Despite Republican concerns that it would jeopardize the online learning programs, a Democratic-sponsored measure to restrict per-student payments to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools and make other changes to their operations barely cleared the state House on Wednesday.
With only two Republicans voting in favor, the 104-98 vote places a marker on the often divisive topic of school funding as state legislators attempt to finish the state budget for the fiscal year that begins in July.
The main component of the extensive legislation was the bill’s $8,000 cap on the amount that public school districts would be required to reimburse the cyber charters.
This would benefit the districts and property taxpayers, who foot the majority of the tab for public education in Pennsylvania. Districts’ payments to cyber charters are currently uncapped and are now based on the amount they spent on their own kids the year before.
Supporters claimed that the 500 school boards in the state support the modifications to the cyber charter standards and that Republican Auditor General Tim DeFoor has just conducted a critical evaluation of cyber school spending.
Opponents countered that the current system is a vital lifeline for families and students who have looked for alternatives to regular schools for a variety of reasons.
The primary components of the bill
According to the measure, school districts would pay cyber charters $8,000 in tuition each year, with possible increases. Funding for special education would also alter.
Cyber charters would be prohibited from keeping cash reserves higher than 12% of their expenditures and from offering parents gifts or payments as inducements to enroll their children.
The bill would strengthen transparency requirements for the finances, instructional materials, and practices of cyber charters.
Through the 2029–2030 academic year, it would prevent the state Education Department from authorizing any more online charter schools. To offer suggestions on funding, governance, and enrollment, a new Cyber Charter School Funding and Policy Council would be established.
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What were the lawmakers’ thoughts on it?
The legislation will “close real schools, displace real students, and strip families of the very choices that they depend on to give their children a chance at success,” according to Philadelphia Republican Representative Martina White during Wednesday’s floor discussion.
Rep. Craig Williams, a Republican from Delaware County, stated that the moratorium would be extremely detrimental to cyber charters.
“You limit the number of cyber charters now in existence, you choke off its funding, and eventually you can kill cyber charter. Sixty-plus thousand students in our school system, finding another way to learn, and we’re going to choke it off with this bill,” Williams stated.
Lehigh County Democratic Representative Peter Schweyer, the chair of the House Education Committee, listed the cyber charter expenditure concerns brought up in the auditor general’s report, including gasoline stipends, gift cards, staff incentives, and automobile payments.
According to leaders of current public cyber charter schools, the proposal would reduce their state-wide financing by at least $450 million, with special education student reimbursements accounting for one-third of the overall cuts.
According to a Democratic investigation, the amount exceeded $600 million.
