Category: Government Actions

PA Schools Receive CHIP Electronic Notice (August 5, 2019)

On August 5, 2019, all PA school superintendents and chief school administrators received via Penn*Link a letter from Patricia M. Allan, Executive Director of the PA Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The letter informs recipients that the Pennsylvania ACT 84 of 2015 requires that public and nonpublic schools receive electronic notice of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) on an annual basis no later than August 15.

CHIP covers uninsured kids and teens up to age 19 – and no family earns too much to qualify. CHIP provides quality, comprehensive health insurance for routine doctor visits, prescriptions, dental, eye care, eyeglasses, mental health and much more. CHIP covers uninsured kids who are not eligible for Medical Assistance. For most families, CHIP is free – for others, it is low cost.

Letter recipients were advised that a CHIP flyer was created and should be shared with every parent or guardian of every student enrolled in the district during the school year. Recipients were also advised to send the electronic notice of the CHIP flyer to each school under their jurisdiction at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year through email or with other information that is being sent as parent packets or prepared for students to take home.

The flyer and many more resources can be found on the CHIP website at www.CHIPcoversPAkids.com, under CHIP Resources.

PDE Sets Deadlines for Flexible Instructional Day Program Applications (August 5, 2019)

On July 31, 2019, Matthew Stem, Deputy Secretary of PDE’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to all public school entities  titled Flexible Instructional Day Program .  

With the passage of Act 64 of 2019, section 1506 was added to the Public School Code enabling public school entities the opportunity to develop a Flexible Instructional Day (FID) program to meet the 180 instructional day requirement of section 1501. Act 64 defines school entities as school districts, intermediate units, area vocational-technical schools, and charter schools or regional charter schools, as defined under section 1703-A.

 While public school entities are expected to build make-up days into their local school calendars, FID programs can support the public school entities in cases when circumstances (e.g., a disease epidemic, a hazardous weather condition, a law enforcement emergency, the inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the public school entity’s operation, damage to a school building, or another temporary circumstance rendering any portion of a school building unfit or unsafe for use) prevent the delivery of instruction in its customary manner or location. If the public school entity chooses to implement a FID program, the number of flexible instructional days may not exceed five (5) days per school year. 

A public school entity electing to participate must develop a local FID program that meets the assurances outlined in the application.  The FID program must be approved by the School Board of Directors prior to acceptance by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). 

For the 2019-2020 school year, applications and instructional exemplars are due to PDE no later than September 1, 2019.  No later than September 30, 2019, applicants also must submit to PDE either a copy of the official minutes indicating Board approval of the local FID program or a copy of the resolution presented to the Board for approval along with a signed letter from the Board president verifying the date the resolution was presented and detailing the results of the vote. If submitting a letter and a copy of the resolution, the official minutes must be submitted as soon as possible after Board approval and no later than October 31, 2019.

A public school entity will receive notification from PDE that its application has been accepted or denied no later than November 1, 2019.  If accepted, the FID program will be in place for a three-year period and may be renewed thereafter.

PDE will issue an annual survey related to the efficacy of FID programs annually on or before April 30 to each public school entity with an accepted application.  Each public school entity shall return the survey to PDE by June 30 of the same year.  PDE will use the survey results to track FID usage, gauge overall effectiveness, and gather feedback on the need for additional guidance.

Those seeking additional information, including the FID program application, guidance document, and law, should contact the PDE School Services Office at [email protected] or visit the website at  Flexible Instructional Day Program.

PDE Releases State Literacy Plan Memo (August 5, 2019)

On Thursday, August 1, 2019, Brian Campbell, Director of PDE’s Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction, sent a memo to all LEAs via Penn*Link titled 2019 Pennsylvania State Literacy Plan. The 2019 Pennsylvania State Literacy Plan (PaSLP) is a detailed and comprehensive document designed to support the efforts of districts and charter schools in developing and implementing their own literacy plans aligned to the PaSLP. It provides schools with information that they can use to analyze literacy needs, and  to develop curriculum addressing the needs. The document also provides school leadership with information to develop professional learning experiences for teachers.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has recorded and posted a webinar about the 2019 Pennsylvania State Literacy Plan (PaSLP Webinar).  It includes an overview of the 2019 PaSLP, highlighted changes, discussed appropriate implementation, and use of the document. PDE encourages all district and school leaders, curriculum coordinators, English Language Arts (ELA) departments, and all teachers who may be responsible for the teaching and learning of English Language Arts to view the webinar.

Those looking for more information information regarding the PaSLP are asked to contact Rebekah Baum-Leaman, Ed.D. [email protected] and/or to the PDE and SAS websites at:

PaSLP Toolkit (PDE)

PaSLP Toolkit (SAS)

[email protected].

BSE Reminds LEAs of RtI Intent to Apply Deadline (July 28, 2019)

On July 26, 2019, Carole L. Clancy, Director of PDE’s Bureau of Special Education, disseminated a memo via Penn*Link to all LEAs titled Special Education Plan Requirements – Identification of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities using the Response to Intervention. The memo reminds school districts and charter schools that would like to apply to use Response to Intervention (RtI) methodologies to identify students with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) are required to submit their intent to apply for the 2019-2020 school year by October 30, 2019 to their regional Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) consultant.

The previous application process required individual applications for individual buildings within a local educational agency (LEA). The current application process will no longer require individual building applications but an application for educational levels (i.e., elementary, middle and/or high school). For example, the LEA only will be required to submit one application for all elementary buildings within the LEA.

 Additional information and the RtI/SLD application are available on the PaTTAN website by clicking here.

Completed applications must be submitted to PaTTAN Multi-Tiered Systems of Support regional lead consultants no later than February 15, 2020. Upon review of all documentation, the Bureau of Special Education will issue a letter indicating whether the renewal will be approved, disapproved, or if more clarification is necessary.  Questions related to this message may be directed to Jessica Keener Haas at 610.678.6059 or [email protected].

PDE Addresses Student Teaching Requirements vs. the Substitute Teaching Permit for Prospective Educators (July 28, 2019)

On July 26, 2019, Dr. Christina Baumer, PDE’s Chief of the Division of Professional Education and Teacher Quality, Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, released a memo via Penn*Link titled Student Teaching Requirements versus the Substitute Teaching Permit for  Prospective Educators. The memo addresses the differences between student teaching and substitute teaching permits for prospective educators and can be accessed on the PAPSA website by clicking here.