A historic charter school reform bill was all teed up for a House vote on Wednesday, but the vote never happened.
Enough House Republicans peeled away their support from the bill as the day wore on, making it apparent the measure did not have the 102 votes needed to pass. It would have been the first significant reforms to the 1997 charter law that created these independent public schools.
Concerns arose over a charter school funding study commission it would have created and other reforms it contained, said House Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.
The Senate had passed the bill on Tuesday by a 33-19 vote.
Gov. Tom Corbett said he was prepared to sign it into law, even though it lacked an even more controversial reform that he wanted. That was a provision that would have given a state independent panel the ability to approve brick-and-mortar charter applications without the approval of the school district where they are located, as is currently required.
Click here to read the full article by Jan Murphy published in the Patriot News (October 18, 2012)
