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Committee cites Bell v. Wilkinson in updating charter-school transportation guidance
Summary
Using PSBA language, the committee noted the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held districts must provide free transportation to charter students but not necessarily the same mode; members discussed transit-pass alternatives in urban settings and agreed to move the charter-policy edits to a first read.
PSBA-supplied edits and the committee discussion referenced the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Bell v. Wilkinson School District, which the presenter said clarifies that districts must provide free transportation to charter-school students but not the identical mode of transport provided to district students. The committee noted urban districts have used alternatives such as transit passes and that Palisades' rural context will affect how the guidance is applied.
Members also discussed recent omnibus school-code changes shifting some residency-verification duties to cyber-charter schools; staff said cyber charters will collect residency data and share it with local districts. The committee agreed the charter-policy language around transportation can proceed to a first read with these clarifications, and no immediate policy action on residency verification was required.
