HARRISBURG — Public school advocates today sued top state officials, alleging that an irrational system of distributing state subsidies is creating academic inequities and depriving many students of the “thorough and efficient” public education system that the state constitution guarantees.

The lawsuit says the state has established strict academic standards but failed to provide equal resources for students who must meet them. The plaintiffs contend that per-pupil spending ranges from less than $10,000 in districts with low property values and incomes to more than $28,000 in those with higher property values and incomes.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the current funding formula violates the constitution and order state officials to devise a funding system that passes constitutional muster.

Six school districts, seven parents, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in state Commonwealth Court by the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia-based Education Law Center.

Defendants include the governor and the presiding officers of the state House and Senate and the state Department of Education.

School districts in the suit are William Penn, Panther Valley School District, Lancaster School District, Greater Johnstown School District, Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Shenandoah Valley School District.

“How are kids supposed to pass the tests required to graduate (from) high school, find a job and contribute to our economy if their schools are starving for resources?” asked Jamela Millar, who has an 11-year-old child enrolled in the William Penn School District in Delaware County.