In Pennsylvania, public K–12 education is funded on a per student basis. The General Assembly distributes money to school districts based on how many students live in the district and attend a public school. To make sure taxpayer dollars are being used accurately and fairly, it is imperative that student residency is verified on an annual basis.

Last year, the Commonwealth put in place mandatory residency verification for students attending public cyber charter schools. In the coming weeks, I plan to introduce legislation that brings the same standard to students attending traditional public-school districts, creating a fair and consistent process across the board.

Under this proposal, both school districts and public cyber charter schools would verify student residency annually. The goal is simple: ensure state funding is allocated correctly and give families a streamlined, straightforward way to confirm their residency with whichever public school their child attends. The legislation will also include clear protections for students experiencing homelessness, as required by the federal McKinney Vento Act, so that no student faces barriers to receiving a public education.

I invite you to join me in cosponsoring this legislation to help ensure that state education funding is accurately allocated for all students attending public schools.