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HB 2197

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in pupils and attendance, further providing for attendance policy at charter, regional charter and cyber charter schools.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Ciresi and 12 co-sponsors

HB 2197 establishes specialized attendance policies for Pennsylvania's charter and cyber charter schools to address their operational differences from traditional public schools.

Referred to Education
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 2197

Legislative bill overview

HB 2197 modifies Pennsylvania's Public School Code to establish or revise attendance policies specifically for charter schools, regional charter schools, and cyber charter schools. The bill amends existing attendance requirements that currently apply broadly to public schools to create specialized provisions for these alternative school models.

Why is this important

Charter and cyber schools operate differently from traditional public schools—cyber schools particularly have unique attendance tracking challenges since students learn remotely. Clear attendance policies for these schools affect student accountability, state funding allocations (which are often based on daily attendance), and the ability of schools to identify at-risk students who may need intervention.

Potential points of contention

  • Defining "attendance" for cyber schools: How should logging into an online platform be counted versus actual engagement? This could significantly impact funding and student accountability metrics.
  • Equity across school types: Creating different attendance standards for charter versus traditional public schools could create inconsistent expectations or unfairly advantage certain schools in meeting performance metrics.
  • Enforcement mechanisms: The bill may lack clarity on how non-compliance is handled, particularly for cyber schools where student monitoring is more difficult, raising questions about implementation feasibility.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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