Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law the 2026-27 budget, securing significant investments and policy wins that the Governor called for in his 2026 Budget Address. See below for just some of the 18 budget wins he secured this year:
📃 PROPOSED: An additional $565 million through the bipartisan adequacy formula and tax equity supplements to ensure resources reach the schools that need them most.
✅ SECURED: A $565 million increase through the bipartisan adequacy and tax equity formula – for a total of $1.9 billion driven out to the schools that need them most.
📃 PROPOSED: $50 million more for Basic Education Funding.
✅ SECURED: A $58 million increase in Basic Education Funding.
📃 PROPOSED: $50 million more for Special Education Funding.
✅ SECURED: A $55 million increase in Special Education Funding.
📃 PROPOSED: Requested State Board of Education guidance on scheduled recess and breaks, giving students time for movement, social interaction, and stress management so they return to learning refreshed and ready to succeed.
✅ SECURED: A requirement that schools provide 30 minutes of daily recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, through the School Code.
📃 PROPOSED: Funding for the performance-based funding formula for state-related universities.
✅ SECURED: $10 million through the performance-based funding formula to Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University, $500,000 for University College at Temple University, and $1.1 million for Lincoln University, the nation’s first college-degree-granting HBCU.
📃 PROPOSED: Funding for PHEAA to maintain maximum awards in order to help Pennsylvanians afford college.
✅ SECURED: $5.9 million increase for the Pennsylvania State Grant program through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) to maintain maximum awards.
📃 PROPOSED: $100 million to create the Innovate in PA 2.0 program.
✅ SECURED: $125 million to create the Innovate in PA 2.0 program, funded through Insurance Premium Tax Credits, to provide capital for promising startups, fund clinical trials for the life sciences, and enhance the Commonwealth’s innovation network to help these companies succeed.
📃 PROPOSED: More funding for vo-tech and career and technical education.
✅ SECURED: $10 million increase for CTE programs, for $193 million in total annual workforce development funding – a 60 percent increase compared to when Governor Shapiro took office.
📃 PROPOSED: Additional funding to expand the Child Care Staff Retention and Recruitment Program Governor Shapiro created last year.
✅ SECURED: A $5 million increase for the Child Care Staff Retention and Recruitment Program Governor Shapiro created last year, for a total of $30 million in funding, providing at least $540 per employee annually at licensed Child Care Works providers – an increase on last year’s estimate by about $100 per employee.
📃 PROPOSED: Additional funding to expand the Student Teacher Stipend Program.
✅ SECURED: A $10 million increase allows aspiring teachers to earn income while completing their full-time classroom training.
📃 PROPOSED: Investments to continue supporting the rollout of the Comprehensive Aging Performance Evaluation (CAPE), the Department of Aging’s new tool to increase transparency and accountability across the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Network.
✅ SECURED: $1 million increase for CAPE, which standardizes AAA oversight and publicly reports AAA performance in key areas, like protective services, for the first time.
📃 PROPOSED: Additional funding to advance the Aging Our Way, PA plan.
✅ SECURED: $1 million increase for Aging Our Way, PA — the Shapiro Administration’s comprehensive strategy to transform services and strengthen support for older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers.
📃 PROPOSED: The first-ever dedicated state funding for 988.
✅ SECURED: $10 million in dedicated state funding for the 988 crisis hotline.
📃 PROPOSED: Additional funding for walk-in crisis stabilization centers to support communities’ mental health needs.
✅ SECURED: $5 million for mental health walk-in centers to provide timely and accessible options for Pennsylvanians who need support outside of regular business hours.
📃 PROPOSED: Four more classes of Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) troopers.
✅ SECURED: $16.2 million investment to train four additional PSP cadet classes – delivering in full on a core promise the Governor made to put 2,000 more cops and troopers on the beat in our communities.
📃 PROPOSED: Funding to enhance ChildLine.
✅ SECURED: $658,000 investment to enhance ChildLine staffing and provide more training to all workers — which will allow caseworkers more time and resources to effectively triage calls before referring them to the counties or appropriate agency.
📃 PROPOSED: Funding to ensure the solvency of the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund.
✅ SECURED: A one-time transfer of $20 million from the General Fund to the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program, protecting Pennsylvanians from the most dangerous toxic waste sites throughout the Commonwealth.
📃 PROPOSED: Additional funding to support well plugging across the Commonwealth.
✅ SECURED: A one-time transfer of $19 million to the Well Plugging Program so the Commonwealth can continue to plug abandoned oil and gas wells that pose a potential threat to Pennsylvanians’ health and the environment.
This budget reflects Governor Shapiro’s commitment to delivering results and solving problems — ensuring Pennsylvania remains on a path of sustained growth, stronger communities, and greater opportunity for all — while leaving the Commonwealth with a healthy surplus of approximately $8 billion by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The Governor’s remarks as prepared for the 2026-27 budget signing ceremony can be found here.