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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

Bill to Expand PA Charter Schools Sees Opposition

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Wednesday, July 13, 2016   

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Education advocates are raising alarms over a bill in the state Senate they claim would take control of charter schools away from local school districts.

Opponents say amendments to House Bill 1606 would allow charter schools to enroll new students, add grade levels and recruit students from outside their local district, without the approval of the local school board. Steve Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center, said that could wreak havoc on district budgets.

"School districts that lose significant population to charter schools find their cost per student goes up, their fixed costs don't all go down right away," he said.

Sponsors of the bill have said HB 1606 is intended to bring transparency to public-school finances, but Herzenberg warned that the amendments to the bill would allow charter schools to siphon money away from districts, driving up local property taxes. After years of underfunding education, he said, the new state budget finally gives public schools a boost.

"If they do this charter-school expansion in conjunction with the modest increase in funding for public schools," he said, "to some extent it's a case of 'one step forward and one step back.' "

Herzenberg said other charter-school reforms are being discussed that would increase transparency and accountability.

The state budget raising school spending already has passed. Now, legislators are rushing to complete changes to the school code, which determines how schools are governed and financed. Herzenberg sad he doesn't believe charter-school expansion should be part of that.

"What they need to do," he said, "is walk away from misguided reforms that are going to hurt local schools and hurt kids."

HB 1606 is online at legis.state.pa.us.


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