As the School District of Philadelphia is sued for the death of 12-year-old Laporshia Massey, the State Department of Education faces its own suit. Seven parents and Parents United for Public Education filed a lawsuit in the Commonwealth Court alleging that the Pennsylvania Department of Education violated its legal obligation to investigate allegations of school deficiencies, according to the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), which is working on the suit.

The parents said that more than 800 formal complaints of school conditions last year were never investigated. Instead, many were answered with form letters. Since then, the School District of Philadelphia has undergone even more funding cuts. Parents send students into schools not equipped with aides, nurses, counselors, social workers and other support staff; into overcrowded schools and class rooms that, in some cases, don’t even have enough toilets. More staff could be cut (up to 1,000) if the state legislature does not pass a $2 per pack cigarette tax.

“Teachers and counselors are trying their hardest with the limited resources they have,” Tim Allen, one of the plaintiffs, said. “But if the state will not investigate what is going on in city schools, Philadelphia’s kids will continue to suffer.”

PILCOP said that the suit is separate from an upcoming statewide lawsuit dealing with education funding.