Annually, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, requires the Pennsylvania DeafBlind Project to conduct the National DeafBlind Child Count. The DeafBlind Child Count records the number of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have deafblindness or who are at risk of developing deafblindness, and who are enrolled in early intervention or special education as of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) child count on December 1, 2024.

The count will be conducted beginning with Approved Private School programs in December 2024 followed by LEAs and Infant Toddler and Preschool Early Intervention Programs in January 2025. You must verify and submit your information no later than February 7, 2025. It is important for Pennsylvania to have an accurate DeafBlind Child Count as this information is tied to funding research, training, and technical assistance for this population of children.

Please be aware that for the DeafBlind Child Count, the federal definition of deafblindness is more inclusive and extensive than the one used for the IDEA child count. From birth through 21 years old, children should be reported in the count if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
-Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a diagnosis of deafblindness and/or receive both vision and hearing support services;
-Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a mild to profound hearing loss and mild to profound vision loss with correction that still requires adaptations or modifications;
-Infants and toddlers (ages birth-to-3; i.e. Part C) who have a diagnosis that places them at risk for an intellectual disability with inconsistent responses to visual input and sound. (At risk means a diagnosis that does not guarantee hearing/vision loss); or
-Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students with multiple disabilities who may demonstrate inconsistent responses to visual input and sound.

It is important for each Early Intervention Program and Local Educational Agency (LEA) to participate in the DeafBlind Child Count.

-If you do not have any infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or students with deafblindness, you will still need to log in and identify that you are not educating anyone with deafblindness at the present time.
-If you are educating an infant, toddler, preschooler, or student with deafblindness, you will need to either enter a new record or verify information about a child who already exists in the system.
-School-Age and Preschool Early Intervention Programs are encouraged to work closely with contracted providers (e.g., Approved Private Schools, Charter Schools for the Deaf or Blind) to ensure an accurate count of children.
-Connecting families of children who are deafblind with supporting networks and information is vital. A feature of the DeafBlind Child Count is a letter which you will be asked to send to the family of each child listed in your count. The letter provides information which will link families to support and information related to deafblindness

DeafBlind Child Count – Approved Private School Entries
All Approved Private Schools (APSs) entered their student data prior to the DeafBlind Child Count being opened for Early Intervention Programs, school districts, charter schools, and service providers. While there are few infants and toddlers served by APSs, you may see a child in the DeafBlind Child Count who has been entered by an APS. For those programs with many students who qualify, this will save them valuable time. This was done by all APSs even if there are no students who qualify for the DeafBlind Child Count enrolled in their school. As the Early Intervention Program or LEA for these respective children, you must either confirm that the child is your responsibility or reject them if the child is not within your catchment area or in the age range of children you serve. Please be aware that exceptions may exist. After you confirm that you are the Early Intervention Program or LEA for the child, you can update other data as necessary.

DeafBlind Child Count – Early Intervention Programs
If you are the Early Intervention Program responsible for providing Early Intervention Services to the entered child, you should confirm that the child is your responsibility. If the child is not the responsibility of your program (i.e., the child is not within your catchment area or in the age range of children you serve), please email [email protected]

Log In Information
To log in, please visit the DeafBlind Child Count website. 
The process for entering login information is as follows:
-Log in with your username and password at https://www.leaderservices.com/_DBcensus
-If you do not know or cannot remember your username or password for the DeafBlind Child Count, use the “Forget your Login Info” link on the DeafBlind Child Count website to have the information emailed to you. Or, email [email protected] for support.

If you have any questions regarding the data-collection system or your responsibilities for entering child data into the DeafBlind Child Count, please email [email protected]

President-elect Donald Trump has named Brooke Rollins to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she would oversee the programs that reimburse schools providing school meals for low-income children.

Rollins, a Texas native, is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank launched in 2021. She also served as acting director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council at the end of Trump’s first term.

Although Trump has yet to reveal his position on school nutrition or universal meal policies, he did roll back Obama-era nutrition standards on grains, milk and sodium content during his first term in office. Meanwhile, Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation policy blueprint developed by former Trump administration officials, has called for Congress to eliminate universal school meal programs like the Community Eligibility Provision.

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On November 19th, President-elect Donald Trump named Linda McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Association for two years in his first administration, as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education. McMahon is also a former president and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a company that develops and produces scripted wrestling events. In addition, she currently serves as co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team.

According to Trump, “Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World.” He also praised McMahon for her advocacy for state-level universal school choice policies: “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families.”

Trump’s post also referred to his campaign promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,” his post said.

McMahon has served on the Connecticut State Board of Education and also as a trustee at Sacred Heart University, a private Catholic school in Fairfield, Connecticut.

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