HARRISBURG – York County Rep. Joe D’Orsie plans to introduce legislation requiring annual residency verification for PA school students. In PA, the public K-12 education system is funded on a per-pupil basis. State lawmakers appropriate funds to school districts based on the number of students within their geographic boundaries. For this reason, it is imperative that student residency is verified annually by school districts to ensure that taxpayer funds are being accurately allocated. Last year, mandatory residency verification was enacted for students attending a PA public cyber charter school. D’Orsie’s legislation would create parity between the required residency verification for students in public cyber charter schools and students attending public school districts. It would create a streamlined process for families, whose children attend a school district or a public cyber charter school, to verify their residency with their chosen public school. The proposal will include explicit protections for students experiencing homelessness, as required by federal rule, to ensure there are no barriers in accessing a public education for these students.
REP. JOE D’ORSIE