CYBER CHARTERS ARE NOT HOMESCHOOLS
Rep. Beyer believes that cyber charters should be held to the same standards as ”regular” charter schools and the state’s 501 public school districts. All three, after all, are public schools. The cyber charters are different, of course, in that they are a form of homeschooling. But they differ from traditional homeschool arrangements in that curriculum, equipment and instruction comes to the family at no cost beyond the ordinary real estate or per capita taxes that the home district might levy. Taxpayers pay the costs. And, funds are sent to the cyber school operators from the treasuries of the local school districts. Those amounts can be significant. Large districts like Allentown’s and the Bethlehem Area School District send millions per year. For that kind of investment, there must be accountability.
Yes, and that’s why we do not want cyber charters referred to as homeschools. They’re not. They are public schools and are accountable to the taxpayers.
It’s an editorial, folks. You know what to do.