Pennsylvania Bill Could Mean Big Changes for Charter Schools

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania state senate bill that could drastically change the way charter schools are authorized, financed and monitored may soon go to vote. S.B. 1085 has drawn both support and opposition from lawmakers, as well as both public and charter school groups. If passed, it will be the first successful legislation reforming Pennsylvania’s charter school system in 16 years.

Despite sponsor, Sen. Lloyd Smucker’s insistence that the amendment “provides assurance…that we are committed to seeing Pennsylvania students receive a top-notch education regardless of the venue,” many groups, including The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, have spoken out against it. Opponents have rallied around a particular provision allowing charter schools to be authorized and renewed by independent entities, such as universities. At present, only the state and school district are authorized to oversee charters.

According to Susan Spicka, co-founder of the public school advocacy group Education Matters, the bill would also allow students from all over the state to enroll in any charter of their choice, even those several districts away. This would require the local school district and taxpayers to bus students to and from the charter school, on top of paying for tuition. She added that the bill would create taxation without representation, and a mandate that taxpayers pay for a system of privately operated charter schools in addition to the traditional public schools they already fund.

On Oct. 29, the Education Law Center also released a report agreeing that the bill “would ultimately gut local control over charter school authorization and growth, encourage unfettered expansion of even poorly operated charter schools, take already underfunded school districts to the brink of financial collapse and remove important accountability tools that school districts can use to ensure charter schools are performing well and equitably serving all kinds of students.”

In response, a group including StudentsFirst, The Black Alliance for Education Options and Philadelphia Charters for Excellence, published a position paper outlining their support for SB 1085. The group admitted the bill needs refining, but stated that it conceptually supports the proposed university authorizers, educator evaluations, removal of enrollment barriers and caps and other provisions. The group calls SB 1085 “a thoughtful and comprehensive step in the right direction.”

Proponents also point to a provision that could save the state roughly $30 million through the prevention of “double dipping” in pension funds and reimbursements, and requires charter schools to return all excess tuition funds to their districts. Together with other funding changes, SB 1085 could save Pennsylvania school districts roughly $150 million over the next two years.

Pennsylvania is currently home to 174 physical charter schools, and an additional 16 based online. More than 40,000 students statewide are currently on charter school waiting lists.