New Pennsylvania cyber charter school application raises red flags

Limitless Cyber Charter School is testing the bounds of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter approval process.

As lawmakers wrap up Pennsylvania’s overdue budget for the fiscal year, taxpayers across the commonwealth may be on the hook for a new cyber charter school making its way through the application process. 

Limitless Cyber Charter School is scheduled for a hearing in front of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) later this month, and education officials will then have to decide if it will approve or deny Limitless’ application. 

Cyber charter schools are a tuition-free alternative to public schools signed into law by Pennsylvania lawmakers in 2002. They’re controversial due to their lack of regulations and oversight of how they spend taxpayer dollars. 

“[Limitless Cyber Charter School]  appears to be like a cyber charter school that is the project of a single woman who has a vision for education, and she would like to open a cyber charter school in Pennsylvania founded on her vision,” Susan Spicka, Executive Director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania, said in an interview. 

In her public comment opposing the school’s application, Spicka alleges that Limitless’ 400-page application was mostly written using artificial intelligence (AI) as it is filled with errors, timestamps, and questions and comments from Claude Sonnet 4, an AI software program  similar to Chat GPT. 

Other issues with the school’s application revolve around its curriculum, which includes language about religion and the promotion of alternative medicines and treatments to replace vaccines and conventional medical knowledge.   

Their “Resistance Community Training” section references “biblical resistance warriors” for “Christian families who choose courage,” and then provides testimony from families. 

“Our 12-year-old was diagnosed with ADHD and the school demanded medication. Because he’d been educated through Limitless Academy, he had the critical thinking skills to research the medication himself,” the Henderson Family said in the application.

The Johnson family added, “During COVID, while our neighbors’ school-educated children submitted to every mandate without question, our Limitless-educated teenagers researched independently. They understood risk assessment, recognized manipulation tactics, and made informed decisions about their health. They emerged from the crisis with their autonomy and health intact.”

There are 14 cyber charter schools currently operating in Pennsylvania, and according to Spicka, this type of application diverts resources and attention away from regulating schools that are already operating. 

Thanks to Pennsylvania’s charter school laws, Limitless will have the opportunity to appeal the state’s decision, if they are denied, to the Commonwealth Court, or make their case in front of the Charter Appeals Board, which hears appeals for charter school applications denied by local school boards or the PDE. 

“ I think that this is like the poster child for why we need a moratorium on cyber charter applications,” Spicka said. 

It’s time for lawmakers to get our house in order in Pennsylvania with adequate supervision and accountability for the current cyber charters before we take resources away from PDE to deal with nonsense like this application.”