Category: Government Actions

PDH Releases Winter 2018 School Health Update

Jill Clodgo, RN, the Acting Chief of the Division of School Health at the PA Department of Health (PDH), recently released information and due dates via Penn*Link for the School Health Annual Reimbursement Request System (SHARRS) and Dental Hygiene Authorization Plan Submission.

  • The School Health Annual Reimbursement Report will open for data entry May 15, 2018 and close September 30, 2018. Only the Superintendent has the capability to submit the SHARRS report.  Instructions to set up a SHARRS user account, a template hard copy of the Authorization Plan, guidelines and applicable laws and regulations are available on the Division of School Health’s website at   http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/School%20Health/Pages/Quick%20Links/Dental%20Health/Dental-Hygiene-Services-Program.aspx#
  • The Dental Hygiene Services Program Authorization Plan will open for data entry April 1, 2018 and close April 30, 2018. Any SHARRS user may submit the dental hygiene authorization plan. The Dental Hygiene Authorization Plan must be closed for data entry before the SHARRS system can be opened for data entry in order for the system to process reports correctly.  Late entries will no longer be accepted as this causes errors in processing.
  • The Dental Hygiene Authorization Plan is a plan for the upcoming school year. The plan must be developed by the Dental Hygienist and approved by the school dentist and school administration prior to the start of the school year. Schools that do not have a hygienist hired, a plan developed and approved will revert to a Mandated Dental Program and cannot be changed after the closing date due to processing requirements.  If a school does not have a certified hygienist then they may not implement a Dental Hygiene Services Program (DHSP) and must implement a Mandated Dental Program. See the Division of School Health’s website for more information on both programs. http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/School%20Health/Pages/Dental-Health-Program.aspx#

The School Health website can be accessed at http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/School%20Health/Pages/default.aspx#

Jill Clodgo will be the lead presenter during the April 11th session of the 40th Annual PAPSA at the Eden Resort in Lancaster.

PA Board of Ed. Releases Annual Report for 2017

At its January 11, 2018 meeting, the PA State Board of Education passed a resolution endorsing K-12 computer science standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association and encouraged local education agencies across the Commonwealth to voluntarily adopt these standards to guide their practice in the delivery of Computer Science instruction.

Also, Pursuant to Section 2603-B of the Public School Code of 1949, 24 P.S.§26-2603-B, the State Board of Education provided a report on its activities for the year 2017 including:

  • Immunizations – The Board adopted final amendments to 22 Code, Chapter 11. The amendments align the provisions of Chapter 11 pertaining to non-immunized students with revisions to immunization requirements for student attendance made by the PA Department of Health (DOH). Among the key changes made by DOH was a reduction in the provisional admission time frame for students who are not fully immunized from eight months to five school days and a requirement for school administrators to review a student’s medical certificate for becoming up-to-date with immunizations on a more frequent 30-day schedule.
  • Act 70 – The Board offered seven recommendations for improving instruction with regard to the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights violations.
  • Act 86 – The Board produced a report per Act 86 of 2016, which directed the Board to conduct a review of existing public school entity data collection requirements in the areas of finance, human resources, food services, transportation, child accounting, athletics, health, and special education.
  • Master Plan for Basic Education – The Board initiated a necessary update to its Master Plan for Basic Education. The Board anticipates that a draft update to the Master Plan will be completed in Spring 2018, after which time the Council of Basic Education will conduct a stakeholder engagement effort to gather additional input on the draft plan before it is presented to the Board for adoption.
  • Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) – The Board approved changes to the cut scores for PASA, the state assessment administered to students with the most severe cognitive disabilities. The Board also approved updates to certain Alternate Eligible Content to which the PASA is aligned. In May, the Board approved new Alternate Eligible Content for Writing and updated Alternate Eligible Content for Science. In July, the Board approved revised Performance Level Descriptors and cut scores for the PASA.The cut score revisions were necessary to reflect changes to the Alternate Eligible Content in English Language Arts and Mathematics that were previously approved by the Board in 2015.
  • English Language Development Standards (ELDS) – The Board updated ELDS that replace PA’s prior English Language Proficiency Standards. ELDS standards are required by federal law. PA’s updated standards include model performance indicators – examples of how students use language at the various proficiency levels – that are broken down by grade levels, content areas, English proficiency levels, and language domains. The content-related examples in the new ELDS also were updated to reflect the rigor of the new PA Core Standards.

New Federal Law Allows Use of PA 529 Monies for K-12 Ed Expenses

When HR 1 became federal law on December 22, 2017, it contained a provision that allows families to use 529 plans to pay for expenses for tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school up to $10,000 per year, per beneficiary.

Pennsylvania has two 529 plans. The PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan allows families to save at today’s lower credit rates, with growth being based on tuition inflation. Thus, if a family saves enough for one semester at a state university today, they will have enough for a semester at that school in the future. The other plan, the PA 529 Investment Plan, provides returns on contributions that are based on investment performance of a family’s choice that range from aggressive to conservative.

As expected, the new provision has generated passionate responses that both criticize and praise the change.

USDE Approves PA’s ESSA Plan

On Tuesday, January 16, 2018 the US Department of Education approved Pennsylvania’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. PA’s approved plan includes: implementing a Career Ready Indicator that will highlight school success in career exploration activities, including at the elementary level; reducing chronic absenteeism; and long-term goals that include reducing the statewide percentage of non-proficient and non-graduating students by 50% by 2030, increasing the number of students who achieve proficiency on PSSA and Keystone Exams, and supporting English Language Learners in growth toward achieving English proficiency.

Approval of the plan was required in order to receive federal funding.

Many have been pleased with a part of the plan that is expected to result in third- through eighth-graders spending an average of 20% less time on state-mandated standardized testing.

Last-minute Measure in Congress Extends CHIP Funding

Congress gave final approval to a sweeping spending bill Thursday (12/21/17) evening that sidesteps a government shutdown less than 36 hours before the year-end deadline and includes a short-term extension for CHIP health care for low-income kids, which had expired Sept. 30. The stopgap extends funding through Jan. 19, 2018 and passed in the House 231-188 and in the Senate 66-32.