Category: Federal Government Actions

CDC Issues Recommendations To Guide Reopening Of Schools (May 17, 2020)

On May 14, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a set of documents designed to provide guidance on how schools and child care centers could begin the process of reopening in the face of the coronavirus. The CDC recommends that all workplaces hold off on reopening unless they are ready to protect employees at higher risk for severe illness, including those 65 and older and people of all ages with underlying medical conditions. It also recommends intense cleaning and sanitizing procedures, hand-washing, wearing a cloth face covering, and social distancing. The documents also advise employers to encourage workers to stay home if they feel sick.

CDC also recommends that schools and child care centers  should not reopen unless they are able to implement coronavirus screening protocols, evaluating employees and children daily for symptoms and potential past exposures to COVID-19.

The CDC also asks to first and foremost consider whether adherence with the agency’s reopening guidelines is consistent with state and local stay-at-home orders.

To access CDC recommendations for reopening schools click here.

To access CDC recommendations for reopening child care centers click here.

Schools Invited to Apply to PDE for ESSER Funds (May 15, 2020)

On May 13, 2020, as a result of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) submittal of its application for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), Governor Tom Wolf announced that USDE has approved $523.8 million in one-time federal emergency funds to help schools respond to COVID-19 impacts.

PA Local education agencies (LEAs) can apply to PDE to receive their allocation of the funding and can expect to start receiving funds within the next several weeks.

Under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, at least 90 percent, or $471 million, of the funds will flow through to traditional public schools and charter schools. Each entity will receive an amount proportional to federal Title I-A funds received in 2019 under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

LEAs may use ESSER funding for a wide range of purposes, including food service, professional training, technology purchases, sanitization and cleaning supplies, summer and after-school programs, and mental health supports. Funds must be used by September 2022. PDE is urging school entities to prioritize investments for vulnerable students and families, including those living in the deepest poverty, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.

Click here to view a list of what each school district and charter school will receive in ESSER funds.

The remaining ESSER funds will be used for state-level activities to address issues caused by COVID-19. PDE plans to use the funds to support initiatives, including remote learning, that can be designed and implemented with greater economy of scale at the state level than would be possible or practical for LEAs to pursue individually.

LEAs can apply for ESSER funds via eGrants. Each entity will receive an amount proportional to federal Title I-A funds received in 2019 under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As with all federal funds, payments will be disbursed on a monthly schedule; however, because ESSER is retroactive to March 13, the initial payment may be larger and reflect monthly allocations between March 13 and the date of a district’s application approval. PDE estimates that schools will begin to receive funds in June.

See PDE’s CARES Act website for information, FAQs and more.

USDE Strengthens Title IX Protections (May 7, 2020)

On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) took action to strengthen Title IX protections for survivors of sexual misconduct and to restore due process in campus proceedings to ensure all students can pursue an education free from sex discrimination. For the first time ever, USDE’s Title IX regulations define sexual harassment, including sexual assault, as unlawful sex discrimination. The new Title IX regulation holds schools accountable for failure to respond equitably and promptly to sexual misconduct incidents and ensures a more reliable adjudication process that is fair to all students.

For more details, click here.

COVID-19 Pandemic Leads to Increased Focus on the Need for SEL (May 6, 2020)

In the fall, students and staff will return to school with collective trauma, higher anxiety levels and more stress after dealing with everything from child abuse and neglect to unemployment and loss of life.

As our nation endures an unprecedented realignment of daily life, young people absorb their parents’ tensions, but also contend with pressures of their own. They may have lost contact with friends, had to deal with canceled graduations and athletics and performing arts performances for which they have been preparing for years, and the fear that their futures may be compromised. In assessing the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, psychologists speculate that most kids will fall between the extremes of derailing or flourishing.

While school districts send students academic lessons via cyberspace or paper packet, they are providing just part of the school experience children need. For example, between the ages of six and 12, quarantined students are missing out on learning such things as  how to play with each other in games, sports, and other activities; as well as how to make and keep friends. Between the ages of 10 and 18, students need school. The buildings themselves feel like a home base and are symbolic of a formality and structure students lose by being socially distant.

School is the setting for important activities and vital milestones. It is the place where children develop their sense of identity, and a source of impetus for the future.

The mental health resources, other community partnerships, and relationships built with families during this time serve as an important part of reentry planning, and those same relationships will help when the time comes for re-orientation to the new school environment. 

Thus, a renewed focus on SEL ​must strive onward when students are back in school. 

To help, federal funds from the CARES stimulus package are working their way into school coffers. It is hoped that there will be ample flexibility to allow them to be purposed for counseling and other supports. 

For more information, visit Education Dive by clicking here.

Secretary DeVos Reiterates Learning Must Continue for All Students, Declines to Seek Congressional Waivers to FAPE, LRE Requirements of IDEA (April 28, 2020)

On April 27th, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos reaffirmed her position that individualized education must take place for all students, including students with disabilities. As a result, the Secretary is not recommending Congress pass any additional waiver authority concerning the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), reiterating that learning must continue for all students during the COVID-19 national emergency. For more, please click here.