Pennsylvania HB 2602: An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, in voting by qualified absentee electors, further providing for voting by absentee electors; and, in voting by qualified mail-in electors, further providing for voting by mail-in electors.

Bill Text

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 3524 PRINTER'S NO. 3582
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2602
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY SCHWEYER, ISAACSON, ABNEY, CURRY, FRIEL, KAZEEM,
N. NELSON, O'MARA, OTTEN, PROBST, PROKOPIAK, SMITH-WADE-EL,
TAKAC, YOUNG, McNEILL, GUZMAN, SANCHEZ, MERSKI, HOWARD,
SCHLOSSBERG, PIELLI, BOROWSKI, HILL-EVANS, VENKAT, FREEMAN,
KINKEAD, BRENNAN, HOHENSTEIN, RIVERA, BOYD, D. WILLIAMS,
NEILSON, CIRESI, GREEN AND SHUSTERMAN, JUNE 4, 2026
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JUNE 10, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in pupils and attendance, further
providing for attendance policy at charter, regional charter
and cyber charter schools; in charter schools, further
providing for cyber charter school requirements and
prohibitions and for enrollee wellness checks and providing
for child protection and support plan; and imposing
penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1327.2(a.1) of the act of March 10, 1949
(P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949,
amended November 12, 2025 (P.L.244, No.47), is amended and the
section is amended by adding subsections to read:
Section 1327.2. Attendance Policy at Charter, Regional
Charter and Cyber Charter Schools.--* * *
(a.1) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), a
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

cyber charter school shall include in its attendance policy the
following:
(1) (i) A policy to determine when a child has an unexcused
or excused absence or is present for synchronous instruction. To
be present for synchronous instruction, a child must be present
and visible to the teacher on camera at all times during each
synchronous instructional period for each course[.], with
exceptions allowed for brief, teacher-directed or teacher-
approved breaks. If a student fails to maintain continuous live
visual presence during instructional time, excluding any
teacher-directed or teacher-approved break period, the student
shall be deemed to have an absence for that class period.
(ii) The policy under subparagraph (i) shall establish a
procedure for a cyber charter school to notify a parent or
guardian if the student fails to follow attendance requirements
for synchronous instruction.
(iii) A secondary school student enrolled in a cyber charter
school is not required to comply with subparagraph (i) for
courses in which the student is dually enrolled and attending in
person or virtually at a postsecondary institution. The
postsecondary institution shall verify attendance for each
student enrolled in the course and shall report all absences to
the cyber charter school.
(2) A prohibition specifying that a cyber charter school
administrator or chief administrator may not alter an attendance
record taken by a teacher, unless the alteration corrects an
error.
(3) A policy to determine when a child has an unexcused or
excused absence or is present for asynchronous instruction. To
be present for asynchronous instruction, a child must complete
20260HB2602PN3582 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

weekly benchmarks. The following requirements shall apply to the
weekly benchmarks:
(i) A cyber charter school shall establish weekly benchmarks
for students participating in asynchronous instruction and shall
submit the weekly benchmarks to the department for approval by
[June 30] March 1 of each year for the following school year. If
the department has not approved, denied or returned the weekly
benchmarks within forty-five (45) days, the weekly benchmarks
shall be deemed approved for the following school year.
(ii) The weekly benchmarks must be sufficient to demonstrate
the student is making adequate and consistent progress toward
completion of each course in which the student is enrolled. The
cyber charter school's attendance policy shall define adequate
and consistent progress and include the consequence for failure
to make adequate and consistent progress. Each cyber charter
school shall establish a procedure to notify a parent or
guardian if the student fails to make adequate and consistent
progress.
(iii) If a student does not complete the weekly benchmark,
the student shall receive an absence or other consequence in
accordance with the policy under this paragraph.
(iv) The cyber charter school may not receive payment under
section 1725-A or 1725.1-A until the cyber charter school
receives a notice of approval of its synchronous instruction
attendance policy or asynchronous instruction attendance policy.
(v) Failure of a cyber charter school to comply with this
paragraph shall be sufficient cause for nonrenewal or revocation