Lawsuit: Pennsylvania is failing its schoolchildren

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania has failed its constitutional duty to provide its students with an adequate education, a long-running lawsuit brought by school districts, parents and activist groups alleged Wednesday before a panel of judges in Philadelphia.

The legal challenge to how schools are funded largely hinges on language in the Pennsylvania constitution that requires lawmakers to provide a thorough and efficient system of public education.

A mother of two children enrolled in a high school outside Philadelphia spoke of jam-packed classrooms without computers or textbooks, where track team members train in hallways because there's no a track. She said the state is clearly failing its pupils.