“I believe every child of God deserves a shot here in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on Fox News in 2023. “And one of the best ways we can guarantee their success is making sure every child has a quality education.”

Unfortunately, not every child of God receives a quality education in Pennsylvania, especially in Philadelphia. In fact, Philly children have endured much worse, including no bathroom breaks and rampant antisemitism.

The district’s academic record has been notoriously atrocious. More than half of Philadelphia’s student body attends a state-designated “low-achieving school,” the bottom 15% based on statewide testing. Four out of 5 Philadelphia fourth-graders aren’t proficient in reading or math, according to the Nation’s Report Card. Only 6% of Philadelphia eighth-graders are proficient in science.

Scores are so bad that the district is even trying to pay students to study and retake tests.

Philadelphia schools are also riddled with danger and dysfunction.

Recently, Philadelphia parents have raised concerns about teachers denying students bathroom breaks. Some students have become so desperate that they wear diapers to school to avoid public humiliation. Philadelphia teachers are denying not just hall passes but also basic human dignity.

As a mother, I’m appalled by this. The mistreatment of children, especially by a school system to which so many parents entrust their sons and daughters, shocks the conscience. I imagine every parent reading about this will feel the same way.

Unfortunately, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Other reporting has uncovered dozens of teachers convicted of serious crimes remaining in classrooms or lounging in district-funded “rubber rooms” for months while under investigation. Meanwhile, the union protecting these teachers recently voted to authorize a strike, which will undoubtedly disrupt Philadelphia classrooms.

Philly schools also have an asbestos problem. Since 2020, the Justice Department has investigated the district’s asbestos monitoring program. The lengthy investigation highlighted a “longstanding and widespread problem of asbestos contamination … that endangered students and teachers,” leading the agency to file criminal charges against the school district last month.

Though the district may claim funding is the problem, the numbers tell a different story. During a 2023 presentation, the district discussed its multimillion-dollar contracts to outsource its asbestos monitoring. Reporting revealed that independent investigators detected asbestos, which one contracted company, Tetra Tech, failed to detect.

Tetra Tech has a $24 million contract with the district.

Sadly, this isn’t the only federal investigation targeting the School District of Philadelphia.

The Education Department recently concluded an investigation highlighting rampant antisemitism in the schools. For years, Philadelphia Jewish students have endured death threats, swastika graffiti and Nazi salutes. The federal investigation concluded that the school district failed to protect Jewish students from this hostile environment.

Since then, little has happened to remedy the situation. Frustrated Jewish parents even reached out to Mr. Shapiro, also a practicing Jew, but to no avail. One parent’s account said the governor has “done nothing.”

Now, Mr. Shapiro’s office refuses to respond to their messages.

This isn’t the first time the governor has failed to protect Philadelphia children.

More than two years ago, Mr. Shapiro made national headlines when he expressed support for school choice programs that break from his party’s rigid orthodoxy. As a gubernatorial candidate, he said he was open to reforms such as the Lifeline Scholarship Program. Under this program, students attending Pennsylvania’s low-achieving schools could qualify for educational savings accounts, empowering them with resources to find private schools that better meet their academic needs.

The program nearly became law in 2023 — until the teachers unions mobilized against it. The unions’ pressure campaign influenced the governor to veto the program.

It’s no wonder he buckled: Unions are among Mr. Shapiro’s biggest donors. In fact, during his gubernatorial run, Mr. Shapiro was the nation’s biggest recipient of campaign donations from organized labor, taking in more than $4.5 million from government unions alone.

Mr. Shapiro learned his lesson. Since the veto, he has sounded more like an opponent of school choice. His 2025-2026 budget plan proposed cutting funding to cyber charter schools statewide. These cuts threaten the 60,000 Pennsylvania students who attend cyber charters, potentially forcing them to return to the abysmal schools they initially escaped.

Instead of prioritizing children, the governor wants to bail out mass transit agencies. His budget proposal calls for $300 million of state funds transferred to agencies such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Yet SEPTA, which already received about $1.5 billion from the state last year, continues to lose ridership.

Such backward policy priorities reveal a fundamental flaw in Philadelphia. Apparently, empty buses and feckless unions deserve a lifeline more than students stuck in the city’s failing, violent schools.

Megan Martin is the chief operating officer and general counsel for the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free market think tank.