Category: Government Actions

USDE and DOJ Joint DCL: Discrimination in School Discipline Still a ‘Significant Concern’ (June 13, 2023)

On Friday, June 9, 2023, the US Departments of Education (USDE) and Justice (DOJ) released a joint Dear Colleague Letter titled Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline. The DCL directed the country’s schools to make sure that their discipline policies and practices do not discriminate against students “based on race, color or national origin.”

According to the DCL, discrimination in schools based on race, color, and national origin in student discipline was, and continues to be, a significant concern, and is in violation of Title VI.

The departments also warned that they will “vigorously enforce Federal laws to eliminate unlawful discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in student discipline.”

To view the joint DCL, click here.

BSE Reminds LEAs of Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities (June 12, 2023)

On June 12, 2023 PDE Bureau of Special Education (BSE) Director Carole L. Clancy, Director Disseminated a PENN*LINK titled Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities. The memo states that Pennsylvania’s State Performance Plan requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) include collecting and reporting data on the involvement of families in special education programs.

Specifically, states must report annually to the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the public on State Performance Plan Indicator 8 which is the: “percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.”

Like many other states, Pennsylvania is collecting this data through a large-scale survey. Pennsylvania reports results of the survey to OSEP in its State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report. This report is posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) websites. Reporting on local educational agency (LEA) performance is done through the Special Education Data Reports on the PennData website.

To ensure that parents from every LEA in the commonwealth are included in the survey, PDE developed a sampling plan that was approved by OSEP. Under this sampling, each year PDE collects data from a representative sample of parents in approximately one-fifth of the LEAs in the Commonwealth.  In addition, not all parents will receive the survey as it is a sample within each LEA.  The LEAs in this year’s sample are listed below. Parents receiving the survey were selected from PA Special Education Data using a stratified random sample of school age students in each LEA. Surveys will be mailed directly to the parents from Leader Services in the next few weeks.

The survey being used was developed by the National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring under a grant awarded to that center by OSEP. The survey can be viewed at Leader Services-Parent Survey. Additional information about the survey can be found on the PaTTAN website at PA Indicator 8 Information.

A letter that accompanies the survey assures parents that their responses will be confidential. Parents may direct questions about the survey to the Special Education Consult Line at 800-879-2301. Should parents contact LEA personnel about the survey, staff should encourage them to participate in the survey process.

At this point, LEAs do not need to take any specific action. However, if an LEA wishes to alert families to watch out for the surveys, this may serve to facilitate and encourage participation. Questions regarding the PENN*LINK may be addressed to Barbara Mozina, Special Education Adviser, at [email protected].

Shapiro Administration Reminds Pennsylvanians to Take Advantage of Summer Food Assistance Programs (June 12, 2023)

On June 9, 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) urged Pennsylvanians to remember the many food assistance programs available to children and their families during the summer months.

“It is critical that students continue to have access to healthy meals when school is not in session, especially during the summer months when they’re busy growing, learning, and playing,” said Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “There are hundreds of summer food sites operating across the Commonwealth, and it’s easier than ever to find a site near you. We encourage all parents and caretakers to locate their nearest location online or by phone or text.”

The USDA Summer Meals for Kids Site Finder can help families access Summer Meal Program locations in their area. The program provides meals to children participating in enrichment, recreational, or activity programs over the summer. The site finder is also available in Spanish. It is updated weekly over the summer months.

Individuals can also find sites by calling 211, 1-866-3-Hungry, or 1-877-8Hambre, or by texting “Summer” or “VERANO” to 914-342-7744.

Children 18 years and under may receive meals through the program. And individuals 19 years and older who have a mental and physical disability and participates during the school year in a public or private school program is also eligible to receiver meals.

Meals are served at sites located in areas with significant concentrations of children from low-income families. All meals and snacks served through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) must meet federal nutrition standards, and require servings of grains, proteins, fruits and vegetables, and milk.

The SFSP, which began in 1976, is a federally-funded child nutrition program designed to reach those who are age 18 or younger in economically disadvantaged areas.

PA BSE Sends Table 8A Submission Message to LEAs (June 9, 2023)

On June 9, 2023, PA Bureau of Special Education (BSE) Director Carole Clancy sent a Penn*Link message titled July 2023 Special Education Table 8A Submission. The message states that in July 2023, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) assigned to this year’s reporting cohort will submit their data for Special Education Table 8A, Report of Children with Disabilities Evaluated July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. Below is a list of all LEAs required to submit Table 8A this July. If an LEA does not appear on this list, the LEA is not required to submit Table 8A data in July 2023

Table 8A data is collected on a cyclical basis. Those LEAs that are to submit Table 8A to the Bureau of Special Education (BSE) will be informed of such in June this year. Regardless of their reporting status, all LEAs in the state must continue to collect and maintain data regarding timely evaluations so that the LEA can assess its on-going compliance and program effectiveness and be prepared to report data to the state when notified to do so.

Table 8A is used for two purposes:
1. To calculate and report to the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) an annual state rate of compliance with timelines for completing initial evaluations of students to determine their eligibility for special education under the State Performance Plan; and
2. To report to the public on the performance of LEAs in the commonwealth in complying with the required timelines.

Data collected over the past several years on compliance with timelines for initial evaluations show that while many LEAs have achieved full compliance, others have not. When LEAs do not comply and improve performance, the overall state rate reported to OSEP is negatively affected. Further, any LEA that reports less than 100 percent compliance with timelines will be required to engage in quarterly reporting to the BSE to document correction of noncompliance. Therefore, it is imperative that all LEAs be as accurate as possible in collecting and reporting Table 8A data.

OSEP has advised that states should factor out from their Table 8A calculation those students whose evaluation timelines are affected by two exceptions in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations. Specifically, Section 300.301(d) allows that the 60-day timeline for completing initial evaluations does not apply to a public agency if (1) the parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the evaluation, or (2) a child enrolls in a school of another agency after the timeline has begun and prior to a determination by the prior agency as to whether the child is a child with a disability. This second exception applies only if the subsequent public agency is making sufficient progress to ensure prompt completion of the evaluation and the parent and subsequent agency agree to a specific time when the evaluation will be completed. To ensure accurate reporting, it is critical that when a delay in meeting timelines occurs, LEAs must correctly code the reasons for the delay in accordance with the exceptions above.

The Table 8A Template for the July 2023 submission is available on the Special Education Data Reporting website at https://penndata.hbg.psu.edu under the Data Management tab in the 2022-2023 section; scroll down to Table 8A Template.

Selected LEAs must submit their Table 8A to their Intermediate Unit Data Manager no later than July 7, 2023. Questions regarding completion and submission of Table 8A should be referred to the Intermediate Unit Data Manager. Questions regarding the Penn*Link message may be referred to Jodi Rissinger in the BSE at [email protected].

Gov. Shapiro Highlights Universal Free Breakfast Proposal for PA Students (June 8, 2023)

Governor Shapiro’s first budget proposes $38.5 million to provide universal free breakfast to all Pennsylvania students – regardless of income – through the Free School Breakfast Program and to cover the cost of lunch for 22,000 school students whose families earn less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Since its implementation, the program has served more than 23 million breakfasts to students across the Commonwealth.

Under the program, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) will use the existing meal reimbursement program to pay schools for the difference between the free federal reimbursement and paid or reduced-price meal reimbursement so that no student has an out-of-pocket cost for a reimbursable breakfast and students eligible for reduced lunch can receive a school lunch at no cost to their families at schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The Governor’s budget proposal seeks to provide sustainable, recurring state funding to extend the program and will also allow students whose families are between 130% and 185% of the poverty line to receive a free lunch.

Click here to view the press release.