Category: Government Actions

PA Department of Insurance Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Regulation #11-258 “Mental Health Parity Analysis Documentation” (February 11, 2020

The PA Department of Insurance proposed Regulation #11-258 (IRRC #3252) entitled “Mental Health Parity Analysis Documentation” in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on February 8, 2020. The proposed regulation is available on the Pennsylvania Bulletin Web by clicking here. The proposed regulation is also available on IRRC’s Web site by clicking here.The Department is inviting the public to submit written comments on the proposal. Please reference Regulation #11-258 (IRRC #3252) on the correspondence. The deadline for submitting comments to the Department is March 9, 2020. All correspondence, public comments, and documents submitted relating to a regulation are a matter of public record and will appear on IRRC’s Web site at www.irrc.state.pa.us.

President Trump Proposes Education Budget (February 10, 2020)

President Trump’s FY 2021request was released on February 10, 2020. The proposal calls for block granting K-12 education funds and a separate and reformed federal student aid. Trump’s budget request for the U.S. Department of Education is touted by his administration as a transformative, student-first budget that prioritizes improving student achievement, reducing the outsized federal role in education, and returning control over education decisions to state and local leaders, teachers, parents, and students.

The budget calls for consolidating nearly all existing K-12 formula and competitive grant programs into one block grant to ctates, called the Elementary and Secondary Education for the Disadvantaged (ESED) Block Grant. Funds would be allocated using the same formulas as the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies program. The budget also builds on the multi-year Federal Student Aid (FSA) reform project U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos launched in 2018.

K-12 public education skeptics are leery of the use of terms used in the USDE such as increased “freedom”, “disadvantaged”, “reducing the federal role.” A reduced fereral role is seen by some as a means to reduce federal spending, which is already inadequate with regard to the federal role in funding special education.

To view details of the full budget request, click here.

PDH Releases Coronavirus Fact Sheets (February 5, 2020)

​The PA Department of Health (PDH) has released two fact sheets regarding the coronavirus. One fact sheet provides general information on the virus. The other fact sheet is specific to K-12 schools in PA. To access these important fact sheets, either click on https://papsa-web.org/quick-links/downloads/ or visit the PAPSA website at www.papsa-web.org, go to the “Resources” drop-down,  and then click on “Downloads.”

Updated information can also be obtained in person by attending the 42nd Annual PAPSA Conference that will be held from April 1-3, 2020 in Williamsport. To register for the conference, please click here.

Gov. Wolf Releases Proposed 2020-21 Budget (February 4, 2020)

On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Governor Tom Wolf released his proposed 2020-21 budget. Those parts of the budget that focus on education include:

  • A proposed increase of $100 million for basic education funding (BEF). Thus, the total appropriation for BEF to $6.85 billion. The funding formula will be used to distribute any new monies.
  • The proposed budget provides a $14 million increase for school employee Social Security payments.
  • The proposed budget level funds ($268 million) for the Ready to Learn Block Grant to be allocated as per 2019-20 appropriations. 
  • The budget provides an increase of $25 million to be distributed through the special education funding formula. Proposed special education funding also includes over $90 million for core services funding to intermediate units, contingency funding, institutionalized children’s program funding, special education for students who are wards of state, and special education for out of state placements.
  • Funding for career and technical education (CTE) programs remains level at $99 million, as does funding for CTE Equipment Grants ($5.5 million).
  • The proposed budget provides $15 million for the School Safety and Security Fund, which shows a $60 million cut from the current budget. 
  • Proposed funding for state and federal testing programs is level ($48.9 million).
  • The proposed budget provides an increase of $500,000 in professional development funding.
  • The proposed budget eliminates funding for trauma-informed education.
  • Pupil transportation is level funded ($549 million), as is funding for nonpublic pupil transportation ($79.4 million).
  • Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts will receive a $25 million increase, early intervention programs will receive an $11 million increase and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program will receive a $5 million increase. 
  • The 2020-21 budget proposes comprehensive Charter School Law reform that estimates a $280 million per year savings for school districts by applying the special education formula to all charter schools; establishing a statewide cyber charter tuition rate of $9,500 per student/year; and other measures. 
  • The budget includes a new mandate by calling for all public schools to provide universal, full-day kindergarten programs for all students. Although districts are not mandated to provide kindergarten, currently 82% of PA kindergartners are enrolled in full-day programs. School districts that can demonstrate capacity challenges that inhibit their ability to expand to full-day kindergarten will be able to apply to PDE for a hardship waiver along with a plan for building out future capacity.
  • The proposed budget provides for an additional $119 million towards the state’s share of schools employee pension costs. 

Thanks to PSBA for being a source of information.