With the passage of the 2024-25 Pennsylvania budget, higher education in the commonwealth received the following:

-The creation of a new State Board of Higher Education that will, for the first time, coordinate every sector of higher education in Pennsylvania and utilize student-level data to determine what’s working and what’s not. The board will ensure higher education in Pennsylvania supports critical workforce needs and serves as an economic driver for generations to come. The board will also create a performance-based funding council that will develop recommendations on how to create a performance-based funding formula to drive funds to state-related institutions.

-Investments in public higher education institutions, including a $15.7 million increase – a 6 percent increase – for community colleges and $35.1 million increase for PASSHE schools – also a 6 percent increase.

-Funds to makes higher education more affordable for students with over $120 million in increased funding for scholarships and grants, including $28 million for scholarships to students pursuing a degree in a high-demand field, a $54 million increase to PHEAA student grants, and $5 million for disadvantaged students’ scholarships.

-Double the funding for student teacher stipends for a total of $20 million to ensure student teachers are compensated for their hard work. For more information, click here.

In the 2023-24 budget, Governor Josh Shapiro secured the largest increase in K-12 basic education funding in Pennsylvania up to that point and secured universal free breakfast for 1.7 million students.

The 2024-25 budget builds on this historic progress and makes the largest investment in Commonwealth history in K-12 public education and delivers a comprehensive solution on K-12 education in Pennsylvania, including:
-$1.11 billion in total increases in K-12 public education funding – and drives those dollars out in a more equitable manner to the schools that need it most under a new formula.
-$100 million in sustainable funding for environmental repair and other facilities in schools to create safe and healthy environments for students to learn in and teachers to teach in, including $25 million for Solar for Schools.
-A $100 million increase for special education funding, reinforcing Pennsylvania’s commitment to equitable education for all students.
-A $100 million cyber charter reimbursement to better align tuition with the actual costs of providing an online education and save school districts millions annually.

In the 2023-24 budget, Governor Shapiro secured $100 million for student mental health services and $20 million for county mental health support. The final 2024-25 budget matches those investments and takes a step further by continuing an annual $100 million in mental health funding for K-12 schools, building upon one-time federal funds to ensure schools have the continued resources to provide mental health services to students and staff and increasing another $20 million for county mental health.

Also, to help parents and families in the PA workforce cannot succeed if there is a lack of affordable childcare – and the new budget makes a critically needed $17.7 million increase for early childhood education, including:
-$15 million for the Pre-K Counts program.
-$2.7 million for the Head Start Supplement Assistance program to support our early learners and stabilize our workforce.

For more information, click here.

On July 11, 2024, the PA State Board of Education held its 381st meeting at the PDE offices and via Zoom. At the meeting, Bureau of Career and Technical Education Director Judd Pittman delivered a report from his bureau and thanked the Board for its support. He also acknowledged action items seeking re-accreditation as applied for by the Clearfield County Career and Technology Center and Indiana County Technology Center. Those requests were approved by the Board later in the meeting.

There was also discussion as to the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center’s not seeking re-accreditation for its Licensed Practical Nursing program and the affect it will have on current LPN program students. The Board was informed by committee chair Ernest Hadrick of that issue, which will be further addressed at the September meeting.

The Board also approved the updates to the accreditation guidelines for public postsecondary career and technical education.

On July 1, 2024, PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Dr. Carole L. Clancy sent a PENN*LINK message to LEAs with the subject line Approved Private School and Chartered School for the Deaf and the Blind Preliminary Deductions. The memo states that in accordance with sections 13-1376 and 13-1376.1 of the School Code, 24 P.S. §§ 13-1376 and 13-1376.1, this message is to notify school districts and charter schools (collectively referred to hereinafter as “local educational agencies” or “LEAs”) that have placed students at an Approved Private School (APS) or Chartered School for the Deaf and the Blind (Chartered School) of its preliminary payment amount for the 2023-24 Fiscal Year.

As of May 15, 2024, student data has been entered by the LEAs and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) electronically through the Approved Private School Electronic Management (APSEM) system. If any student data is incorrect, it is the LEA’s responsibility to follow up with the APS or Chartered School and make corrections in APSEM. The LEA is responsible for submitting the Request for Change in Approved Private School or Chartered School Assignment to PDE in a timely manner.

Please log into the APSEM system and run the Application for Educational Assignment to Approved Private Schools and Chartered Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Enrollment Deduction Report for school year 2023-24. These amounts are preliminary and are subject to change before the June 1, 2025 deductions.

You may find the above information useful when completing your 2024-25 General Fund Budget (PDE-2028).

If you have any questions pertaining to the Request for Change in Approved Private School or Chartered School Assignment, accounting, and/or deductions, contact Eileen Jacobs-Crummel at [email protected] or 717-257-6652.