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Director Morales urges support for House Bill 1500, says $8,000 cap could save district $7.4 million
Summary
At the June 16 Committee of the Whole meeting, Director Morales urged community members to support House Bill 1500, a cyber-charter reform bill that she said would cap tuition and could produce substantial savings for Chester‑Upland School District if passed.
Director Morales said at the Chester‑Upland School District Committee of the Whole on June 16 that House Bill 1,500, a cyber‑charter reform measure, has passed the Pennsylvania House and is now before the Senate. "House Bill 1,500 has passed the House and is in the Senate," Morales said, adding that the bill would cap cyber‑charter tuition at $8,000 per student.
Morales said the cap would reduce the district's charter tuition costs by about $7,400,000 next year. "What that would mean for Chester Upland is a $7,400,000 savings next year," she said. She asked community members to respond to e‑mail calls to contact state senators and urged a simple action: "If you see an email from me asking you to send a letter to your senator, please just click the link. Like, you don't have to write anything. Just click the link, put your name in there, and send it."
Morales also said a higher cap — about $10,000 — might be the final form of the bill but that any cap would reduce the district's outlays. She cautioned listeners not to assume other federal or state changes are final: "There was an action to block the dismantling of the Department of Education... the Department of Education is still intact as we sit here today." That remark was offered as context for following news on education policy.
The board did not take a formal vote on the bill during the meeting. Morales framed her remarks as a legislative update and a call for advocacy; she did not request formal board action at the June 16 session.
The district did not provide a formal legal citation for House Bill 1,500 during the meeting. Whether the bill will become law depends on further action in the Pennsylvania Senate and any subsequent enactment processes.
