On June 1, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed a May 2017 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision, which found that the Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PDE”) violated Charter School Law by not redirecting money from the Philadelphia School District to KIPP Philadelphia Charter Schools and Richard Allen Preparatory School as intended by the legislature. The Commonwealth Court also awarded more than $600,000, which included attorney’s fees, to KIPP and Richard Allen. PDE had appealed the decision. The Supreme Court Order confirms that PDE has a mandatory legislative duty to withhold school district funds for charter schools upon receiving a redirection request and also allows Conrad O’Brien clients KIPP and Richard Allen to recover attorney’s fees awarded by the Commonwealth Court.
KIPP and Richard Allen Prep are represented by Pat Hennessy, Jud Aaron, Kathy Nagle, and Andrew Garden from Conrad O’Brien.