Category: Federal Government Actions

CMS Provides Toolkit for Schools Explaining the ‘Unwinding’ of Medicaid Services (August 19, 2023)

It is estimated that 536,400 children have lost access to Medicaid and CHIP insurance since automatic renewals ended in April. As a result, a toolkit from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) titled Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings has been made available. It urges K-12 and early childhood educators, administrators, staff and parent-teacher associations to help families be aware of the change in public health policy through letters, robocalls, text messages, social media and other communications.

In addition, The School Superintendents Association (AASA) advises that raising awareness about continuous coverage also benefits school systems that rely on Medicaid reimbursements for school-based health services. In fact, keeping students enrolled in Medicaid will be especially important for the fiscal health of those districts, since Medicaid reimbursements for school-based services is the third- or fourth-largest federal revenue stream for school systems. 

To access the toolkit Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings, click here.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

USDE and White House Attack K-12 Cybersecurity (August 8, 2023)

On August 7, 2023 the U.S. Department of Eduction (USDE), in partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), released the K-12 Digital Infrastructure Brief: Defensible and Resilient to highlight cybersecurity recommendations and promising practices from states and school districts across the country.

According to CISA Director Jen Easterly, “The product released today from the Department of Education and CISA provides K-12 school districts across our communities a starting place to understand the importance of securing our digital infrastructure, and provides steps schools can take today to keep their systems safe.”

Later that day, the White House announced new actions and private commitments to bolster the nation’s cyber defense at schools. In a statement titled Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches New Efforts to Strengthen America’s K-12 Schools’ Cybersecurity, the White House said that administration leaders, school administrators, educators, and education technology providers will convene at the White House to discuss how to strengthen the nation’s schools’ cybersecurity amidst growing ransomware attacks.

To access the White House statement, click here.
To access K-12 Digital Infrastructure Brief: Defensible and Resilient, click here.

Additional K-12 Digital Infrastructure Briefs
K-12 Digital Infrastructure: Adequate and Future Proof
K-12 Digital Infrastructure: Privacy Enhancing, Interoperable, and Useful

PA Again Achieves Highest Level of Achievement for IDEA Part B Implementation (July 28, 2023)

On July 28, 2023 PA Education Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin released a PennLink communiqué titled Pennsylvania’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B 2023 – Determinations Notification. The message states that on June 23, 2023 Pennsylvania received notification from the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) that the commonwealth received a “Meets Requirements” determination, the highest level that the federal government awards to states under Part B of the IDEA.

Pennsylvania was one of only 23 states and territories that received the distinction this year. The commonwealth’s excellent work in special education has been recognized with the “Meets Requirements” designation for 16 of the 17 years that USDE has been issuing its determinations. This recognition is a testament to the hard work of educators and staff in delivering high-quality services to students with disabilities and their families.

This determination is based on the totality of the commonwealth’s special education data and information, including the federal fiscal year 2021 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), other state-reported data, and additional publicly available information. Consistent with USDE’s Results Driven Accountability, 2023 determinations were based on the commonwealth’s compliance with the regulatory requirements of the IDEA, as well as the positive outcomes being achieved for students.

In making Part B determinations in 2023, the USDE Office of Special Education Programs considered the following results data for students with disabilities:
-Participation on regular statewide assessments.
-Participation and performance on the most recently administered (school year 2018-19) National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
-Graduation with a regular high school diploma.
-Dropout rates.

Pennsylvania’s Part B SPP/APR is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Education website or the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network website. The USDE has developed state profiles as a resource for IDEA-related, state-specific information. Persons interested in reviewing that information may visit the USDE Office of Special Education Program’s Pennsylvania’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B 2023 – Determination Notification. 

CDC Survey: One in Five Low-income Children Report ACEs (July 26, 2023)

According to results from the National Health Interview Survey released on July 20, 2023 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five children in families with incomes up to double the federal poverty level had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) in 2021. 

In addition, less than one in eight children in families with incomes double or more than double than the federal poverty level that had experienced at least one stressful life event in 2021.

Children in families with incomes up to double the federal poverty level were also more likely to be a victim of or witness to violence in their neighborhood and live with someone who had a substance abuse problem, was mentally ill or severely depressed, or was in jail.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

OSEP Releases a DCL and Revised Guidance on SpEd Noncompliance (July 26, 2023)

On July 24, 2023 Valerie Williams, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) disseminated  updated policy guidance and a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) which are aimed at helping states with timely identification and correction of a school district’s noncompliance with early intervention services for infants and toddlers and K-12 special education services. The policy guidance document, titled Guidance on State General Supervision Responsibilities under Parts B and C of the IDEA, is intended to help protect the rights of children with disabilities and their families under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and to facilitate consistent implementation of IDEA among states. In essence, this general supervision guidance document will address requirements related to:
• State general supervision responsibilities;
• Identification and correction of noncompliance;
• The IDEA State performance plan and annual performance report;
• State annual determinations; and
• State enforcement through determinations and other methods

Click to access the updated policy guidance.

Click to access the Dear Colleague Letter.