Thomas Parisi P00013287 2155462140 2026-08-11 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z DEBORAH GORDON KLEHR 1800 John F Kennedy Blvd 1900A Philadelphia PA 19103 8273405 false X WWW.ELC-PA.ORG X 1989 PA TO ENSURE ACCESS TO A QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN IN PENNSYLVANIA 20 20 22 24 0 0 3834190 3477529 449865 345720 248139 288260 2535 3450 4534729 4114959 0 0 0 0 1877464 2034856 72000 79380 234226 638143 548508 2587607 2662744 1947122 1452215 10254719 12052041 1004487 945716 9250232 11106325 X THE EDUCATION LAW CENTER'S (ELC) MISSION IS TO ENSURE ACCESS TO A QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN IN PENNSYLVANIA. OUR PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES INCLUDE DIRECT REPRESENTATION, IMPACT LITIGATION, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, POLICY ADVOCACY AT LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LEVELS, AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS. OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS, ELC HAS BEEN A KNOWN RESOURCE FOR PARENTS, CHILD-SERVING PROFESSIONALS, AND ADVOCATES IN PENNSYLVANIA TO CALL FOR RIGHTS-BASED INFORMATION AND ADVICE REGARDING PUBLIC EDUCATION MATTERS. WE ARE ALSO A LEADER IN PUBLIC EDUCATION ADVOCACY, SECURING POLICY CHANGES ALONGSIDE LOCAL AND STATEWIDE PARTNERS. false false 1952527 345720 The Education Law Center-PA's (ELC-PA) mission is to ensure access to a quality public education for all children in Pennsylvania. Over the past 50 years, ELC-PA has been a known resource for parents, child-serving professionals, and advocates in Pennsylvania. Our principal strategies include direct representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, community engagement, and strategic communications. With offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, we work statewide to provide immediate relief to individual students while also advancing systems-level reforms that benefit thousands of underserved students, guided by our three priority areas: 1) Ensuring Equal Access to Quality Public Schools: ELC-PA addresses real-time educational barriers and systemic concerns impacting the educational experiences of underserved student populations. Our focus is improving education access for children living in poverty, children with disabilities, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children experiencing homelessness, multilingual learners, LGBTQ+ youth, and children at the intersection of multiple underserved identities. Our Helpline is the only free legal service solely focused on helping students access a quality public education in Pennsylvania, providing information, advice, referrals, legal consultation, and direct representation. We also produce publications and conduct trainings to help parents, caregivers, and child-serving professionals advocate on behalf of the children in their care. 2) Advocating for Fair Education Funding: ELC-PA works with statewide and local partners to push for the changes needed to address Pennsylvania's school funding crisis. We filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth over a decade ago for failure to fund public education under the state constitution. We won this case in a decisive 2023 victory in Commonwealth Court, in an order and opinion finding education is a fundamental right and deeming the state's current funding system unconstitutional and discriminatory. Now, we are focused on the remedy. Our litigation is complemented by policy advocacy, including budget advocacy through the PA Schools Work (PASW) coalition, as well as educating policymakers on the state's education funding system, our lawsuit, and the necessary funding increases to ensure the state is adequately and equitably funding public education. 3) Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline: ELC-PA aims to end school pushout by eliminating exclusionary discipline policies that disproportionately harm Black and Brown youth, students with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth, with a focus on advancing the rights of Black girls. In addition to confronting discriminatory policies, we advocate for schools to adopt research-based interventions that will improve school climates and build inclusive, antiracist, and affirming schools. In the juvenile justice system, we aim to ensure that children can access the full range of public education programs, in part by advocating for the structures necessary to improve oversight of education in residential facilities. We also provide individual representation when students are excluded from the classroom without due process. OUR IMPACT We have seen monumental wins for students across Pennsylvania as a result of ELC-PA's 50 years of advocacy. Recent wins include: Secured a second year of historic new investments in Pennsylvania's most underfunded schools, bringing us closer to an equitable and constitutionally compliant school funding system mandated by the landmark decision in our Commonwealth Court case. Pushed back on federal efforts to undermine public education, including efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, deprive public schools of essential funding that supports our most underserved students, and drastically reduce federal enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. ELC-PA partners with organizations across the country to fight back through advocacy, federal comments, and amicus briefs, while providing critical Pennsylvania-specific context and demonstrating the real impact these federal threats have on local students and schools. Educated communities and school officials statewide on the rights of immigrant students in our public schools and provided model policies and protocols to ensure continued access to safe learning environments. Advocated for the passage of Pennsylvania's CROWN Act, helping secure new statutory protections that protect public school students against racial hair discrimination based on hair type, hair texture, or protective hairstyles like braids, twists, knows and locs. Public school students are specifically protected by this law. Released a report, along with Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, that analyzed statewide data and identified education barriers impacting children and youth in foster care based on ELC-PA's representation. The report relies on statewide data not previously disclosed and breaks new ground by detailing the educational outcomes and glaring inequities for students in care. Assisted children experiencing homelessness, in foster care, and in the juvenile justice system to receive the education they need and deserve. Represented more than 90 families to secure early intervention services for their young children with disabilities and advocated for new systemic policies to ensure effective transition from preschool to kindergarten. Supported parent advocacy in 38 school districts, countering harmful, extremist school board policies that exclude transgender students and create hostile school environments for Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ students. Remedied special education deficiencies through state complaints that led to new policies expanding access to education for youth in detention centers in Philadelphia and Allegheny County. Through ELC-PA's Helpline, annually support more than 1,000 students and families - primarily those who are most marginalized by our education system at the intersection of race, gender, and disability. 1952527 true true false true false false false false false false true false false true true true true false false false false false false true true false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 19 0 true 22 true false false false false false true true false false false false false false X 20 20 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true true false PA X MANAGEMENT 2152386970 1800 JOHN F KENNEDY BLVD STE 1900A Philadelphia PA 19103 DEBORAH GORDON KLEHR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40.0 0.0 X 170944 0 28834 MAURA I MCINERNEY Legal Director 40.0 0.0 X 151740 0 24167 MICHAEL D MCCLARY Dir. of Finance & Operations 40.0 0.0 X 107825 0 24707 MARGARET M WAKELIN SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY 40.0 0.0 X 103687 0 14412 HETAL S DHAGAT SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY 40.0 0.0 X 108889 0 4269 Adam Borrelli TREASURER 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Geneva Campbell Brown BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Deb Carlos Secretary 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Rotonya Carr BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Brian Downey BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 W John Lee Vice President 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Lynne N Leonard BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Lezlie Madden BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Fred Magaziner BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Amy Malen BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Edwin Mayorga BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Danielle Moseley BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Al Motley BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Dorothy Novick BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Kathryn Potalivo President 1.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Lisa Silverman BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 John S Summers BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Neha Vapiwala Plastaras BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Courtney Marello BOARD MEMBER 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 David Buckman Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 643085 0 96389 5 false true false 0 671741 2805788 3477529 ATTORNEY FEES 541100 345720 345720 345720 264287 264287 0 0 0 0 0 4076436 4052463 23973 23973 23973 105983 671741 105983 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OTHER INCOME 900099 3450 3450 3450 4114959 345720 291710 0 0 0 0 344884 258929 63115 22840 0 1357497 1032809 233841 90847 31500 21924 6804 2772 174802 122426 41939 10437 126173 95995 21734 8444 0 13815 13815 50358 50358 0 79380 79380 0 185199 179907 5292 0 0 32425 24416 5852 2157 0 0 155489 117088 28057 10344 12972 9768 2341 863 0 0 0 0 4250 3201 767 282 18155 13671 3276 1208 BOOKS, SUBS & RESOURCES 60462 46994 9840 3628 MISCELLANEOUS 15383 11584 2775 1024 2662744 1952527 475991 234226 X 131608 127037 1964237 2542885 1330490 1377571 194277 342569 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48555 40615 109395 89717 23928 19678 5944328 7077233 0 0 0 0 0 0 617296 524453 10254719 12052041 224914 275003 0 0 85569 80842 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 694004 589871 1004487 945716 X 7367112 8615706 1883120 2490619 9250232 11106325 10254719 12052041 X 1452215 329967 73911 X false true X true false X 3276730 2161208 2375137 3834190 3477529 15124794 0 0 3276730 2161208 2375137 3834190 3477529 15124794 3186563 11938231 41754 42531 48837 246514 264287 643923 0 22322 61693 60190 67414 3450 215069 15983786 1570035 0.74690 0.72223 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 6255 43630 49885 2478403 2528288 276414 69104 262689 258999 273325 276414 1071427 1607141 50742 51156 50478 49885 202261 65672 64750 68331 69104 267857 401786 12599 12475 12305 6255 43634 58582 38904 19678 50813 50813 0 19678 0 OPERATING LEASE LIABILITY 589871 589871 X 4674895 329967 156058 73911 559936 4114959 4114959 2818802 156058 156058 2662744 2662744 PART X, LINE 2: GAAP REQUIRES MANAGEMENT TO EVALUATE TAX POSITIONS TAKEN AND RECOGNIZE A TAX LIABILITY, IF ELC HAS TAKEN AN UNCERTAIN TAX POSITION THAT MORE LIKELY THAN NOT WOULD NOT BE SUSTAINED UPON EXAMINATION BY A GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY. ELC'S FEDERAL AND STATE INFORMATION RETURNS FOR THE 2022-2024 TAX YEARS REMAIN OPEN TO EXAMINATION BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE AND APPLICABLE STATE TAXING AUTHORITIES. MANAGEMETN HAS ANALYZED THE TAX POSITIONS TAKEN BY ELC AND HAS CONCLUDED THAT AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 AND 2024, THERE ARE NO UNCERTAIN POSITIONS TAKEN OR EXPECTED TO BE TAKEN THAT WOULD REQUIRE RECOGNITION OF A LIABILITY OR DISCLOSURE IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. PART XI, LINE 2D: CHANGE IN VALUE OF CHARITABLE REMAINDER UNITRUSTS $73,911 X X X X X X X true ELEVATE LLC 2424 19TH ST NW WASHINGTON DC 20009 Grant Writing false 0 79380 0 0 79380 0 PA ANNUAL EVENT 777724 671741 105983 105983 0 777724 671741 105983 105983 105983 X X false false false false false false false false false DEBORAH GORDON KLEHR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 156444 0 14500 0 0 0 3000 0 25834 0 199778 0 0 0 MAURA I MCINERNEY Legal Director 141740 0 10000 0 0 0 3000 0 21167 0 175907 0 0 0 FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B: THE FORM 990 IS THOROUGHLY REVIEWED BY ELC'S ACCOUNTANT, THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE FINAL FORM 990 IS PROVIDED TO BOARD MEMBERS PRIOR TO FILING. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C BOARD MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO ANNUALLY SIGN A DISCLOSURE STATEMENT DETAILING ANY SITUATIONS THAT MIGHT GIVE RISE TO A CONFLICT. THE POLICY IS REGULARLY MONITORED BY THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15: THE BOARD SETS COMPENSATION OF THE AGENCY'S PAID EXECUTIVE STAFF USING AVAILABLE DATA INCLUDING A COMPARISON OF SALARIES AND BENEFITS PAID TO THOSE OF LIKE SIZED, OPERATED AND STRUCTURED NONPROFITS. THE AGENCY HAS NO OTHER "KEY EMPLOYEES" AS DEFINED BY 990 INSTRUCTIONS. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND POLICY STATEMENTS ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. FORM 990, PART XI, LINE 9, CHANGES IN NET ASSETS: CHANGE IN VALUE OF CHARITABLE REMAINDER UNITRUSTS $73,911