Category: Government Actions

As 2024 ARP Deadline Looms, Survey Shows Anticipated Impact on Pupil Services (August 23, 2023)

As next year’s deadline for American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds approaches, school districts must prepare for the impact. To that end, with roughly a year left before the September 2024 obligation deadline, The School Superintendents Association (AASA) launched its fourth American Rescue Plan (ARP) survey of school district leaders to ascertain what spending priorities and challenges they are anticipating as the fiscal timeline tightens. The survey reveals 53% of school district leaders anticipate the need to decrease specialist staffing, including behavioral health personnel and reading specialists, as well as cuts or decreases in summer learning programming tailored exact student needs.

To access School District Spending of American Rescue Plan Funding Part IV, click here.

PDE Notifies LEAs of Special Ed. Form Revisions (August 22, 2023)

Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy recently sent a PennLink message to all LEAs titled Revised Special Education Forms: Prior Written Notice for a Reevaluation Form and Request for Consent for a Reevaluation Form. It informs local educational agencies (LEAs) that the Prior Written Notice for a Reevaluation and Request for Consent form has been separated into two forms, the Prior Written Notice for a Reevaluation form and the Request for Consent for a Reevaluation form.

The form was separated into two forms to ensure LEAs provide parents with prior written notice and obtain parent consent at proper times during the reevaluation process in accordance with 34 CFR 300.300 and 300.503. The revised and the annotated versions are now available on the PaTTAN website at www.pattan.net. The “Special Education Forms” tab is located on the top of the home page for easy access to the revised and annotated forms. A training video on these forms is available at: https://www.pattan.net/Legal/Special-Education-and-Gifted-Forms. 

LEAs are required to start using these forms by November 1, 2023.

IRRC and General Assembly to Consider Sp. Ed. Terminology Changes (August 20, 2023)

The PA Department of Education (PDE) and the PA State Board of Education recently delivered two final-omitted regulations to the House and Senate Education Committees and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) for consideration. The regulations are:

-State Board of Education #6-341 “Intellectual Disability Terminology Update” (IRRC #3379)

-Dept of Education #6-342 “Intellectual Disability Terminology Update” (IRRC #3380)

The regulations have been posted to IRRC’s website – www.irrc.state.pa.us.

IRRC is scheduled to consider both regulations at its September 21st public meeting.  The meeting begins at 10 am.  It will be held at IRRC’s office (333 Market St, 14th floor).  IRRC’s meetings are open to the public and also streamed on its website.  The link for viewing will be available the day of the meeting.  If your organization plans to attend the meeting and speak, please let me know.

Any comments submitted on the rulemakings will be posted to IRRC’s website.

Under the Regulatory Review Act, designated standing committees can take action on final regulations at any time up to 24-hours before the start of IRRC’s meeting. Interested parties are asked to contact Scott Schalles, IRRC Regulatory Analyst, with any questions about the regulatory review process and these regulations.

CMS Provides Toolkit for Schools Explaining the ‘Unwinding’ of Medicaid Services (August 19, 2023)

It is estimated that 536,400 children have lost access to Medicaid and CHIP insurance since automatic renewals ended in April. As a result, a toolkit from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) titled Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings has been made available. It urges K-12 and early childhood educators, administrators, staff and parent-teacher associations to help families be aware of the change in public health policy through letters, robocalls, text messages, social media and other communications.

In addition, The School Superintendents Association (AASA) advises that raising awareness about continuous coverage also benefits school systems that rely on Medicaid reimbursements for school-based health services. In fact, keeping students enrolled in Medicaid will be especially important for the fiscal health of those districts, since Medicaid reimbursements for school-based services is the third- or fourth-largest federal revenue stream for school systems. 

To access the toolkit Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings, click here.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

DHS Sends CHIP Notice to LEAs (August 17, 2023)

On August 17, 2023, the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) sent a PennLink to all LEAs that contained a letter from PA Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Executive Director Nicole M. Harris. The letter states:

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. A flyer has been created and is to be shared with every parent or guardian of every student enrolled in the district during the school year.
CHIP covers uninsured kids and teens up to age 19. With more than 128,000 uninsured children in Pennsylvania, this is great news for families!
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.
School Superintendents and Chief Administrators are advised to forward the CHIP flyer to each school under their jurisdiction at the beginning of the school year. The flyer can be sent directly through email, posted to a school website with a link distributed to students’ families, printed or distributed with other information that is being sent as caregiver packets, or prepared for students to take home.

The flyer in English can be accessed at https://papsa-web.org/wp-content/uploads/CHIP-School-Flyer-2023-English.pdf.

The letter in Spanish can be accessed at https://papsa-web.org/wp-content/uploads/CHIP-School-Flyer-2023-Spanish.pdf.

Additional information can be found on the CHIP website at www.CHIPcoversPAkids.com, under CHIP Resources.