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of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Democratic-sponsored proposal to limit per-student payments to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools and make other changes to how they operate narrowly passed the state House on Wednesday over Republican objections that it would imperil the online learning programs.
, with only two Republicans in favor, sets down a marker on the perennially contentious issue of school funding as state lawmakers work to complete the coming year’s state budget for the fiscal year that starts in July.The bill’s $8,000 limit on how much public school districts would have to reimburse the cyber charters was the central piece of the sprawling legislation and would be a boost to the districts and the property tax payers who bear much of the cost of public education in Pennsylvania. There currently is no cap for the districts’ payments to cyber charters, an amount now linked to how much districts spent on their own students in the prior year.Supporters said changes to the cyber charter rules are widely backed among the state’s 500 school boards and that cyber school spending has been the subject of critical reviews, including recently by Republican Auditor General Tim DeFoor.
But opponents defended the existing system as a critical lifeline to the students and families that for various reasons have sought alternatives to traditional schools.The bill would set annual tuition payments from school districts to cyber charters at $8,000 per student, with potential yearly increases. Special education funding would also see changes.
Cyber charters would not be able to maintain cash balances above 12% of their spending and would not be able to provide payments or gifts to parents as incentives to enroll their children.
The bill would bolster disclosure requirements regarding cyber charters’ policies, instructional materials and budgets.A Muslim inspects a goat’s teeth before buying for Eid al Ada, near the Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, India, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Men prepare to slaughter a cow whose meat would later be distributed to the needy during the celebration of Eid al-Adha in Selayang, outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)Men prepare to slaughter a cow whose meat would later be distributed to the needy during the celebration of Eid al-Adha in Selayang, outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Villagers in Demak, a town in Central Java province, celebrated the holiday with a procession of livestock called “apitan” as a form of gratitude for the food and harvest. They bring food in bamboo containers to the town’s square where they eat together after praying. Locals believe the procession will provide prosperity and that disaster would come if it was abandoned.Eid al-Adha commemorates the Quranic tale of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail as an act of obedience to God. Before he could carry out the sacrifice, God provided a ram as an offering. In the Christian and Jewish telling, Abraham is ordered to kill another son, Isaac.