House committee hears competing proposals to change cyber charter tuition; governor proposes $8,000 cap

Lawmakers and witnesses at a House Education Committee hearing in Stroudsburg on cyber charter governance spent much of the session debating how the Commonwealth should pay for cyber charter schooling and whether the current per-pupil payments are equitable.

The most concrete proposal discussed was Governor Josh Shapiro's 2025-26 budget suggestion to limit local district payments to cyber charters to a flat $8,000 per regular-education pupil. "The rate is based on cyber's estimated actual costs and would save districts millions of dollars," said Maura McInerney, legal director of the Education Law Center (ELC), who testified in favor of the cap and said ELC also supports a tiered special-education rate that would align payments with the costs of serving students with different disability needs.

Why it matters: Witnesses and legislators said the current system drives large, uneven tuition payments because cyber charter tuition is calculated from the sending district's per-pupil spending. "Per pupil tuition rates also vary widely for students who are educated in cyber charters because…