How Legislation May Impact Government Transparency and Charter Schools
There are a few new Pennsylvania legislative actions that are working their way through the PA State House and the PA Senate. We are focusing on those that impact government transparency and charter schools. In addition, we will provide an update on the progress of the bills impacting the Election Code, which were discussed previously and can be seen here.
NEW BILLS
Right-to-Know Law Revisions
SB 686 – Destruction of Right-to-Know Documents Criminal Offense
This bill, introduced by Sen. Chris Dush, makes it a third degree felony to destroy or alter documents that are the subject of a Right-to-Know request. The maximum penalty for committing such a crime is 7 years in prison and a fine up to $15,000. This bill passed the PA Senate with a 31-18 bipartisan vote. It will now go to the PA House for consideration.
NOTE: Considering the PA Governor’s Office withheld and destroyed data from a Broad+Liberty Right-to-Know request, this bill may not get through the House. If it does pass, then Governor Shapiro may not sign it, lest someone(s) in his office be charged with a felony!
SB 790 – Vexatious Requestors
Sen. Chris Dush also introduced this bill which is meant to address government agencies’ complaints about “burdensome” requests by the public for public information. This bill would allow local and state agencies to petition the state’s Office of Open Records (OOR) for relief from “vexatious requestors.” The reasons for relief include: the number, scope, and content of requests and the conduct of the requestor. Although many of these grounds could be considered subjective, if the OOR agrees with the agency, then it could ban someone from seeking public information for up to a year. The bill does have exemptions for parents requesting educational curriculum or policies from a school where their child is enrolled. There is also an exemption for political candidates requesting voter registration or election administration information. This bill is awaiting a full vote in the Senate.
NOTE: Considering many local agencies already fight the release of public information by appealing to the courts, this bill seems to potentially further restrict public access to legislatively deemed public records.
Cyber Charter School
HB 1500 – Cyber Charter School Reform, Transparency, and Accountability
This bill was introduced by Rep. MaryLouise Isaacson and aims to place more requirements on cyber charter schools. These include reporting and financial requirements. As part of Governor Shapiro’s 2025-2026 budget, this bill seeks to cap the amount provided to the school at $8,000 per student. The money paid to charter schools comes from the local school district budgets. This bill passed the State House and will move to the Senate for review.
NOTE: Considering the average per student cost in traditional public schools is approximately $23,000 in PA, limiting the cyber charter schools to $8,000 seems punitive and designed to cause the financial failure of those schools.
SB (Unnumbered) – Cyber Charter School Funding in the Commonwealth
Sen. Scott Martin plans to introduce a bill that would remove the cyber charter school funding burden from local school districts. Instead, those costs would come directly from the state budget. The funding source would transition over a few years. It would also establish a new statewide tuition rate for cyber charter schools.
NOTE: This pending bill seems to be working to resolve one of the most egregious parts of HB 1500.
ELECTION BILL UPDATES
In May, we reported on a few Election Bills of consequence in Pennsylvania. Here is their status:
HB 1396 – Mandates drop boxes, electronic polling books, and more.
Status: currently being discussed in the Senate State Government Committee.
HB 771 – Voter ID bill with no citizenship check.
Status: currently being discussed in the State House Appropriations Committee.
HB 1158 – Makes Election Day a state holiday.
Status: currently being discussed in State House State Government Committee.
HB 1162 – Eliminates central counting centers for mail-in ballots, bringing the counting back to the precincts.
Status: currently being discussed in State House State Government Committee.
Bottom line…
Pennsylvania legislators are elected by and represent the people in their districts. If you have a concern or are very much in favor of any of the PA bills that we’ve covered, then please take action!
Contact your State House Representative or State Senator! Urge them to vote in favor or in opposition to certain bills! We can no longer sit back after elections and expect that our representatives will work to improve our lives. Most aren’t.
For contact information for your representatives, click here. If you need more information on any of these bills, please email us!
As the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked if the delegates produced a monarchy or a republic. Franklin replied, “a republic, if you can keep it.”
We are trying to keep this republic that we love and hold our representatives accountable to the people. Join us in that mission and share this Update with your contacts!
