Category: Government Actions

PDE/BCTE PennLink Provides CATS Info to LEAs (February 16, 2021)

On February 16, 2021, Dr. Lee Burket, Bureau of Career and Technical Education Director, sent a PennLink communiquÊ to all LEAs titled 2021-2022 Career and Technical Education Information System (CATS) Secondary Program Approval File. The memo urges recipients to share this information pertaining to the re-approval of the CATS Program with your high school principals, career and technical education (CTE) supervisors, curriculum coordinators, applicable department chairs, business managers, school counselors, CTE instructional staff, and school support personnel.

CATS Program Re-Approval
For the 2021-2022 school year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education/Bureau of Career and Technical Education (PDE/BCTE) in accordance with Chapter 339.4(a)(2), will begin to review all existing secondary approved programs currently being offered at career and technical centers (CTCs) across the commonwealth. School district approved secondary programs will be re-approved during the 2022-2023 school year. The CATS file is a series of individual pages containing data elements pertaining to various aspects of approved programs. All school entities with approved programs must ensure that all data element information in CATS is accurate. Failure to comply may result in programs no longer being approved. Professional staff from the PDE/BCTE will be contacting all CTCs to assist with the re-approval process. CTCs have until May 31, 2021 to update the data elements in CATS. CATS can be accessed at the login on PDE’s homepage.

2021-2022 CATS Secondary Program Initial Approval
The 2021-22 CATS Secondary Program Approval file is now open for new secondary CTE program approval requests. The CATS file is a series of individual pages containing data elements pertaining to various aspects of approved CTE programs. The newly updated CATS Secondary Program Approval Instructions are available on the PDE website. BCTE recommends that approval for Programs of Study (POS) be sought for all programs for which a POS exists. Programs for which a POS has not been developed, approval must be sought for a CTE delivery. All approved programs must be delivered as POS or Career and Technical Education. All industry certifications MUST be entered for the teacher and students. The deadline for seeking new program approval is May 31, 2021.

CATS can be accessed at the login on PDE’s homepage.The Career Pathway Option is a radial button in CATS to connect two or more Classification of Instructional Programs (CIPs) that are POS approved programs and offer the same foundational technical curriculum the first year. This pathway allows students to experience several related CIPs in a POS Pathway and require specific elements for pathway approval.  Any secondary school may submit a request for POS approval. Currently, there are 43 POS available on PDE’s website. The competency/task grid for each POS is the foundational curriculum framework for the CIP. Therefore, all competencies/tasks must be addressed in the approved program. POS competency/task grids have been revised and are posted on the PDE website. Local Education Agencies must use the most recent list available. Additional competencies should be added as recommended by your Occupational Advisory Committee. Each course in the scope and sequence must be cross-walked to the task grid and aligned to the course where the tasks are taught in the specific information tab in block 2.In addition, your approved POS will provide the benefit of the articulated credits indicated by the statewide group of postsecondary institutions on CollegeTransfer.net.

Questions should be referred to Tammy Keisling, at (717)783-6996 or email [email protected].

PDE Provides Update on Statewide Assessments; Uncertainty Remains (February 15, 2021)

In a “Dear Colleague” letter dated February 12, 2021, PA Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Matthew S. Stem provided an update on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) planning for statewide assessments required by the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Noting that the update is “long overdue,” he said that PA would be heading “down one of two paths within the next two weeks”. Those two paths are:

1.  If the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) changes direction and invites state waivers from school year 2020-21 assessment administration, PDE will carefully consider such an option and will likely quickly survey local education agency (LEA) leadership to gather data that could inform such a waiver request. At this time, PDE is not requesting this information because it is unclear what requirements USDE would include in a waiver process, should one become available.

2.  If the USDE requires states to move forward with assessment administration, PDE will quickly issue guidance that balances, to the greatest extent possible, the complexities of statewide testing during the pandemic and safety considerations for students, staff, and families. In the event Pennsylvania moves forward with Spring testing,the testing windows would be:

        PSSA: April 19 -May 28, 2021

        PASA: March 8 -May 7, 2021

        Keystone Exams: May 17 -June 25, 2021

Within these windows, schools would not be required to test all students in a cohort at one time. Schools could test smaller groups for the sake of social distancing, thorough cleaning, and other prescribed safety protocols. Any school that remains in a remote or hybrid learning situation in March, and cannot safely provide face-to-face Keystone exams during the extended Winter Keystone window,would plan to test those students during the Spring window.

In closing, the letter states that PDE will continue to monitor developments every day, and will do its best to communicate a definitive path forward by the end of February 2021.

USDE COVID-19 Handbook Volume 1: Strategies for Safely Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools Released to Supplement New CDC Guidelines (February 12, 2021)

Immediately following the CDC’s February 12, 2021 release of its Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation, the US Department of Education (USDE) released U.S. Department of Education COVID-19 Handbook Volume 1: Strategies for Safely Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools. The first volume supplements CDC’s Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation. ED’s handbook provides practical examples and roadmaps to provide educators and staff with the tools they need to implement CDC’s recommended safe practices for in-person learning. Access the handbook by clicking here or by going to:

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-covid-19-handbook-volume-1-strategies-safely-reopening-elementary-and-secondary-schools?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=

CDC Releases New School Re-opening Guidelines (February 12, 2021)

On February 12, 2021, the CDC released school reopening guidelines titled CDC’s Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through Phased Mitigation. Here is the link to them: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/schools-childcare/K-12-Operational-Strategy-2021-2-12.pdf

In addition, here is an overview sheet that CDC put out as well: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/schools-childcare/Operational-Strategy-for-K-12-Schools-through-Phased-Mitigation.pdf

BSE Director Clancy Sends PennLink to LEAs to Review APSEM System Data (February 10, 2021)

On February 10, 2021, Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy sent a PennLink to all LEAs titled Review of Enrollments in the Approved Private School Electronic Management (APSEM) System. The memo said that Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) ha recently received a notification about reviewing School Year 2019-2020, 4010 enrollments through the Approved Private School Electronic Management (APSEM) system.  LEAs were asked to review their Approved Private School (APS) enrollments by: Logging in as an APS or a LEA User; Clicking the Reports link on the header; Choosing the 4010 Enrollment Report from the report dropdown; Choosing 2019-2020 from the School Year dropdown; Clicking on the Run button; Clicking the Open button at the bottom of the screen to open the spreadsheet; and Reviewing the 4010 enrollments data, including the student name, date of birth, primary exceptionality, age category, etc.  Recipients of the PennLink memo are asked to forward the email to the individual responsible for the APSEM data review in their APS or LEA.  Questions regarding this information, should be directed to Jessica Burkey at 717-783-6906 or [email protected].