Dive Brief:

• Philadelphia parents are suing the Pennsylvania Department of Education for glossing over an investigation into claims of "massive curriculum deficiencies." 
• The parents and the education group Parents United for Public Education filed their claim Tuesday, alleging that the state violated its obligation to adequately probe the issue   
• Another suit, focused on inadequate education funding, is on its way.  

Dive Insight:

In the 2013-14 school year, 825 complaints were filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Education on a plethora of topics including overcrowded classrooms and "squalid and insufficient toilet facilities." All of these issues can be linked to budget cuts resulting from a lack of state funding. The overcrowding of classrooms is one of the examples of a curriculum deficiency. How are students expected to do their best work when there are 35 teenagers crammed into a room?

Many of the issues in Philadelphia seem to parallel problems seen in Detroit Public Schools, were overcrowding — also due to a lack of funding — has become an issue. At the beginning of the summer, the DPS emergency manager announced a budget plan calling for five additional students per classroom, bringing the average to 35-40 students per class.