On January 11, 2024, the PA State Board of Education held its 378^th meeting at the PDE offices and via Zoom. Chairperson Karen Farmer White opened the meeting at 1:00 PM.

During the meeting, Council for Basic Education Chair Dr. Lee Williams reported that the council is sending the Board proposed amendments to 22 PA Code Chapter 4 for its approval. Once approved, it will follow the Regulatory Review Act for review by committees of the PA House and PA Senate, as well as the IRRC and publishing in the PA Bulletin. She also informed the Board that Dr. Terry Rowe reported to the council that a data update and newly proposed standards within Act 35 are aimed at providing flexibility for school districts.

Next, Education Secretary Khalid Mumin spoke of proposed changes to pertinent statutes and regulations with regard to school operations, including extending or changing dates and/or revising specific regulations.

Professional Standards and Practices Commission Executive Director Shane Crosby then reported that of the 148 public disciplinary sanctions in 2023, 96 involved charges and convictions per Section 111. Further, 90 of those sanctions involved sexual misconduct. This was a higher percentage than the usual approximately 50% of cases being of a sexual nature. He also noted a significant increase in cases involving those with emergency permits. Crosby also reported that improvements in data base construction will lead to increased efficiency in tracking cases and identifying trends.

Chairperson White then reported that Board members have previously been provided a draft 2023 Annual Report to the Governor and General Assembly for their review and approval. She also reported that applications by a pair of private schools seeking recognition as Approved Private Academic School Accrediting Organizations will be sent on to a special committee for review and to PDE as per 22 PA Code Chapter 52.

The meeting closed with the unanimous approval of three action items: Proposed Amendments to Chapter 4 (Academic Standards and Assessment); the 2023 Annual Report to the Governor and General Assembly; and a Resolution Honoring James Argas, who has left the Board after serving from 1996 through 2023.

In a subsequent State Board of Career and Technical Education Meeting, Mr. Judd Pittman reported that the Board is preparing to announce competitive equipment grants totaling $4.4 million with a cap of $85,000 per grant. He also reported an interagency transaction with the PA Bureau of Special Ed. (BSE), Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), Department of Labor (DOL), and Intermediate Units (IUs) will benefit students and staff through the provision of resources. Also, DOL has been instrumental in helping communities that lack a level of effective CTE programming. He ended his report stating that the Perkins Team is submitting preparing and submitting required documents to the federal government.

The meeting closed with the Board being trained on Accreditation Guidelines for PA Public Postsecondary CTE.

After securing universal free breakfast for public school students as part of the 2023-24 budget, the Shapiro Administration is working to ensure students continue to receive healthy meals during the summer. As a result, the Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Education (PDE) announced the Commonwealth’s intent to operate the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer-EBT) program in summer 2024, allowing children to access nutritious meals during the summer months when school is not in session. 

The 2023-24 budget delivers a $46.5 million increase to provide universal free breakfast to Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million public school students. Due to this increase, every public school student regardless of income will be eligible to receive free breakfast. The funding also provides free lunch to all 22,000 Pennsylvania students who are eligible for reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). 

The Summer-EBT program was created by the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 to provide school aged children who are income eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) with an additional source of nutrition during the summer months when children are not in school to receive school meals.  

The total Summer-EBT benefit is set by federal law at $40 per month per eligible child to cover the three summer months – June, July, and August. Pennsylvania will be issuing the Summer EBT benefit as a single $120 issuance with all benefits issued by September 30, 2024. Summer-EBT benefits will be issued on a family’s existing EBT card, if possible, or a new EBT card will be issued to newly eligible families. 

An estimated 600,000 to 900,000 children will be automatically issued Summer-EBT benefits based on their eligibility for Free or Reduced-Priced meals under the NSLP.  

The groups of children who will be eligible for Summer-EBT include: 
-Children who are determined income eligible for Free or Reduced-Priced meals under the NSLP by applying through their school. 
-Children who are categorically eligible for NSLP because they are a foster child, a homeless child, or a runaway and they attend an NSLP participating school. 
Children who are eligible for Free or Reduced-Priced meals under the NSLP through direct certification. -Directly certified children are children who are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits or certain Medical Assistance eligibility.  
-If a child eligible through direct certification is aged six through seventeen, they will qualify for Summer-EBT regardless of whether they attend an NSLP participating school.  
-If a child eligible through direct certification is aged five or younger or aged eighteen or older, they will qualify only if they are enrolled in an NSLP participating school. 

Since most eligible children will be enrolled in Summer-EBT automatically, only a limited number of families will need to submit an application. Applications for Summer-EBT will need to be submitted to DHS’ County Assistance Offices to determine eligibility.  

Applications for Summer-EBT are not yet available The application process and additional details will be detailed further in the coming months. 

Schools that do not currently participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs are encouraged to do so and can find information for applying on the PDE website.  

Additional information on the Summer-EBT program can be found by clicking here.