Charter and Cyber-Charter Schools

Pennsylvania authorized traditional charter schools with Act 22 of 1997.  Subsequently, Act 88 of 2002 permitted cyber charter schools.  Both types of charter schools are intended to serve as laboratories for educational innovation and are important options available to parents. 
Reform of the laws regarding charter and cyber charter schools has been the subject of various pieces of legislation in the past few sessions of the General Assembly.  This site contains information on legislation introduced in the current 2011-12 session.

House Refuses to Vote on Vouchers, Charter Expansion Fails

On Dec. 14, 2011, the House of Representatives dropped its plan to run a voucher bill, and a proposal to expand charter schools and the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program was defeated with a vote of 90-105.

Republican leaders had worked to get enough support to run some variation of a voucher plan, ranging from the language for a full plan as described in SB 1 as passed by the Senate to scaled back pilot programs. Numerous amendments were filed by various legislators to bills that could be used as vehicles, including SB 560, SB 858 and SB 743.  In the end, it was just three amendments to SB 560 that mattered -- two for vouchers (full scale and pilot plans), and one for charter/EITC expansion. However, no agreement could be reached and during the afternoon a decision was made not to make the attempt to run a voucher amendment.

Without sufficient support for vouchers, the House leaders decided to instead focus on a charter school/EITC expansion plan. Amendment A07732, filed by House Majority Leader Rep. Mike Turzai and drafted by Rep. Tom Killion, was similar to the language of HB 1348 and included provisions to establish a new statewide commission to authorize charter schools. Provisions regarding EITC expansion were similar to those under HB 1330, and would have increased the tax credits available to businesses to $100 million for 2011-12 and to $200 million for 2012-2013 and subsequent years.

As the evening’s session wore on, there was a constant undercurrent of activity as leaders tried to shore up enough support. At about 9:30 p.m., SB 560 was brought up for a vote and Amendment A07732 was offered.  One argument to Amendment A07732 that failed with a 107-88 vote was whether the language, which would amend the School Code, was germane to the original language of SB 560, which is a freestanding act to establish a State Military College Legislative Appointment Initiative Program. The debate lasted until about 10:50 p.m. when the question was finally called, with legislators keeping in mind the House rule that prohibits session from going past 11 p.m. The rules allow 10 minutes for voting, and with just minutes left in the session, the amendment was defeated 90-105.

• See how legislators voted

The Issues

• Setting the Record Straight: The Truth About Charter School Misconceptions (Dec. 8)
• Charter schools are unaffordable, underperforming and unaccountable
• Fact Sheet: While PSBA supports charter schools and their role in providing Pennsylvania students an alternative to traditional public education, PSBA does not support current charter school reform proposals. Here's why.
• PSBA's testimony on SB 904, August 2011
• Auditor General cites flawed funding system for charter schools
• The public says no: October 2011 poll
• Issue Brief
• NSBA Issue Brief
• Summary of SB 904 and HB 1348

Resources/Toolkit

• Sample Resolution: Resolution Supporting Reform of the Charter and Cyber Charter School Funding Formula (March 27, 2012)

• Frequently Asked Questions About Charter and Cyber Charter Schools , October 2011
• Talking points
• Charter expansion editorial
• Sample Resolution (.doc or .txt)
• Case Study: Report from the Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Pike Counties
  

  In order to explain the impact of charter schools to their communities, 26 superintendents
  from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties worked together to produce this comprehensive report that takes a critical look at three aspects of charter schools in their areas: how they are funded, how they are held accountable and operate, and how they perform in terms of student achievement compared to their public school counterparts. The superintendents shared this report with their legislators.  

  • Executive Summary
  • Regional Position Paper: Rationale to Course-correct the Funding for Charter and Cyber Charter Schools