Remove Charter School Enrollment Caps in Pennsylvania

HB2293 amends Section 1723-A(d)(1) of the Public School Code of 1949 in two related ways. First, it strikes the clause that previously allowed enrollment caps when a charter school or cyber charter school agreed to such a cap "as part of a written charter pursuant to section 1720-A." That exception is deleted in its entirety. After this bill takes effect, no agreement -- past or future -- between a charter school and a school district can lawfully serve as the basis for an enrollment cap. The core prohibition that remains reads: "Enrollment of students in a charter school or cyber charter school shall not be subject to a cap or otherwise limited by any past or future action of a board of school directors, a board of control established under Article XVII-B, a special board of control established under section 692 or any other governing authority." The prohibition applies to caps and to any other form of limitation, and it reaches both retrospective and prospective actions by any of those authorities.

Second, the bill expands the definition of "governing authority" for purposes of this paragraph to "include, but not be limited to, the department" -- meaning the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The phrase "include, but not be limited to" means this is a non-exhaustive list: the Department is expressly named, but other entities may also qualify as a governing authority under the existing language. No other entity is specifically carved out or exempted by the bill's text.

Section 2 addresses existing arrangements directly: any cap or limitation of enrollment under Section 1723-A(d)(1) that is in place on the effective date of the act "shall be deemed to be void." This applies to caps already embedded in written charters as well as any other form of existing limitation. Families and schools operating under such agreements should understand that those restrictions will have no legal force once the bill takes effect.

Section 3 sets the effective date at 60 days after enactment. There is no provision in the bill text creating a phase-in period, a waiver process, or a grandfather clause beyond the 60-day window itself.

The American Council supports HB2293 because enrollment caps function as a ceiling on opportunity. When a child's family chooses a charter or cyber charter school, an artificially imposed cap -- whether written into a charter agreement or imposed by a state agency -- can deny that child access to an education that fits their needs. Removing the written-charter exception is particularly important: a provision that once allowed caps to be negotiated into governing documents has meant that the prohibition on caps was only as strong as the bargaining position of the school at the moment of charter approval. HB2293 closes that gap and makes the protection unconditional. We urge every member of the House and every constituent reading this brief to contact their representative and ask for a yes vote on HB2293.