Category: Government Actions

Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition (Indicator 13) (July 19, 2026)

In response to the accountability requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) Part B State Performance Plans, the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) and intermediate unit transition consultants will provide sustained professional development for targeted local educational agencies (LEAs). This targeted professional development will assist with creating compliant and effective individualized secondary transition programming for students with disabilities.

The requirements for each LEA assigned to the 2026-2027 Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition training are as follows:
-Develop an administrative team to support the targeted training and technical assistance process. The administrative team is required to attend the webinar, What LEAs Need to Know About The Secondary Transition Cyclical Monitoring Schoology Course, on September 10, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Administrative team members need to register in advance for this training on the PaTTAN Training Calendar, using the link: PaTTAN – Session-42664.
-Assign a lead contact person to complete an interview/survey regarding effective practices for secondary transition as facilitated by an intermediate unit and/or PaTTAN consultant. The lead contact will work with IU Transition TaC/PaTTAN consultants to develop and implement a local training plan for the 2026-2027 school year.
•Identify targeted staff (i.e., special education directors, building principals, transition coordinators, special education teachers, speech/language therapists, school counselors, school psychologists, career tech ed staff, and other LEA staff involved in secondary programming) who will be required to complete an online Schoology course and targeted staff to participate in IEP pre-reviews using the PA Indicator 13 checklist, complete IEP post-reviews, participate in coaching activities as warranted with IU Transition TaC.
•Identify and ensure all targeted staff complete the required online Schoology course, Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition Planning and IEP Development, between September 11, 2026, and February 26, 2027.
‣Step 1- Registration for Act 48 and the Schoology course directions can be found on the PaTTAN Training Calendar, using this link: PaTTAN – Session-42668.
*All assigned staff must individually register on the PaTTAN Training Calendar using the registration key: IND13-2026 in order to receive 6 Act 48 credit hours and directions to register for the Schoology course, Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition Planning and IEP Development.
‣Step 2- On September 11, once assigned staff have completed Step 1, an email will be sent with directions on how to access the Schoology course, Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition Planning and IEP Development and the access code for each LEA’s region. If directions are not received via email after registering on the PaTTAN Training Calendar, please contact Administrative Assistant, Kristen Olszyk at kolszyk@pattanpgh.net.
‣Step 3- Upon receiving the directions for the Schoology course and the access code for your LEA’s region, assigned staff must join their region’s Schoology section and complete the required course.

For questions concerning the Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition training for 2026-2027, contact PaTTAN Educational Consultants, Darla Bryant at dbryant@pattan.net or Stephanie Ruby at sruby@pattan.net.

USDE DCL Addresses Schools “Passing the Trash” (July 18, 2026)

On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) issued a Dear Colleague letter to states and school districts reminding them of their responsibilities to protect students rather than engage in the practice, which it called “a troubling and recurring pattern in schools” nationwide. In addition, on the same day the USDE announced it was opening 20 targeted investigations into schools that the it suspects of “passing the trash” based on their responses to the 2023-24 Civil Rights Data Collection.

According to the Dear Colleague letter, 35 states lacked laws banning the suppression of information regarding employee sexual misconduct in termination, resignation, and severance agreements as of 2022. And 40 states didn’t prohibit expunging such information from personnel files.

For more information from K-12 Dive, click here.

10 Republican-led Bills Are First Steps in Closing the USDE (July 17, 2026)

On July 15, 2026, the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee approved 10 Republican-led bills that are the first steps in eventually closing the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The bills would codify several interagency agreements the USDE already has in place that move core education-related functions, but not the statutory responsibilities for them, out of the USDE and into other federal agencies. Select legal responsibilities would be permanently moved out of the USDE, including programs involving K-12 student academic supports, career and technical education, and federal student loan activities.

Committee Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sponsor of two bills in the 10-bill package, said the USDE has “failed.” Conversely, ranking committee member Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., opposed the bills, saying the transfers were “impractical” and “represent the abdication of the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that all students, regardless of race, religion, disability, income, or zip code, have access to a quality public education. Whatever you say about the ‘problems’ at the Department of Education, these bills will only make things worse.”

The panel’s Republican majority rejected Democrat-led amendments to the bills, including those to require progress reports, funding guardrails, and increased staffing to support the outsourced activities.

The bills still need full House and then Senate approval.

For more details from K-12 Dive, click here.

PDH Launches Measles Dashboard to Keep Parents, Public Informed of Ongoing Cases, Highlights Efforts to Battle the Disease (July 16, 2026)

On July 14, 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) launched a new online dashboard to keep Pennsylvania families and communities informed about measles cases in the Commonwealth, including case details on county, age, and hospitalizations. The new dashboard will be updated Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons with the latest data available. In addition to the number of cases per county, the dashboard includes demographic data, hospitalization rate, and vaccination status of the cases.

In late June, to ensure that Pennsylvania infants, who are particularly vulnerable to measles, are protected from getting the virus, PDH issued guidance to health care providers enabling them to vaccinate infants as young as six months of age. This early dose of the MMR vaccine is safe and provides moderate protection when measles is spreading.

Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk for infection. 

Boosting Vaccine Information and Access
Two doses of the MMR vaccine is the best protection against the measles virus, as it is 97% effective at preventing a person from ever contracting it. The vaccine has long-proven effectiveness over several decades. Since the vaccine was introduced in the early 1960s, cases and deaths from measles in the U.S. decreased more than 97% compared to the pre-vaccine era.

Because measles was essentially eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, most health care providers have not treated a patient with the disease. To ensure Pennsylvania providers have the information they need, PDH issued multiple Health Alert Network messages outlining the signs and symptoms of measles and reminding clinicians to encourage patients to stay up to date on their vaccinations.

Educating Health Care Providers
To help address the outbreak, PDH measles experts hosted in-person and live, virtual medical briefings for more than 1,000 doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to help them identify and treat patients with measles.

Measles: What You Should Know
Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads to other people when a person who has measles breathes, coughs, or sneezes. The virus remains in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours even after the person with measles leaves the area. Symptoms to watch for include fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis), followed by a rash that starts on the head and spreads downward. Symptoms can start 7 to 21 days after exposure. Measles can cause serious health complications, including hospitalization or death.

When PDH is alerted to a new measles case, local public health staff conduct contact tracing to immediately identify contacts and places exposure may have occurred, and to implement necessary public health action, including public notification, to prevent further spread of the virus. The contact tracing team works around the clock to reach everyone who might have been exposed and to ensure people with measles are isolating while contagious.

PDH continues to closely monitor the situation and work with local health care partners to ensure timely notification and testing of any potential cases. Throughout the response, PDH evaluates new public health strategies and partnerships that aim to reduce the spread of the virus, while also providing easy access to vaccination.

People who believe they were exposed to measles and are experiencing symptoms should contact their health care provider or call PDH’s toll-free hotline at 877-PA-HEALTH (877-724-3258).

School Vaccination Rates
PDH currently provides school vaccination data at the county and state level. In August, school-level vaccination information will be available online, so families have additional information to make personal health and educational decisions. These efforts underscore the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to boosting public access to information and ensuring transparency in our work to protect public health.

More information on measles is available at www.pa.gov/measles.

Former Federal Officials Send Letter to Congress Opposing USDE’s Special Ed. Interagency Agreement (July 15, 2026)

In a July 13, 2026 letter to federal legislators, 13 former federal officials who were responsible for overseeing special education implementation in states and districts urged Congress to reject the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) plans to move programs serving students with disabilities to another federal agency.

The letter’s authors are former officials who served under every presidential administration since President Richard Nixon, including during the first President Donald Trump administration, but not for the second Trump administration. According to the letter, efforts to shift special education responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “dismantles, rather than relocates, the federal infrastructure built over five decades” of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

It also expressed concern that moving special education programs from the USDE’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to HHS would deprioritize students’ educational needs. In fact, according to the letter, “Moving IDEA’s implementation into a health agency risks substituting medical management for educational access.”

In June, the USDE announced four interagency agreements, including one to move certain special education activities to HHS. USDE also stated it was transferring some civil rights activities from its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

In total, the USDE has publicly announced 14 interagency agreements with six other federal agencies. The agreements come as the Trump administration works to eliminate the USDE.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.