The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing interim guidance based on what is currently known about the transmission and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To access, please click here.
CDC will update this guidance as needed and as additional information becomes available. Please check the following CDC website periodically for updated interim guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
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As cases of the COVID-19 begin to hit K-12 schools, schools in states with confirmed cases have begun closing, either to help limit the spread or to evaluate the effectiveness of remote learning capabilities in case such a measure should become necessary as the disease spreads. With much more to learn about the disease, school officials can delve into the CDC’s full list of guidelines for schools in order to see what has already become known. Also, below are six critical steps K-12 school leaders should follow if coronavirus emerges in their communities.
1. Defer to health department protocols
2. Develop a tentative plan for how school closures will work
3. Monitor absenteeism patterns
4. Clean routinely and be aware of the list of recommended products
5. Create communications plans
6. Consider limiting big-group gatherings. Where possible, the CDC has recommended spacing out students’ desks by at least three feet as a mitigation measure.
For more information, visit the original Ed Week article by clicking here. Also visit Read More: Coronavirus and Schools.
On February 24th, Deputy Secretary Matthew Stem released a memo titled Participation in State Assessments and Parental/Guardian Rights Afforded Under Chapter 4 and Accountability Under ESSA. According tot he memo, as the PSSA and spring Keystone testing windows approach, LEAs are reminded of the requirements for participation in state assessments.
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) continues to require participation of all students; however, in recognition of special circumstances, USDE provides some flexibility for five (5) percent non-participation. This 5 percent flexibility is important to Pennsylvania, as Chapter 4 regulations allow parents/guardians to have their children excused from testing due to a conflict with religious belief. Though Pennsylvania regulations permit this excusal, USDE does not recognize this as an allowable reason for non-participation and all students who do not participate due to the allowance in Chapter 4 will have a negative impact on an LEA’s/school’s participation rate, and potentially achievement rate as well. (For more information, please view the webinar: https://youtu.be/kPIWKVDkqII.) The provision in Chapter 4 specifically says:
§ 4.4 General Policies.
(d) School entities shall adopt policies to assure that parents or guardians have the following:
(4) The right to review a State assessment in the school entity during the convenient hours for parents and guardians, at least 2 weeks prior to their administration, to determine whether a State assessment conflicts with their religious belief. To protect the validity and integrity of the State assessments, each school entity shall have in place procedures to be followed when parents or guardians request to view any state assessment. Procedures must be consistent with guidance provided by the Department in its assessment administration instructions. If upon inspection of a State assessment parents or guardians find the assessment to be in conflict with their religious belief and wish their students to be excused from the assessment, the right of the parents or guardians will not be denied upon written request that states the objection to the applicable school district superintendent, charter school chief executive officer or AVTS director.
Parents/guardians are not to be denied their right to have their children excused if they follow proper protocol. Parents/guardians must sign a confidentiality agreement form prior to reviewing the assessment. After reviewing the assessment, parents/guardians must state in writing to the school district superintendent, charter school chief executive officer, or AVTS director that they wish to have their child(ren) excused from the assessment due to a conflict with religious belief. The specific conflict does not need to be stated; simply that it is a conflict with religious belief.
LEAs and schools are encouraged to seek 100 percent participation in the assessments, but please be reminded of parents’/guardians’ rights under Chapter 4.
On February 25, 2020, Pedro A. Rivera, PA Secretary of Education, released a PennLink memo titled Kindergarten Entry Inventory – 2020-2021 school year. Pennsylvania’s Kindergarten Entry Inventory (PA KEI) is a reliable reporting tool that offers teachers an instructional strategy for understanding and tracking a student’s proficiency at kindergarten entry. The tool collects information on a consistent set of standards-based indicators in the domains of: Social and Emotional Development; English Language Arts; Mathematics; Approaches to Learning; and Health, Wellness and Physical Development. PA KEI is intended to be used by kindergarten teachers to record a student’s demonstration of skills within the first 45 calendar days of the kindergarten year. The PA KEI is available to all LEAs at no cost. For more information about the Kindergarten Entry Inventory, please visit: www.kei-pa.org. The PA KEI is a tangible tool to assist districts in understanding the comprehensive learning strengths and needs of students entering the K-12 setting, in establishing common expectations and language for beginning and extending collaborative conversations with pre-kindergarten programs and families, and in planning and implementing joint professional development opportunities that focus on strengthening evidence-based practices for young learners. For LEAs choosing to implement the PA KEI, a Point of Contact (POC) is required. The POC will act as the liaison between LEA administrative staff, implementing kindergarten teachers, OCDEL, and data systems staff. Having a dedicated POC will ensure that effective communication and implementation occurs throughout the PA KEI process.
LEAs are asked to send the POC name, email address and phone number to [email protected] by May 29, 2020. Receipt of this information will initiate PA KEI participation in the 2020-2021 school year. All kindergarten teachers who have not previously participated must complete a required professional development online course and obtain a certificate of completion in order to gain access to the web-based data system. Teachers with a proficient user certificate of completion do not need to repeat the professional development protocol.
The tentative training schedule is as follows: April – June: Face-to-face skills and scoring practice professional development available / dependent on number of teachers and availability of OCDEL staff; April – September: Required professional development online course available
ALL implementing kindergarten teachers without a proficient user certificate of completion MUST complete either face-to-face training or a required professional development online course.
August – September: PA KEI systems professional development opportunities available. By the start of school: Implementing kindergarten teachers must have a required professional development online course certificate of completion on file in order to gain systems access
45 calendar days from start of school: Observation and evidence collection/scoring completed
60 calendar days from start of school: Data submissions (student outcomes) finalized within data system
Questions about this communication may be sent to [email protected].
Historically, special education has been one of the most burdensome costs for school districts. Although the federal government has committed to contributing 40% of the average per pupil expenditure for each special education student, Congress has never come close to making that promise a reality. In fact, federal support for funding IDEA has been consistently in the neighborhood of only 15%, thus leaving states and LEAs to make up the difference.
PAPSA is urging all of its members to call on Congress to fulfill its promise to fully fund IDEA. H.R.1878, the IDEA Full Funding Act, is a bipartisan proposal introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would require regular increases in special education funding to get IDEA funding to its original promise of 40% by 2028. To date, nine members of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation have already signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. They are: Rep. Brian K. Fitzpatrick (original co-sponsor); Rep. Glenn Thompson (original co-sponsor); Rep. Brendan F. Boyle (original co-sponsor); Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan; Rep. Madeleine Dean; Rep. Susan Wild; Rep. Conor Lamb; and Rep. Matt Cartwright.
Many thanks to PSBA for information contained in this article.