Category: Government Actions

Congress Opposes Dismantling the USDE via Bipartisan K-12 FY26 Budget Proposal (January 21, 2026)

A bipartisan and bicameral proposed agreement released on January 19, 2026 would fund the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) at $79 billion for fiscal year 2026 (FY26), which is $217 million above FY 2025 levels. The agreement would derail the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize and eventually eliminate the USDE.

The proposed budget deal, coming months after the fiscal year began October 1, 2025, would include slight increases for special education programming, rural education and Impact Aid, which provides additional financial support to communities with tax-exempt federal properties.

The new budget proposal would also explicitly prevent the USDE from transferring statutorily required program responsibilities to other federal agencies. The House and Senate FY 26 bill would also require USDE to make formula grants available to states and school districts on time and to issue funds at levels dictated by Congress in the funding bill. It also would add a new requirement to maintain the USDE staff at levels necessary to fulfill its statutory responsibilities, including carrying out programs and activities funded in the bill.

Republican and House appropriations leaders praised the funding proposal, which is expected to be voted on before January 30, 2026.

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Bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 Signed into Law (January 18, 2026)

On January 14, 2026, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 was signed into law. The bipartisan legislation permits schools to provide whole milk and nondairy beverage options in federally subsidized school meals.

School districts are currently permitted to only serve fat-free and low-fat milks in school meals due to concerns that milk consumption contributes to high cholesterol and obesity in young people.

In addition, schools are already required to offer a milk substitute to students with doctor’s notes saying they have a disability limiting their ability to consume fluid milk. The newly passed Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 would now allow parents and legal guardians to submit similar requests to schools to serve their children nondairy substitutes.

Source: K-12 Dive

PA State Board of Ed. Holds 389th Meeting (January 15, 2026)

On January 15, 2026, the PA State Board of Education (Board) held its 389th meeting at the PDE building in Harrisburg and via Zoom. Ms. Sandra Dungee-Glenn opened the meeting at 1:00 PM due to the in-person absence of Karen Farmer White.

Committee reports began with the Hon. Maureen Lally-Green who reported on the progress of the Special and Gifted Education Committee. The essence of that report can be viewed on the PAPSA website at https://papsa-web.org/special-and-gifted-education-committee-makes-recommendations-to-pa-state-board-january-15-2026/.

Ms. Dungee-Glenn then reported on the work of the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Committee. That committee is providing recommendations for teacher certification testing. Her report recommended that evaluations for those seeking primary certification include early childhood education, evidence-based reading practices, classroom management strategies, be aligned with any applicable competencies, be accessible online and in person, provide access to test materials, and determine whether an alternate pathway might be available to those not attaining a qualifying score. Her report also recommended the need for reading competencies, performance-based measures for those not attaining qualifying test scores, the Secretary of Ed. to address problems with misalignment of items within the process of certification, the General Assembly to provide funds for waiving fees for those experiencing financial hardship, and to allow for internships prior to the successful completion of certification assessments.

Reports to the Board from PDE leaders began with Mr. Rick Levis’ update regarding Act 47 of 2025, which was passed in November 2025. He spoke of the certification fee reduction that limits fees to no more than $50. He also addressed the grade span changes in Section 1202.2 which are: Primary – Grades PreK to 6; Secondary – Grades 7 to 12; and Specialized Areas – Grades PK to 12. These changes are hoped to address staffing issues with a focus on the shortage of teachers for middle level classrooms. He also spoke of the Accelerated Special Ed. Certification Program that will address Special Ed. staffing vacancies. In addition, he said that those with PreK to 4 certification will also be able to teach grades 5 and 6 and that those certified to teach grades 7-12 will also be able to teach 6th grade content areas. He ended his report by stating that the Early Preparation Program (EPP) will go into effect on July 1, 2028.

In additional reports, Dr. Lynette Kuhn informed the Board that FAFSA completion numbers are up while  Ms. Amy Lena reported that cyber schools are required to regularly conduct wellness checks on students and that beginning in 2027-28 LEAs must use universal screeners for evidence-based reading instruction from a PDE-approved list.

Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe concluded the PDE leader reports by informing the Board of her December 9, 2025 PA Senate confirmation as the new PA Secretary of Education as well as PA’s ranking tops in the nation in middle school CTE programming.

In a report by Council of Basic Education student members Nina Bhatia and Julia Antunes, whereby the importance of peer mentoring was stressed, it was recommended that the Board create a student-to-student video series for students to tell of their experiences in their K-12 education as well as their postsecondary endeavors. Dr Rowe responded favorably to the recommendation and work will begin to examine how it may come to fruition.

In the meeting’s only action item, there being no further discussion regarding the draft 2025 Annual Report to the Governor and the General Assembly, the Board unanimously approved that the report be accepted and submitted as such.

Special and Gifted Education Committee Makes Recommendations to PA State Board (January 15, 2026)

At the 389th Meeting of the PA State Board of Education (Board), the PDE Special and Gifted Education Committee made recommendations to the Board. The report was given by the Hon. Maureen Lally-Green.

The report began with a closeout of the periodic review of PA Gifted Ed. Regulations. The last issue in that process is the work of the Committee for the Evaluation for Giftedness. In that regard, a special committee of school psychologists provided additional that confirmed the that there appears to be no need to amend Chapter 16 at this time. Instead, what is needed is increased clarity and consistency in the process of evaluation.

To that end, it was recommended that a resource and training guide be created for evaluations that employ a holistic approach. It was also recommended that an annotated written report by the multi-disciplinary team, which includes recommendations, be required to help ensure clarity for parents, staff, and students. In addition, it was recommended that a statewide resource guide for screening and evaluation be created that would include selected assessment tools and their proper use.

The final committee report is due in one year.

Will Schools Be Able to Handle Federal Demand for Ultra-processed Food Cuts?

To limit reliance on ultra-processed foods in school meals, a majority of school nutrition directors report needing additional resources that include funding, menu development, culinary training, staffing, and equipment and infrastructure, according to survey data released on January 6, 2026 by the School Nutrition Association (SNA). The survey was conducted in October 2025 and had 1,240 school district respondents.

In September 2025, the Trump administration’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again” strategy report stressed a need to reduce ultra-processed foods in school meals as a way to address childhood chronic disease. To do that, schools will need to cook more scratch-prepared meals, SNA said in its survey report. The association also found that 71% of school nutrition directors said they already offer scratch-prepared entrees on a daily or weekly basis. 95% of directors also reported that during the 2025-26 school year they are seriously or moderately concerned about the financial sustainability of their school nutrition programs three years from now.

In addition, a position paper by SNA said that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid — as passed by Congress in the July 2025 “One Big, Beautiful” budget law — will reduce the number of children who are automatically certified for free and reduced-price meals. Consequently, fewer schools will be eligible for a federal program known as the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which helps high-poverty schools and districts serve free meals to all students.

There is currently no uniform definition of ultra-processed foods.

The pervasive feeling is that schools are being told to provide meals at greater cost with fewer resources and a lack of uniform guidance.

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