Cash is now a mandatory form of payment for school-sponsored activities across Pennsylvania, from sporting events to school dance.
The change comes after the signing of the new budget by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro earlier this month.
The legislation was introduced by State Rep. Dan Moul, a Republican from Adams County. The language was included in the state’s education code with other measures from the budget.
“Cash shall be accepted, according to the new section of law. It applies to private and public schools.
Schools are able to continue accepting digital payments, but cash has to be an option.
The change addresses growing concerns over school districts, including several in Bucks County, transitioning to cashless ticketing for athletic events in recent years.
This shift had prompted significant pushback from people across the state, Moul said.
Rep. Moul’s office released a statement arguing that online-only or in-app purchases for tickets required buyers to “surrender a lot of personal information,” which he noted was “particularly troublesome for senior citizens, a group often targeted by scams.”
Moul added that for many Pennsylvanians who simply wanted to attend to watch a relative or friend play, the prior cashless policies “disenfranchised” those without Internet access or credit cards.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), which oversees high school atheistic in the state, changed its policies from exclusively online or in-app sales to now accepting cash ahead of the law being changed, according to Moul’s office.
The head of the PIAA expressed skepticism about the need for the law.
Bob Lombardi, who runs the PIAA, told Harrisburg TV station abc27 that the requirement is a “solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.”
Moul stated the idea to require cash payments as an option was popular.
“It was the most popular bill I’ve ever put forward in the House,” Moul told abc27. “I’ve gotten calls and emails from all over the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania, thanking me for doing that.”
The bill received bipartisan support when it was first introduced earlier this year.
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