Will Pennsylvania Finally Reform Its Cyber Charter School System?
From Forbes.com
Pennsylvania is a national leader in cyber charter schools, both in the number of students enrolled and the number of taxpayer dollars spent. But the laws governing cyber charters have not been significantly updated in over two decades.
A report released in January of 2022 by Children First found that of the 27 states with cyber charters, Pennsylvania spends the most but has the “weakest systems to ensure students and taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.” And taxpayers are not; reports repeatedly find that the cyber charters are underperforming.
Even the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has called for cyber charter reform. Nationally, cyber charters have a low graduation rate; one report found that 73% of cyber charters have a graduation rate below 50%. Another reports that students stay in cyber-charters for an average of only two years.
But cyber charters in Pennsylvania grab a ton of money for their owners, and though the previous governor pushed hard for some simple reforms, Tom Wolf left office with those reforms still unrealized.
Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General under Republican Auditor General Timothy DeFoor released an audit of five of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools that was highly critical of the system, and now a bill has passed the state House that would address issues raised by that report.