Plymouth Meeting, PA, Tuesday, August 13, 2019 – Arthur Steinberg, President of AFT Pennsylvania, issued the following statement on behalf of the more than 36,000 members of the Commonwealth’s statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers on Tuesday:
“We are very encouraged by Governor Wolf’s announcement today that he will back legislation to address commonsense charter school reforms in Pennsylvania, including transparency requirements, a cap on cyber charter enrollment and a moratorium on new cyber charter schools.
“If these reforms come to fruition, they will be a monumental win for educators, school kids, and taxpayers.
“Since the introduction of charter schools into our Commonwealth in 1997, AFT Pennsylvania, and educators in general, have voiced our concerns that charter schools—and specifically cyber charters—put undue strain on traditional public-school systems.
“The lack of transparency and accountability of charter schools has been outrageous. Due in large part to legislative inaction, charters in Pennsylvania are currently not bound by the state Right to Know Act nor the State Ethics Act. This has left taxpayers consistently in the dark as to how their hard-earned money is spent.
“The members and staff of AFT Pennsylvania look forward to engaging with Governor Wolf, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, legislators, and other stakeholders in the process of crafting this important policy.”
###