charter-schools
‘Bizarre’ circumstances have a charter school appeal stuck in limbo in Harrisburg, with taxpayers footing the bill
On three separate occasions since June, two teams of lawyers from Pittsburgh have traveled to Harrisburg to argue the same exact case before a powerful state board. And on three separate occasions, the board has told the lawyers the same exact thing: It doesn’t have enough members to render a legitimate verdict. “We’re like Bill […]
During Capitol rally, charter school parents, students vow to push back against Wolf’s proposed reforms
Wolf announced a series of executive actions in July imposing new fees and ethics requirements on charter schools. Public school districts would also be authorized to limit enrollment to low-performing charters.
With battle lines drawn, is there a way to ‘Yes’ on charter school reform? | John L. Micek
As they fight over turf, it often seems like the two sides in Pa's argument over charter schools are forgetting their first duty: The state's children.
Poor school districts are funding the state’s cyber charter schools, research shows. That wasn’t always the case
Poor districts disproportionately fund the state’s cyber charter sector, which reliably produces low test scores and graduation rates for its students, new research shows.
Pennsylvania’s charter schools, explained: How they work, and why Gov. Wolf wants to reform them
The debate over charter school funding has reached a “crisis point," education advocates say.
Rolling out charter school reforms, Wolf calls for a ‘level playing field’
The new executive actions will authorize the Pennsylvania Department of Education to recoup the cost of administering the charter school law by billing charter schools for payment processing and legal and administrative assistance, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday.
In 2017, Pa. lawmakers outlawed ‘lunch shaming.’ Now, alternative meals are back.
School administrators say a well-intentioned policy change in the state’s sprawling school code has allowed lunch debt to skyrocket.
Public school advocates called for greater accountability for cyber charters. Then things got heated
A small rally in favor of cyber charter school funding reform led to a heated debate between education advocates in the state Capitol on Tuesday, the same day the House considered a slate of bills that would impose new regulations on the state’s charter sector. At issue was the performance of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools, […]
To help balance the books, school officials ask Pa. lawmakers to boost basic ed funding, reform charter school law
A Stanford study found that Pennsylvania’s charter schools failed to deliver better reading education to their students than traditional public schools, and often delivered a worse education in math.
At Capitol rally, educators call for charter school funding reform, better oversight
Some 200 educators gathered in the state Capitol rotunda Monday to call for changes in the way the state pays for the taxpayer-funded institutions.
Charter school cap efforts are gaining momentum. Here’s why | Analysis
A number of states are considering laws to put charter school growth on pause, saying they drain resources from public schools. A school finance expert explains the logic behind the efforts.
Charter schools exploit lucrative loophole that would be easy to close | Both Sides Now
Charter school operators have been capitalizing on lax laws that let them lease building space to themselves at above-market rates. A simple ban could end the practice, two education scholars argue.