Title
Calling on The School District of Philadelphia to expand SEPTA Student Fare Passes to all students for usage at all times, and regardless of their residential distance from schools.
Body
WHEREAS, With almost 200,000 students enrolled in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), the City of Philadelphia has one of the largest school districts in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia offers a wide range of Out-of-School Time (OST) programs and initiatives to support students after school hours, including 90 programs run by Philadelphia Parks and Recreation; and the Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP), a free, drop-in, after school program offered at 54 Library locations across the City. Furthermore, many older students hold jobs, and do community service activities, outside the home and often outside their own neighborhood or the neighborhood of their schools; and
WHEREAS, A growing body of research into the critical development phase of adolescence, roughly defined as young people aged 12-25, identifies that this period requires support and opportunity for exploration and identity formation, which necessarily includes the ability to move throughout the City safely; and
WHEREAS, School Districts in Pennsylvania are given the ability to appropriate funds towards mass transit agencies for student transportation, but only for transportation authorized by existing pupil transportation guidelines; and
WHEREAS, As currently allowable under PA State Code 1949 on Pupil Transportation, school districts may provide free transportation to students who live over 1.5 miles away from school, or if they would need to walk on what PennDOT deems as a hazard route. Within the SEPTA service area, Students in grades 7 through 12 who live 1.5 miles or farther from school are generally eligible for free Student Fare Cards through their school; and
WHEREAS, For School District of Philadelphia students, SEPTA Student Fare Cards can be used only for travel ...
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