Betty Bell and Propel Schools v. Wilkinsburg School District

Summary

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania considers whether Section 1726-A(a) of the Charter School Law permits a school district to provide charter-school students with a different form of free transportation than it provides to students attending district schools. The Court holds that the statute permits different transportation modes, including public bus passes, and affirms the Commonwealth Court. The opinion also addresses the statutory history and the relationship between the Charter School Law and the Public School Code.

Holdings

1. Section 1726-A(a) requires a school district to provide qualifying charter-school students with free transportation during the charter school's regular session, but it does not require the district to provide charter-school students the same mode of transportation it provides to students attending district schools.
2. Section 1726-A(a) is clear and unambiguous, and the possibility that its policy consequences may appear undesirable or unreasonable does not make the statute ambiguous.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Section 1726-A(a) of the Charter School Law requires a school district to provide charter-school students with the same mode of free transportation provided to students attending the district's traditional public schools.
2. Whether the phrase "under the same conditions" in Section 1726-A(a) requires identical transportation methods or instead refers to the distance, student-grade, and nonhazardous-condition limitations in that sentence.

Disposition

affirmed