Category: Federal Government Actions

DHS Creates New Website to Help SNAP Recipients to Navigate Changes in Work Requirements (September 2, 2025)

The new website, dhs.pa.gov/work, will help Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients understand upcoming work and reporting requirements put in place by the Republican budget bill that took effect on September 1, 2025.

SNAP recipients who are affected will now need to report their work, education, training, or volunteer hours to continue receiving benefits.

The Shapiro Administration has launched dhs.pa.gov/work, a new website to help Pennsylvanians navigate changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work and reporting requirements that are a result of the Republican budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump earlier this summer that went into effect on September 1, 2025. As a result of that federal legislation, certain SNAP recipients must now report work, education, training, or volunteer hours to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to maintain benefits. These requirements will continue to expand throughout Fall 2025.

The website provides details on who is affected, how to meet the work and reporting requirements, and which SNAP recipients may qualify for an exemption and how to obtain one.

The federal budget bill also eliminates flexibilities that previously allowed states to request waivers for work and reporting requirements based on local unemployment rates or job availability.

Currently, under the new law, affected SNAP recipients must report at least 20 hours of work, education, training, or volunteering per week (or 80 hours per month) if they:

  • Are 18–54 years old,
  • Do not have a dependent child under 18, and
  • Are physically and mentally able to work.

Recipients who do not meet these requirements can only receive three months of SNAP benefits within a three-year period. The earliest potential benefit loss in Pennsylvania is December 2025.

Additional requirements taking effect November 1, 2025, will affect other SNAP recipients who were not previously subject to them, including:

  • Adults 55–64 years old
  • Parents of any age whose youngest child is 14 or older
  • Veterans
  • Homeless individuals
  • Current or former foster children aged 24 or younger (starting when they turn 18)

To help SNAP recipients prepare, DHS is sending a voluntary survey to those who may be affected. Responses will help determine exemptions based on medical needs or life circumstances but will not affect eligibility. Recipients should return the survey promptly.

Additional support is available via:

  • DHS Resources: Video and infographic demos at dhs.pa.gov/work
  • Commonwealth’s website: Learn more about the impacts of the federal budget bill on Pennsylvanians at pa.gov/federalbudgetresponse
  • Employment Programs: PA CareerLink® and other programs to help recipients meet the 20-hour/week or 80-hour/month requirement
  • Further Assistance: Contact your local County Assistance Office or the DHS Customer Service Center at 877-395-8930 (Philadelphia: 215-560-7226)

Pennsylvanians should also keep their address up-to-date with DHS by calling the Customer Service Center or updating their address through COMPASS, and with the United States Postal Service so they don’t miss any important mailings about their benefits.

For more information on upcoming SNAP work reporting requirements, visit dhs.pa.gov/work.

PA Receives IDEA Part B 2025 Determinations Notification (August 29, 2025)

On , 2025, Pennsylvania received notification from the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office of Special Education Programs that the Commonwealth has 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 20 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 18 of the 19 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.
The “Meets Requirements” determination is based on the Commonwealth’s special education results and compliance data, including information related to the participation of children with disabilities (CWD) on statewide assessments; the participation and performance of CWD on the most recently administered (2024) National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP); exiting data on CWD who dropped out and CWD who graduated with a regular high school diploma; the state’s federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR); information from monitoring and other public information, such as Specific Conditions on the state’s grant award under IDEA Part B; and other issues related to state compliance with the IDEA.
Pennsylvania’s Part B SPP/APR is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Education website.
The USDE has developed state profiles as a resource for IDEA-related, state-specific information. Persons interested in reviewing IDEA-related files for Pennsylvania may visit the USDE Office of Special Education Program’s state profile website.
Questions regarding this information may be directed to Amy Pastorak, Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education, at apastorak@pa.gov.

FDA Approves COVID-19 Vaccines with New Restrictions, CDC Director is Fired and Other Officials Resign (August 27, 2025)

As reported by NBC News on August 27, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines for fall 2025. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., those shots will be available for a smaller, high-risk group of people which includes adults 65 and older as well as kids and adults with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk of severe illness. Prior to this change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended COVID-19 shots for everyone six months and older.

In a related occurrence, CDC Director Susan Monarez, has been fired and other top CDC officials have resigned. CDC officials who have resigned include: Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jen Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology

Dr. Monarez did not last a month in her position.

For more on the new COVID-19 guidelines from NBC News, click here.

For more from NBC News on the CDC shakeup, click here.

USDE Proposes Removal of Data Collection for Special Ed. Racial Disparities (August 23, 2025)

According to a notice published on August 22, 2025 in the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is proposing to remove a requirement for states to collect and report on racial disparities in special education. The data collection, which is part of the annual state application under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, provides assurances that the state and its districts will comply with IDEA rules as a condition for receiving federal IDEA funding. 

Known in the field as significant disproportionality, the data collection for racial overrepresentation or underrepresentation in special education helps identify states and districts that have racial disparities among student special education identifications, placements and discipline. In the 2021-22 school year, data showed that about 5% of school districts nationwide were identified with significant disproportionality.

The USDE has not said it wants to rescind or pause the significant disproportionality regulation, a rule known as Equity in IDEA, which was last updated in 2016. However, during the first Trump administration, the implementation of the rule was delayed by the USDE until a lawsuit forced the rule to be back in full effect. 

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

USDE Plans Return of Laid-off OCR Staff (August 22, 2025)

The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) said it plans to bring back more than 260 Office for Civil Rights staff that it cut as part of its March reduction in force, returning groups of employees to the civil rights enforcement arm in waves every two weeks September 8 through November 3, 2025. Since March, the USDE has been paying the laid-off OCR employees about $1 million per week to sit idle on administrative leave.

The USDE’s August 19, 2025 update was filed as required by a federal judge’s order in Victim Rights Law Center v. U.S. Department of Education directing that the USDE be restored to “the status quo” so it can “carry out its statutory functions.” 

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.