The Pennsylvania charter school law was enacted in 1997, authorizing the creation of public schools that operate independently of their surrounding district. The law was amended in 2002 to permit “cyber” charter schools, which deliver instruction through the Internet to students in their homes. There are now 81 traditional charter schools in Philadelphia, and 16 schools turned over to charter operators by the School District of Philadelphia through the “Renaissance School” reform process. Currently, more than 25 percent of all public school students in Philadelphia attend charter schools, among the highest of any city in the country. Many expect the number will soon grow to over 40 percent. In addition, Pennsylvania has the largest cyber charter school population over 30,000 students of any state in the country.
Meanwhile, student demographics in charter schools, as a whole, do not reflect their surrounding districts, even though charter schools, as public schools, are prohibited from illegal discrimination. In addition, there are universally recognized problems with charter school funding, particularly with cyber charters, which receive the same funding without the costs of running a brick-and-mortar school building. Last month, the Pennsylvania General Assembly narrowly failed to pass charter school amendments that would have expanded charter enrollment, without fixing the problems of inequitable funding and improper exclusion of students.
