Category: Government Actions

PDH Charts Course To Improve Health Outcomes For All Pennsylvanians (April 4, 2023)

On April 4, 2023 the PA Department of Health (PDH) published the Pennsylvania State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) that outlines goals, objectives, and strategies to improve the health of all Pennsylvanians over the next five years. This unveiling of the plan coincides with National Public Health Week, April 3 through April 9. 

The 2023-2028 SHIP was developed in collaboration with the Healthy Pennsylvania Partnership (HPP), with support from Harrisburg University. The HPP is made up of nearly 300 health care professionals, associations, health systems, health and human services organizations, community collaborations, local public health agencies, government agencies, and others focused on improving health outcomes across the Commonwealth. 

Under the overarching goal of improving the health status and life expectancy of Pennsylvanians, and eliminating health inequities, there are nine goals in the 2023-2028 SHIP:

1. Increase financial well-being, food security, and safe affordable housing;
2. Increase community safety by reducing the number of violent incidences that occur due to racism, discrimination, or domestic disputes;
3. Improve environmental health, focusing on environmental justice communities;
4. Increase the population at a healthy weight through increasing availability and accessibility of physical activity and affordable nutritious food;
5. Reduce the impact of tobacco and nicotine use;
6. Increase access to medical and oral health care;
7. Improve mental health and substance use outcomes through improved mental health services, trauma-informed trainings, and substance use interventions;
8. Improve health outcomes through improved chronic diseases management; and
9. Improve maternal and infant health outcomes by improving prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal care.

Governor Shapiro’s 2023-2024 budget supports many of the SHIP’s goals by proposing investments in key areas like $2.3 million to expand maternal health programming and study ways to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, $500 million over the next five years for mental health services for students, and $16 million to increase the minimum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit by 50%, among other investments.

The SHIP acts as a road map for the HPP and others to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities by working across the continuum from the social determinants of health, preventative interventions, and accessing quality and culturally humble care.

The Department’s commitment to the overarching goal of the SHIP will be showcased during a statewide, online Health Equity Conference being held Tuesday, April 4. 

More information on the SHIP can be found on the Department of Health’s website at State Health Improvement Plan (pa.gov) .

USDE: FAFSA Update will Start in December 2023 (March 27, 2023)

On March 21, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education USDE) announced that a simplified version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will debut in December 2023. The announcement came after a number of organizations pressured the USDE for more information regarding FAFSA dates, since states, colleges and access groups would need time to make significant adjustments to their systems and processes based on the FAFSA release date. Also, in December 2023 the USDE’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), will publish a “testing and demonstration” website for counselors and financial aid administrators to help staff, students and families navigate the updated form.

Normally, the financial aid form goes live in October of every year, but the USDE is in the process of streamlining the application after Congress approved changes to it in 2020. The re-designed FAFSA will apply to students seeking aid for the 2024-25 academic year.

Originally, a revised FAFSA was scheduled to go live for the 2023-24 academic year. However, in 2021 the USDE delayed implementation until the 2024-25 due to issues related to outdated technology.

Lastly, sometime in spring 2023, the USDE will publish tools to help school officials understand differences between the Expected Family Contribution ( EFC), which has been the metric for determining how much students and families pay for college after aid, and the upcoming Student Aid Index, which will function similarly to the EFC. Also, beginning this summer webinars will be offered to administrators to become familiar with the changes in the application and financial aid eligibility.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

USDE Issues DCL Calling for End to Corporal Punishment, Providing Guiding Principles on School Discipline (March 24, 2023)

On March 24, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona wrote to Governors, Chief State School Officers, and School District and School Leaders and urged them to end corporal punishment in schools—the practice of paddling, spanking, or otherwise imposing physical punishment on students. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) reinforces the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) position that corporal punishment in schools should be replaced with evidence-based practices, such as implementing multi-tiered systems of support like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), that create a safe and healthy school environments.

Despite decades of research showing the short and long-term harms of corporal punishment, the practice continues to be legal in at least 23 states.

In addition, the USDE released guiding principles on how  to maintain safe, inclusive, supportive,  and fair learning environments for students and school staff, including specific recommendations for evidence-based practices  to give students  what they need  to learn and grow.

In addition, USDE avers that it stands ready to support efforts to replace harmful disciplinary practices, including exclusionary discipline and corporal punishment through funding under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and through its technical assistance centers, including the Best Practices Clearinghouse, National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, and National Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety, among other resources.

USDA Proposes Lower Threshold for Schools to Qualify for Free Meals (March 23, 2023)

On March 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a rule to expand access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows high-poverty schools to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students without requiring families to file an application.

The proposed change would lower the minimum threshold of the “Identified Student Percentage” (ISP) from 40% to 25% for a school or district to qualify for CEP. That percentage is calculated by dividing the number of students eligible for free meals by the total student enrollment. 

The USDA opened a 45-day public comment period on the proposed CEP rule beginning March 23, 2023. 

Source: K-12 Dive

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Unanimous Decision: Supreme Court Rules Against District in Landmark Special Ed. Case (March 22, 2023)

On March 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a rare unanimous decision, ruled that a deaf student can sue his school for its failure to provide him with a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

In the case, Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, instead of providing the student (Perez) with aides able to translate class material into sign language, as promised, the aides were not trained in sign language at all, and often were absent from classes.

Further, because the student received better than passing grades (As and Bs) on report cards, his parents reasonably thought he was on track to graduate. However, near the end of his senior year in high school, the parents learned that he would instead be receiving a certificate of completion and not a diploma. The parents filed a complaint with the state, and the school district settled the case, agreeing to pay for future training at the Michigan School for the Deaf.

Consequently, the student pursued compensation for past damages, including loss of income and emotional distress, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which bars discrimination against those with disabilities. That lawsuit ultimately compelled the Supreme Court to determine whether the student could sue for past damages under a different statute, since the first suit was under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the subsequent suit was under the ADA. The unanimous decision provided a resounding affirmative answer to that question.

The result is that an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit seeking compensatory damages for the denial of a free and appropriate education (FAPE) may proceed without exhausting the administrative processes of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) because the remedy sought is not one IDEA provides.

Click here to read the SCOTUS Blog.

Read the full K-12 Dive article by clicking here.

Read an article from NPR by clicking here.