Pennsylvania Act 20 (HB 1505): What to Know About New Wellness Check Requirements for Virtual Schools

Pennsylvania has changed how it looks after full-time virtual students. Governor Josh Shapiro signed HB 1505 into law on July 12, 2026, as Act 20 of 2026, a wide-ranging update to Pennsylvania's Public School Code. Among its many provisions, Act 20 extends and strengthens wellness-check requirements for students in full-time virtual and cyber charter programs, building on the weekly check-in rule already in place under Act 55 of 2024. If you run or support a virtual academy, cyber charter, or full-time virtual program in Pennsylvania, this is for you.

Why Does Pennsylvania Act 20 Add New Virtual Student Wellness Check Requirements?

Pennsylvania already required weekly wellness checks for cyber charter students under Act 55 of 2024. That law required students to be seen and communicated with in real time at least once during any week with three or more instructional days.

Lawmakers said the original law had a gap: it told schools what to do without a clear process for what happens next when a check doesn't happen. A missed session. A student who won't turn the camera on. Signs that something more serious is going on at home.

A student in a physical classroom is seen by a lot of adults over the course of a day. A student learning from a bedroom or a kitchen table doesn't have that same built-in safety net. Act 20 was written to close that gap by extending the wellness-check framework to district-run virtual programs and reinforcing the escalation and reporting expectations already established under Act 55.

What Does PA Act 20 Change for Full-Time Virtual Students?

Under the framework Act 55 established for cyber charters, and which Act 20 extends to district-run virtual programs, full-time virtual and cyber charter students should expect the following. Districts should confirm the specific timelines and penalties in Act 20's new district-level section against the final bill text or PDE guidance, since the requirements below are drawn from the existing cyber charter framework.

• Requirement: Weekly, real-time, visual check
  What it means: A phone call or attempted contact isn't enough. The student must be seen on camera.
• Requirement:  Clear escalation when a check is missed
  What it means: A missed session or camera refusal must be logged and trigger a documented next step.
• Requirement:  Reporting protocols for suspected abuse or neglect
  What it means:  Clear expectations for communicating with caregivers and, when needed, authorities.
• Requirement: Accountability for non-compliance
  What it means: Consequences for schools that don't follow through, up to loss of funding or charter non-renewal, consistent with the enforcement approach under Act 55.

Act 20 keeps the existing weekly check-in requirement and adds an expectation that missed checks and red flags trigger a documented next step.

Who Is Responsible for Pennsylvania Act 20 Compliance?

Legal responsibility for meeting these requirements sits with the school entity, meaning the LEA or the charter. That includes:

• Making sure every eligible student gets a weekly visual check
• Following through on escalation when a check is missed or refused
• Conducting any required in-person follow-up, such as a home visit
• Keeping documentation that would hold up if PDE or a family asked to see it

A vendor or staffing partner can support pieces of this work: the check-in itself, the scheduling, the documentation. That legal accountability doesn't move to the partner. It stays with the school.

Pennsylvania Act 20 Compliance Checklist for Virtual Schools

For district and charter leaders sorting through what this means day to day, start here:

▢ Do you have a trained staff member conducting weekly visual checks for every full-time virtual student? Under Pennsylvania's Child Protective Services Law, whoever does this needs to be a mandated reporter, with that training on file.

▢ What happens the same day a check is missed? Document exactly who gets notified, how quickly, and what follow-up looks like, including when an in-person visit is warranted.

▢ Can you produce documentation on demand? Not just a note that a check happened, but a dated, auditable record showing whether the student was actually visible.

▢ Does your caregiver communication plan hold up? Parents and guardians should understand what a missed check means and what happens next, before it happens to them.

FAQ: Pennsylvania Act 20 and Virtual Student Wellness Checks

Does Act 20 apply to all Pennsylvania schools? 
Its wellness-check provisions apply specifically to students enrolled in full-time virtual instruction, including both school district-operated virtual programs and cyber charter schools.

Is the weekly wellness check new under Act 20? 
No. Weekly wellness checks for cyber charter students were established under Act 55 of 2024. Act 20 extends and reinforces that framework, including for district-run virtual programs.

Who is legally responsible for compliance? 
The school district or charter (LEA). A support vendor can help conduct and document the check-in, but legal accountability stays with the school.

Can a vendor or partner guarantee compliance? 
No partner can guarantee compliance. Support partners can help operationalize the recurring check-in and documentation, but the district retains responsibility for escalation, reporting, and any required follow-up.

What happens if a wellness check is missed? 
Under the framework established for cyber charters, a missed or refused check should trigger a same-day documented escalation, with the district determining any additional follow-up required under its own policy.

How Edmentum Helps Districts Meet Pennsylvania’s Virtual Wellness Check Requirements

Edmentum has spent years building the support system that full-time virtual programs already rely on: trained coaches, a recurring check-in cadence, and reporting that gives schools visibility into how students are doing. For Pennsylvania's full-time virtual students, that same system can be shaped to align with Act 20's wellness-check expectations: a real-time, visual, weekly touchpoint with a student, backed by documentation noting whether the student was seen on-camera and how they're doing academically and personally.

Edmentum's Success Coaching:

• Takes the weekly check-in off your staff's plate with a coach who has completed PA mandated-reporter training
• Documents each session, including whether the student was visibly present
• Notifies your team quickly when a session is missed or a student declines to appear on camera, so you can take whatever next step your policies and the law require

Wellness checks are only part of what Success Coaching does. Coaches also review a student's course pacing, attendance, and grades before each session, then use that time to talk through what's getting in the way, whether it's falling behind in a course, losing motivation, or struggling to stay organized in a self-paced environment. For students learning fully online, that regular human connection often matters as much as the academic support itself, helping students stay engaged and on track toward their credits and their diploma.

Success Coaching gives your team a reliable weekly touchpoint with every student and a clear record of it. And every Pennsylvania student, even the ones learning from a kitchen table, has someone checking in on them every single week.

Contact Edmentum to talk through how this could work for your program.

Learn more:

• Success Coaching Overview
• How Success Coaching Supports Students 
• Read how Vigo Virtual Success Academy paired EdOptions Academy with mentors and coaches to give students consistent, personal support