The proposed commission on charter schools would be headed by three members selected by the governor and four others appointed by the General Assembly. Under the legislation, the list of appointees must include a school district administrator, a school board member, a certified teacher and the parent of a child enrolled in a charter.

Both bills include a provision that the “enrollment of students in a charter school or cyber charter school shall not be subject to a cap or otherwise limited by any past or future action of a local board of school directors.”

No such enrollment cap exists for School Lane Charter School, which will soon expand operations with new classes in both the Bensalem and Neshaminy school districts.

School Lane opened in 1998 on Route 13 in Bensalem as a K-8 school.

For the rest of the article, go to Changes sought in charter school approval process

In an effort to reel in the costs of Hatboro and Horsham students attending cyber charter schools, the district has struck a deal of sorts with an online learning center.

Instead of paying just over $460,000 a year to educate roughly 50 students who attend cyber charter schools, the district could potentially spend one-third less, according to Assistant Superintendent John Nodecker.

For the rest of the article, go to H-H Looks to Cut Cyber Charter School Costs

This year, Piraino said, the district in paying cyber charter school tuition for 104 students, at about $7,200 for each regular education student and about $15,000 for each of the eight students in special education. While school districts are reimbursed for a percentage of their cyber school tuition, Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget would eliminate those payments.

Piraino said that Greater Latrobe’s cyber academy would provide a higher quality education than cyber charters at a lower cost to the district– no more than $3,300 per student.

Greater Latrobe is not alone in seeking savings by creating its own cyber academy. Districts such as Deer Lakes and Gateway, in Allegheny County, have set up full-fledged cyber schools in recent years. Ligonier piloted one this year, and several other districts, including Burrell and Franklin Regional, offer online classes through the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit’s eAcademy.

For the rest of the article, go to Greater Latrobe to open eCat Online Academy this fall

Students taking online classes in the Lebanon School District will have another option next year, which will save the district money.

The school directors recently approved a two-year, $48,000 contract with Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 to participate in its cyber charter school. Called Lancaster-Lebanon Virtual Solutions, it offers classes taught online by certified teachers contracting with IU-13.

Lebanon students will be able to take all their classes online, or use the service as a “blended school” to combine online classes not offered by the district with their traditional schooling, said Superintendent Marianne Bartley.

For the rest of the article, go to Lebanon offers new cyber school

The Southern School Board has approved a district cyber charter school to begin serving students in the fall.

Sandra Lemmon, director of curriculum and instruction, headed up a task force with a goal to provide a quality district fun cyber charter school. Lemmon brought the findings to the board and received unanimous support Thursday to begin classes in the fall.

In the beginning, the Southern York Digital Academy will be open to students who live in the district and are enrolled in cyber charter schools. Class will be available for kindergarten through 12 grades, Lemmon said.

For the rest of the article, go to Southern school board OKs new cyber charter school