Cyber Schools

Over the next nine months, many students will have their lives transformed for the better. But for thousands of other children, this time of year is defined by disappointment. They are trapped in schools that don’t meet their needs—effectively held hostage by a system that limits choice and opportunity.

President Obama last week proclaimed May 1-7 “National Charter Schools Week,” praising charters for their “innovation” and calling on “[s]tates and communities to support high-quality public schools, including charter schools.” Yet, even as thousands of Pennsylvania students sit on charter waitlists, Gov. Wolf has taken every opportunity to undercut the state’s charters.

For the Hispanic community, education is the key to making the American Dream a reality. Yet far too many Latinos remain victims of their ZIP code and socio-economic status when it comes to quality schooling.

Governor Wolf has wasted little time crystalizing his vision for public education—and it doesn’t look promising for families supportive of school choice. If his first few months are any indication this much is certain: Wolf is hostile to schools of choice, cozy to union interests, and wedded to the educational status quo.

Alyssa Weaver is a poster-child for the benefits of choice in public education. At the age of twelve, Alyssa was diagnosed with a crippling case of scoliosis which, in decades past, might have brought her education and career aspirations to a screeching halt. But, thanks to the marriage of online education and public charter school, Alyssa had a life-changing option—cyber school.

Cyber schools currently spend significantly less per student than school districts and only represent about 1% of spending on public education. Discrepancies in cyber school funding are the result of problems in the overall system of public education finance. Reductions to cyber school funding fail to address these issues. Cyber schools have been a popular and successful option for parents. Punitive cuts to cyber school funding will reduce options for families. Cyber school students should not

The Matunis girls are just two of some 32,000 students statewide who are thriving at cyber schools. New legislation unveiled in Harrisburg, however, could do serious damage to cyber schools, hampering their ability to grow and function, and ultimately hurting the Matunis family and thousands like them.

Pennsylvania charter school enrollment grew from 982 students in 1997 to 91,000 in 2010, as more parents exercised choice in their children's education. On average, charter schools receive and spend only about 83 percent of what school districts spend for each student. Allowing alternative charter school authorizers would increase opportunities for new and innovative charter schools.