The Charter Appeals Board and Why It Matters

“In Pennsylvania, school districts don’t have the final say over the fates of the charter schools that they are tasked with regulating.

That belongs instead to the Pennsylvania Charter Appeals Board — one of only two such boards in the nation, according to the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

Created shortly after Pennsylvania passed its charter-school law in 1997, the appeals board has long been controversial for its ability to overturn decisions of the local school boards that regulate charter schools.

In addition to the secretary of education, Pennsylvania’s board is supposed to have six members appointed by the governor. But it currently only has five. And all are serving under expired terms — some since 2015. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat now in his fifth year, hasn’t nominated anyone to the board. Every member was appointed by his Republican predecessor, Gov. Tom Corbett, whose administration was more supportive of charter schools.”*

“The board’s seats are reserved for specific roles: a higher education member, a certified public school teacher, a business representative, a parent of a school-aged child, a state Board of Education member, and a school board member.

The higher education seat is currently vacant. Several other members have ties to charter schools: Parent Lee Ann Munger’s children have attended Propel charters. Julie Cook teaches at Souderton Charter School Collaborative, which opened after the appeals board decided in its favor in 1999. The wife of Mitchell Yanyanin, the school board member on the panel, worked for Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.”*