Category: Government Actions

PA Awards More Than $1.4 Million In Grants To Grow Pennsylvania’s Special Educator Workforce (July 23, 2024)

On July 22, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) awarded more than $1.4 million to 77 school entities to grow the Commonwealth’s next generation of special educators. The awardees include Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) interested in developing or expanding experiential learning opportunities to engage secondary and postsecondary students in learning about and/or working with students with disabilities to inspire the next generation of special educators. Through experiential learning opportunities, secondary/postsecondary students will learn about supporting students with disabilities through participation in structured activities, programs, and/or events with guidance and oversight from current educators. Ultimately, the goal is to recruit future special education professionals by engaging them in authentic, experiential learning opportunities in support of students with disabilities.​
The awardees are:

  
GranteeGrantee TypeAward
Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictSchool District13,700
Bethel Park School DistrictSchool District20,000
Blackhawk School DistrictSchool District20,000
BLaST Intermediate Unit 17Intermediate Unit20,000
Cameron County School DistrictSchool District7,650
Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15Intermediate Unit20,000
Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21Intermediate Unit19,932
Carlow UniversityCollege/University20,000
Cedar Crest CollegeCollege/University19,652
Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 16Intermediate Unit19,999
Chambersburg Area School DistrictSchool District20,000
Chester County Intermediate Unit 24Intermediate Unit20,000
Chestnut Hill CollegeCollege/University20,000
Claysburg-Kimmel School DistrictSchool District20,000
Colonial Intermediate Unit 20Intermediate Unit20,750
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania – BloomsburgCollege/University20,000
Delaware Valley School DistrictSchool District6,828
DeSales UniversityCollege/University14,000
East Stroudsburg University of PennsylvaniaCollege/University20,000
Eastern UniversityCollege/University19,978.94
Elizabethtown Area School DistrictSchool District16,200
Fleetwood Area School DistrictSchool District20,000
Freedom Area School DistrictSchool District20,000
General McLane School DistrictSchool District20,000
Governor Mifflin School DistrictSchool District20,000
Gywnedd Mercy UniversityCollege/University19,999.21
Hampton Township School DistrictSchool District20,000
Holy Family UniversityCollege/University20,000
Hopewell Area School DistrictSchool District9,000
Immaculata UniversityCollege/University20,000
Indiana University of PennsylvaniaCollege/University20,000
Intermediate Unit 1Intermediate Unit20,000
Juniata County School DistrictSchool District20,000
Kutztown University of PennsylvaniaCollege/University19,949
Laurel School DistrictSchool District18,345.28
Laurel Highlands School DistrictSchool District20,000
Lehigh Carbon Community CollegeCommunity College20,000
Lindley Academy Charter SchoolCharter School20,000
Midwestern Intermediate Unit IVIntermediate Unit20,000
Moravian UniversityCollege/University19,998
Mount Pleasant Area School DistrictSchool District20,000
New Hope-Solebury School DistrictSchool District4,650
North Hills School DistrictSchool District20,000
Northern Pennsylvania Regional CollegeCommunity College20,000
Northern Tioga School DistrictSchool District19,700
Palmyra Area School DistrictSchool District19,152
Pennsylvania Western UniversityCollege/University19,521.20
Pittsburgh Public SchoolsSchool District20,000
Plum Borough School DistrictSchool District18,937
Pocono Mountain School DistrictSchool District20,000
Point Park UniversityCollege/University20,000
Pottstown School DistrictSchool District17,200
Pottsville Area School DistrictSchool District20,000
Redbank Valley School DistrictSchool District17,200
River Valley School DistrictSchool District20,000
Riverside Beaver County School DistrictSchool District15,700
Riverview School DistrictSchool District17,000
Robert Morris UniversityCollege/University20,000
Saint Joseph’s UniversityCollege/University20,000
Schuylkill Valley School DistrictSchool District20,000
Selinsgrove School DistrictSchool District19,951
Shippensburg UniversityCollege/University20,000
Slippery Rock School DistrictSchool District19,920
Slippery Rock UniversityCollege/University19,982.59
Southern Tioga School DistrictSchool District13,380
Sto-Rox School DistrictSchool District20,000
Susquehanna Township School DistrictSchool District19,400.98
Susquehanna UniversityCollege/University19,998
The Education Center at the Watson InstituteApproved Private School20,000
The Pennsylvania State University, HarrisburgCollege/University20,000
Union City Area School DistrictSchool District11,412
University of Pittsburgh School of EducationCollege/University19,985
Urban Pathways 6-12 Charter SchoolCharter School20,000
Warwick School DistrictSchool District14,660
Waynesboro Area School DistrictSchool District20,000
West Allegheny School DistrictSchool District20,000
Williams Valley School DistrictSchool District20,000

This program builds on PDE’s efforts to recruit and retain teachers in Pennsylvania in hopes that these investments will help PA to better serve both current and future students and educators and address the education workforce shortage—and make it easier for Pennsylvanians to become a teacher.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please visit the website.

PDE Launches New Free Resource to Help Students, Families Fill Out the FAFSA

On July 19,2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced it has partnered with national nonprofit uAspire to launch a free statewide helpdesk to assist students with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application.

FAFSA completion nationwide is at crisis-low levels due to delays in the application release and subsequent processing and data errors, which is why it is now more important than ever for Pennsylvania to lend support to postsecondary students. PDE has worked closely with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, higher education institutions, and high school administrators to increase support for students who need help completing the FAFSA or addressing errors on their FAFSA application. The launch of the new helpdesk ensures that students have the help they need during the summer months when they can’t rely on school resources.

This summer, Pennsylvania students, families, and aspiring postsecondary learners can text 313-PA-FAFSA (313-723-2372) to receive personalized support through a scheduled phone call or virtual advising session. Assistance is available in English and in Spanish. In addition to the FAFSA helpdesk, the partnership will also provide postsecondary practitioners with free professional development on all aspects of FAFSA completion, including corrections and verification, as well as financial aid offer review. 

FAFSA is the sole gateway to all federal, state, and most institutional financial aid in Pennsylvania, including student loans available for all income levels.  For more information, click here.

Ceremonial Bill Signing Highlights Budget Investments to Support the Pennsylvania ID/A Community, and Promote Special Olympics

Governor Josh Shapiro joined Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A), caregivers and advocates, and legislative leaders for a ceremonial bill signing to highlight the 2024-25 budget he signed into law last week. Before the signing, the Governor hosted Special Olympics Pennsylvania for a bocce tournament and brunch at the Governor’s Residence.

For years, the ID/A community demanded real help – and Governor Shapiro heard them loud and clear. This budget finally stands up for Pennsylvanians with ID/A and the direct support professionals (DSPs) who care for them by securing $354.8 million in federal and state funding to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers, which includes $280 million to help raise wages for the direct support professionals who care for Pennsylvanians and $74.8 million to begin the process of clearing the emergency waiting list – ensuring more Pennsylvanians receive the care they need and deserve.

The bipartisan 2024-25 budget investments build on the $17.49 million secured in the 2023-24 budget to help an additional 850 Pennsylvanians with ID/A get off the home and community-based services waiting list.

For more information, click here.

FAFSA Completion Numbers are Down; House Bill Seeks to Move Upcoming  Release Date to Oct. 1 (July 14, 2024)

The number of high school seniors who completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid stalled this June, spawning fears of enrollment declines this fall,

According to the latest analysis from the National College Attainment Network, as of June 28th some 46% of the high school class of 2024 had submitted the new FAFSA form, which is drop from 53.2% at the same time in 2023. That is a decrease of about 250,000 applicants.

As a result, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced a handful of FAFSA support strategies for increasing completion rates. In fact, one $50 million investment has funded over 65 groups to encourage form completion by, among other things, allowing them to hire more advisers and coaches, as well as offering extended hours throughout the summer.

In addition, on July 10, 2024 the U.S. House education committee advanced a bill that would require the USDE to release the FAFSA by Oct. 1 each year. At present, the USDE is legally required to release the FAFSA by Jan. 1 each year. However, it typically makes the form public on Oct. 1.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Title IX Athletics Rule Delayed Again; Title VI, 504, and Medicaid SBS Rules Also Delayed (July 13, 2024)

As reported by K-12 Dive, a July 5th regulatory update from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shows the Title IX athletics rule proposal has been moved to a “long-term action” without a rough deadline, meaning the agency doesn’t expect a regulatory action within at least the next year. Originally, OMB’s Spring 2024 Unified Agenda had also included updates for high-profile forthcoming regulations on race discrimination and Section 504 and the athletics regulation was listed as being in the “final rule stage,” or one step away from release. The US Department of Education (USDE) has now set a December 2024 deadline for releasing a proposed Title VI rule on protecting students from discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, in addition to other forms of racial discrimination. The USDE has also set November as the new deadline for a proposed rule for Section 504 covering students with disabilities in schools and colleges.

Another disability-related regulation — also now expected by November — is aimed at easing the process of obtaining parental consent for Medicaid school-based health services. School administrative groups advocating for the proposed change aver that it would make the parental consent process more efficient and cost-effective for schools while still protecting participating students’ benefits.

However, in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the longstanding Chevron doctrine complicates the path of all of the proposed agency rules changes.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.