Families have the right to choose the best educational fit for their children

HARRISBURG (March 25, 2020) – The following is a statement from Ana Meyers, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, addressing the issue of enrollment at public cyber charter schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pennsylvania’s public cyber charter schools have consistently offered their help and guidance to brick-and-mortar schools – public, private and charter – seeking to offer online instruction to students. This has been a genuine offer of assistance with no expectation of any benefit to the cyber charter schools.

However, school district officials and anti-charter groups are trying to stop any new students from continuing their instruction at a public cyber charter school. They are calling for a moratorium on enrollment to keep children from benefiting from a cyber charter education. This will only hurt students.
Now is not the time to put politics ahead of the needs of students.

School officials need to work together to find solutions to teach students, not try to stop them from learning. Pennsylvania families deserve the right to choose the education option that is the best fit for their child.

An emergency School Code bill, currently being discussed by state lawmakers, would not allow public cyber charters to receive funding that is currently required by law for any new students who enroll after March 13, 2020, when Governor Wolf issued his directive closing all schools. If passed, this measure would ensure that any increase in enrollment will not result in more funds for public cyber charter schools.

We have been told by the state Department of Education that they will be monitoring cyber charter schools to ensure they are not taking advantage of the pandemic. We call on Governor Wolf and Secretary Rivera to hold all schools to that same standard. This is no time to play politics with our children.

Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools remain willing to help brick-and-mortar schools in need of guidance for online services. We are looking forward to working with our colleagues to ensure as many students as possible receive instruction during this difficult time.”

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For more information or to schedule an interview with Ana Meyers, contact Jessica Hickernell at j.hickernell@pacharters.org.

About PCPCS:

The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS), is the state’s largest and most active organization advocating for both brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools. Pennsylvania’s 180 charter schools educate 140,000+ students and demand for these public schools continue to grow with more than 40,000 students on charter school waitlists. For more information on PCPCS or charters schools, visit www.pacharters.org.