A January 27, 2025 memo issued by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) serves as a Q&A document to shed light on the impacts regarding the pause in federal funding. While this is a developing situation, the clicking on this attachment will help provide clarification that Medicaid is not affected by the January 27th directive to pause funding. In addition, at least two lawsuits have been filed regarding OMB’s directive. As a result, a federal judge has temporarily blocked OMBâs pause in funding.
Category: Government Actions
USDE Eliminates DEI (January 25, 2025)
On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced that it is eliminating its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a move tied to President Donald Trumpâs directives to purge DEI from the federal government. The USDE said it has âremoved or archivedâ hundreds of outward-facing documents, including guidance, reports and training materials that mention DEI. That also includes links to resources encouraging educators to incorporate DEI in their classrooms.
The USDE also put agency employees tasked with leading DEI initiatives on paid leave.
Source, K-12 Dive
142 Students Complete Accelerated Special Educator Certification Program to Become Special Educators in PA (January 26, 2025)
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that the first-ever cohort of 142 students at 14 institutions of higher education have completed the Accelerated Special Educator Certification program to become special educators in the Commonwealth.
Announced in March 2023, the Accelerated Special Educator Certification Program delivered $1.5 million in grant funding o bolster teacher pipeline. The first-ever cohort of special education teachers certified through this program fill critical educator workforce gaps.
Grants were made available to colleges and universities with approved PK-12 special education certification programs to partner with at least one school district, approved private school, career and technical center, charter school, cyber charter school, or intermediate unit to provide bachelorâs degrees holders with summer field experiences, mentoring by experienced special educators during the school year, and deliver a postbaccalaureate program for PK-12 special education teacher certification within 18 months. Programs offered most of the coursework during summer 2023 and summer 2024; provided a combination of in-person and virtual options for flexibility and support to the accelerated program participants working full-time; and ensured a minimum of 12 weeks of student teaching.
âLike many other states across the nation, Pennsylvania has been facing an educator workforce shortageâwith a particularly critical need to fill thousands of special educator vacancies,â said Interim Acting Secretary Angela Fitterer. âSpecial educators play an essential role in the lives of their students and families, and this cohort of new teachers will make a lasting impact in classrooms across the Commonwealth for years to come.â As of the 2023-2024 school year, Pennsylvaniaâs teacher workforce stands at 123,190, with the largest shortages in Grades 4-8, Special Education PK-12, Mathematics 7-12, Life & Physical Sciences 7-12, and Career and Technical Education 7-12. The United States Department of Education have designated these areas as critical shortages, and currently, Pennsylvania needs 1,670 special educators.
USDE Rescinds Book Ban Guidance (January 25, 2025)
In a January 24, 2025 statement, the U.S. Department of Educationâs Office for Civil Rights (OCR) rescinded all guidance that said school districts could violate civil rights law by implementing book bans. The statement said that removing âage-inappropriateâ books from schools is a decision that should be made by parents and communities, and OCR âhas no role in these matters.” As a result, OCR promptly dismissed 11 complaints related to book bans.
In addition, OCR eliminated the position of book ban coordinator, whose job was to develop training for schools on how book bans targeting specific communities and driving âhostile school environmentsâ might run counter to federal civil rights laws.
Source: K-12 Dive
House Returns to Session on Jan. 27th (January 24, 2025)
The PA House of Representatives is scheduled for its first voting session day of the 2025-26 Legislative Session on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. The current make-up of the chamber is 101 Republicans and 101 Democrats, due to the tragic passing of Rep. Matt Gergely of Allegheny County.
The start of a new session means that any legislation that did not make it to the governorâs desk to be signed into law must be reintroduced. In addition, most of the standing committees of the House will be meeting during the week of the 27th  week to organize.