Category: Government Actions

BSE Announces Trainings for OSEP Fiscal Verification Review (October 12, 2019)

In an October 9, 2019, BSE Director Carole L. Clancy disseminated a memo via PennLink titled Training in Response to Recent Changes by the Federal Office of Special Education Programs. The memo states that the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has oversight of states’ compliance with federal special education regulations and requirements.  A component of OSEP’s compliance monitoring verification visits is a fiscal verification review.  Part of that fiscal verification includes a review of the use of funds for coordinated early intervening services, maintenance of effort, and general use of federal, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B), funds.

To assist local education agencies (LEAs) with these components of the federal on-site visits, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is providing training to familiarize special education directors and business administrators with clarifying information.  This training will address three topics:  IDEA Fiscal Programming, Contingency Funding, and Approved Private School Electronic Management System (New Enrollment System for Approved Private Schools/Chartered Schools for the Blind and Deaf). Each school district and charter school is required to send participants to this training.  Because the training is highlighting the fiscal program data verifications associated with the IDEA-B fiscal reporting requirements, it is strongly recommended that the participants representing your LEA be your special education director and business administrator.  If a school district or charter school contracts for business services, its contracted business representative should attend as well. This training will be held at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) offices as well as Intermediate Units 4, 20, 26, and 29. Register at www.pattan.net for the following training sessions: Monday, October 28th at PaTTAN West, October 29th at IU 4, and October 31st at IU 26. Questions regarding the fiscal training should be directed to Dr. Del Hart, Chief, Division of Analysis & Financial Reporting, at 717.772.1114 or [email protected].  Questions about registration should be directed to Sharon Kennedy at PaTTAN-Harrisburg at 717.901.2265, 800.360.7282 (in PA only), or [email protected].

US Supreme Court is Hearing Important Title VII Arguments (October 8, 2019)

On October 8, 2019, the US Supreme Court began hearing arguments as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person’s sex, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status. Schools are watching things closely for two reasons. One reason is that they are employers and will have to adhere to whatever the Court decides in that regard, The second reason is that the decision of the Court will be of great influence with regard to other cases that touch on similar issues involving gender identity and sexual orientation.

GA Companion Bills Would Increase Pupil Services Staff (October 8, 2019)

The General Assembly is considering companion bills,  HB 1500 and SB 749, that would increase the number of school counselors, school psychologists, and social workers in PA schools. Both bills recommend ratios of 250 students per counselor, 250 students per social worker, and 500 students per school psychologist. Those ratios are as recommended by the PA School Counselors Association.

HB 1500 was referred to committee on May 23rd and SB 749 was referred to committee on June 10th. Neither bill has moved from committee.

There is no question that students would benefit from such ratios, but the big question for school boards and administrators is how to afford the additional staff without state dollars being attached to the legislation.

Bill Mistakenly Strips School Police of Arrest Powers (October 2, 2019)

On Tuesday, July 2, 2019, Governor Wolf signed legislation that created new training requirements for armed school security officers and other armed personnel who work in PA schools. It also purportedly disallowed teachers from carrying firearms. However, the bill that was championed by Sen. Mike Regan R-York and passed the Senate by a 30-20 vote, mistakenly stripped school police officers, which are licensed law enforcement professionals who are employed by school districts across the Commonwealth, of their power to arrest anyone.

Legislators who were instrumental in the legislation claim that they didn’t intend to strip school police officers of their arrest power and that the goal of the legislation in question was to increase training requirements for school security personnel and to make sure that school police officers hired by private, third-party contractors could not perform arrests.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) recognized the change in a joint letter sent to school districts in August 2019. A corrected bill was sent to the Senate Education Committee on September 26, 2019.

US House Passes Bill to Track School Shootings (September 27, 2019)

On September 18, 2019, the US House Education Committee passed the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act, which is legislation that would require the federal government to track the demographics and motivations of school shooters and the demographics of their victims.  The proposed legislation also officially defines a school shooting as an incident “during which one or more individuals were injured or killed by a firearm; and that occurred … in, or on the grounds of, a school, even if before or after school hours; while the victim was traveling to or from a regular session at school; or while the victim was attending or traveling to or from an official school sponsored event.” The definition would exclude accidental shootings.

The law would also require the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to collect information about a school’s safety protocols if a shooting occurs there, from its emergency response plans to its building design. The bill would further require the feds to track the type of firearms used in school shootings, how they were obtained, and whether the school where a shooting occurred had armed educators. 

Since the start of 2018, Education Week has maintained a tracker of school shootings. To date for 2019, we have counted 18 school shootings, resulting in three people killed and 34 injured.