HARRISBURG – Senator Ryan Aument (R-Landisville) issued the following statement regarding the Pennsylvania Senate’s passage of House Bill 97:
“Last evening, the Pennsylvania Senate returned an amended House Bill 97, referred to as the Charter Reform Bill, to the House of Representatives by a 26-23 vote. Passage of House Bill 97 allows this important conversation about the role Pennsylvania brick and mortar charter and cyber-charter schools have in a quality education system to continue.
While I believe that many of the reforms contained within House Bill 97 are necessary and should be applauded, additional work is necessary.
Nevertheless, I remain optimistic that meaningful, bipartisan reform of our charter and cyber-charter school system is within reach. It is my hope that the House of Representatives will continue their thoughtful approach to providing much-needed reform to this system and will consider all appropriate options at their disposal to improve House Bill 97.
I appreciate the tremendous efforts of the prime sponsor, Representative Mike Reese, and stand ready to assist him in any way I can.
We must continue to work to ensure Pennsylvania students have access to a high quality education, whether in local school districts or charter and cyber-charter schools, and that appropriate funding, accountability, transparency, and ethical provisions are in place to allow for confidence in our public school system.
I remain hopeful that with continued discussions with the House of Representatives, we can achieve these goals. We can do better, and Pennsylvania students deserve our best effort.”