Category: Federal Government Actions

New OSERS Guidance Reaffirms Importance of Full Implementation of IDEA Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic (August 24, 2021)

On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) sent a letter to its state and local partners reiterating its commitment to ensuring children with disabilities and their families have successful early intervention and educational experiences in the 2021–22 school year.

The letter outlines a series of question and answers (Q&As) as children and students return to in-person learning. The Q&As focus on topics to help ensure that — regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic or the mode of instruction — children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and that infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services.  

The Q&As document on Child Find Under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the first Q&A in the series and reaffirms the importance of appropriate implementation of IDEA’s child find obligations, which requires the identification, location and evaluation, of all children with disabilities in the states. An effective child find system is an ongoing part of each state’s responsibility to ensure that FAPE is made available to all eligible children with disabilities.

Read the Press Release

Read the Letter to OSERS State and Local Partners

Read the Q&A on Child Find Under Part B of IDEA.

Gov. Wolf: FDA Approval Solidifies Safety and Efficacy of COVID-19 Pfizer BioNTech Vaccine (August 24, 2021)

Today, Governor â€‹Tom Wolf issued a statement on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) full approval of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 16 and older.

“Today’s announcement is great news as we continue to fight COVID-19 and its variants,” said Gov. Wolf. â€œFull approval by the FDA solidifies the overall safety and efficacy of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. We hope this encourages people to get vaccinated who may have been hesitant while it was classified as emergency use to not only protect themselves, but their loved ones and everyone else around them.” 

“COVID-19 is still prevalent in our communities, which is why it is extremely important that everyone take their health seriously and get vaccinated,” â€‹Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. â€œWe have been working with vaccine providers to ensure they have the tools needed to vaccinate every Pennsylvanian who wants a vaccine. Providers are ready. Visit www.vaccines.gov to find a location closest to you.”  

Since Dec. 11, 2020, the Pfizer Vaccine has been available under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for individuals 16 and older. EUAs can be used by the FDA during public health emergencies to provide access to medical products that may be effective in preventing, diagnosing, or treating a disease, provided that the FDA determines that the known and potential benefits of a product, when used to prevent, diagnose, or treat the disease, outweigh the known and potential risks of the product. 

The EUA remains in effect for children 12-15 years of age.  For more information on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, visit health.pa.gov or pa.gov/covid.  To find a vaccine provider near you visit www.vaccines.gov.

U.S. Ed. Sec. Cardona Sends Letters to Schools as They Re-open (August 19, 2021)

On August 18, 2021, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona sent letters to schools regarding states’ banning school mask mandates. He also stated that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) may investigate complaints from the public relating to the banning of school mask requirements as a civil rights issue. He also lent his support to school officials who defy the mandate bans in order to protect students and staff from a raging pandemic, while reiterating points made in the White House’s memo of support for local decision-making when instructional delivery issues are involved.

To view the USDE letters, click here.

To view the White House memo, click here.

OCR Announces Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2021-22 School Year (August 17, 2021)

The U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced in a letter to school superintendents that it will administer a 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), marking the first time that OCR has conducted a CRDC, including all public school districts and their schools, two years in a row, for 2020-21 and 2021-22. 

The additional collection will help advance equity at a time when the nation’s educational landscape has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and schools are receiving substantial new federal funding to address new and longstanding challenges. Data from the CRDC will inform ongoing decisions regarding additional support that schools, educators, and students need to succeed, and will also assist OCR in meeting its mission to ensure schools and districts are complying with civil rights laws.

“Without timely and robust data about students’ educational experiences, we cannot begin to understand and then address the impact that the pandemic has had – and continues to have – on student learning and success,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “We know that by working together, and by making this data available to educators and the public, we will improve educational opportunities and outcomes for our children and youth.”

The CRDC gathers and publishes key information about student access to educational courses as well as school climate factors, such as use of discipline and student experiences of harassment and assault, from nearly every public school serving students from pre-K through 12th grade in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The announcement ensures that the Department and the public will have the data necessary to better understand the experiences of students as the country continues to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19, especially after the pandemic-related postponement of the 2019-20 CRDC. Recognizing the critical work of school administrators, teachers, specialists, and support staff in ensuring that all students have equal access to education, the Department will continue to provide robust resources to support state educational agencies, districts, and schools in preparing for and completing the ongoing 2020-21 collection, as well as the collection for the 2021–22 school year.

To view the USDE press release, click here

Sec. Ortega Sends IDEA Part B PennLink to LEAs (August 16, 2021)

On August 16, 2021 PA Secretary of Education Noe Ortega disseminated a PennLink titled  Pennsylvania’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B 2021 – Determinations Notification stating that on June 24, 2021, 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 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 14 of the 15 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 2019 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR), other state-reported data, and additional publicly available information. Consistent with USDE’s Results Driven Accountability, 2021 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 2021, the USDE Office of Special Education Programs considered the following results data for students with disabilities:

  1. Participation on regular statewide assessments.
  2. Participation and performance on the most recently administered (school year 2018-19) National Assessment of Educational Progress.
  3. Graduation with a regular high school diploma.
  4. 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 2021 – Determinations Notification. 

Questions regarding this information may be directed to Amy Pastorak, Assistant Director of the PDE’s Bureau of Special Education, at [email protected].