HB 1500 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in preliminary provisions, providing for Cyber Charter School Funding and Policy Council and further providing for advertising and sponsorships; in pupils and attendance, further providing for exceptional children and education and training; in charter schools, further providing for definitions, for funding for cyber charter schools, for powers and duties of department and for assessment and evaluation, providing for fund balance limits, further providing for cyber charter school requirements and prohibitions, providing for cyber charter school fund balance accountability, further providing for establishment of cyber charter school, for cyber charter school application, for enrollment and notification, for enrollee wellness checks and for applicability of other provisions of this act and of other acts and regulations and providing for cyber charter school moratorium; and, in reimbursements by Commonwealth and between school districts, further providing for extraordinary special education program expenses.

HB 1500 establishes a Cyber Charter School Funding and Policy Council to develop recommendations on funding, governance, and accountability for cyber charter schools by April 2026. The bill requires public school entities to report advertising and sponsorship spending annually, and mandates detailed cost-tracking for special education services based on individualized student plans. It also adds provisions for student wellness checks, enrollment notifications, and fund balance limits for cyber charter schools, while maintaining a moratorium on new cyber charter school approvals. The law directly affects cyber charter schools, public school districts, and students with disabilities in Pennsylvania.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2025
Committee Review
Jun 2025
House Passage
Jun 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced May 30, 2025 Last action Jun 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN1807 Printer's No. PN1829 · 5 edits
MODERATE
This bill update adds two new sponsors to the legislation and moves the bill from the Education Committee to the Appropriations Committee, indicating a shift in legislative focus toward funding and budgeting. The text includes significant technical corrections to the special education funding formula for cyber charter schools, clarifying how tuition rates are calculated for students with disabilities. Additionally, the bill tightens financial oversight by requiring refunds of excess unassigned fund balances and restricting financial incentives to parents or guardians.
Scope change
The bill's scope shifted from an initial review by the Education Committee to a broader fiscal review by the Appropriations Committee, suggesting a deeper focus on budgetary implications. The applicability of the special education funding formula was clarified to ensure consistent calculation methods for cyber charter schools.
TIMELINE

Added new sponsors (Khan and Madsen) and reported the bill from the Appropriations Committee, reflecting a procedural update in the legislative process.

FISCAL

Clarified the calculation method for special education funding in cyber charter schools, specifying that the tuition rate multiplier must be applied to the rate provided under specific subsections to ensure accurate reimbursement for special needs services.

REQUIREMENT

Strengthened financial accountability by mandating that any unassigned fund balance exceeding 12% of total expenditures must be refunded to school districts within 90 days.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded restrictions on financial incentives, now explicitly prohibiting payments to parents or guardians for enrolling or considering enrollment in charter schools.

DEFINITION

Corrected formatting and punctuation errors in the text, including the removal of placeholder images and the standardization of section references.

Floor votes · House Jun 4, 2025

How they voted

10498
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 203
Jun 4, 2025
D Democratic102
102 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican101
2 Yea 98 Nay 1
97% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
4
Committee
5
Amendments
1
Jun 6, 2025
Committee
Referred to Education
upper
Jun 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third consideration and final passage
lower
Jun 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Re-reported as amended
lower
Jun 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended in House Committee on Appropriations
lower
Jun 3, 2025
Committee
Re-committed to Appropriations
lower
Jun 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported as committed
lower
May 30, 2025
Committee
Referred to Education
lower
1 primary · 38 co-sponsors

Sponsors