Category: Federal Government Actions

USDA Proposes Lower Threshold for Schools to Qualify for Free Meals (March 23, 2023)

On March 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a rule to expand access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows high-poverty schools to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students without requiring families to file an application.

The proposed change would lower the minimum threshold of the ā€œIdentified Student Percentageā€ (ISP) from 40% to 25% for a school or district to qualify for CEP. That percentage is calculated by dividing the number of students eligible for free meals by the total student enrollment.Ā 

The USDA opened a 45-day public comment period on the proposed CEP rule beginning March 23, 2023.Ā 

Source: K-12 Dive

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Unanimous Decision: Supreme Court Rules Against District in Landmark Special Ed. Case (March 22, 2023)

On March 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a rare unanimous decision, ruled that a deaf student can sue his school for its failure to provide him with a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

In the case, Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, instead of providing the student (Perez) with aides able to translate class material into sign language, as promised, the aides were not trained in sign language at all, and often were absent from classes.

Further, because the student received better than passing grades (As and Bs) on report cards, his parents reasonably thought he was on track to graduate. However, near the end of his senior year in high school, the parents learned that he would instead be receiving a certificate of completion and not a diploma. The parents filed a complaint with the state, and the school district settled the case, agreeing to pay for future training at the Michigan School for the Deaf.

Consequently, the student pursued compensation for past damages, including loss of income and emotional distress, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which bars discrimination against those with disabilities. That lawsuit ultimately compelled the Supreme Court to determine whether the student could sue for past damages under a different statute, since the first suit was under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the subsequent suit was under the ADA. The unanimous decision provided a resounding affirmative answer to that question.

The result is that an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit seeking compensatory damages for the denial of a free and appropriate education (FAPE) may proceed without exhausting the administrative processes of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) because the remedy sought is not one IDEA provides.

Click here to read the SCOTUS Blog.

Read the full K-12 Dive article by clicking here.

Read an article from NPR by clicking here.

USDE Dear Colleague Letter Addresses Use of Perkins Funds (March 15, 2023)

On March 15, 2023, a ā€œDear Colleague Letter (DCL),ā€ was issued by Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education Amy Loyd, that addresses how Perkins funds can be used to tackle our nationā€™s teacher shortage.

Among other things, the DCL describes allowable activities and strategies for which the $1.43 billion appropriated each year through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), may be used to improve the recruitment and preparation of future CTE educators, as well as educators that teach other subjects. This letter is posted to the Departmentā€™s Website at: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/perkins-educator-prep.pdf, on the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN) at: https://www.ed.gov, and on the PAPSA website at https://papsa-web.org/wp-content/uploads/DCL-Perkins-and-Educator-Preparation-3-15-23.pdf. As Assistant Secretary Loyd states in the letter that, ā€œJust as CTE has risen to address other workforce challenges, we too must respond to the workforce shortages that we now see within our own industry. We look forward to working with you to address and overcome these challenges.”

Biden Requests $90B for USDE in FY24 Budget (March 9, 2023)

On Thursday, March 9, 2023 President Joe Biden released his proposed FY 2024 budget. The proposal appropriates $90 billion for the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). That number reflects a $10.8 billion increase over this year’s budget allocations, which is a 13.6% hike.

Highlights of the proposal include appropriations of $20.5 billion for Title I and $16.8 billion for pre-K-12 special education services.

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Medicaid Reimbursements to Impact Schools (March 6, 2023)

Upcoming changes in Medicaid coverage and policy could take a toll on districts and the families they serve, education policy experts and advocates say. Much of the expected coverage loss will be due to administrative churn and impact district reimbursements as well as overall student health and attendance.

Medicaid eligibility rates impact school-based Medicaid reimbursement as well as how districts certify students as qualifying for free-and-reduced lunch in some states. If fewer students suddenly qualify for Medicaid, this will directly impact district finances.

Medicaid is the third or fourth largest federal revenue stream for school systems, according to the Medicaid in Schools Coalition.

Students with less access to healthcare are also more likely to be chronically absent and rely on limited school-based health services instead. 

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