Category: Government Actions

GAO Blames USDE for Botched FAFSA Release; USDE Promises a Smoother 2025-26 Rollout (September 25, 2024)

On September 24, 2024, after a monthslong investigation, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a pair of scathing reports that found the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) failed to properly oversee vendors, follow its own procedures, and properly communicate with students and colleges as they rolled out the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

The report found, that 74% of the total calls received (approximately for million in all) at USDE call centers went unanswered from January to May, which were the first five months of the FAFSA application cycle. 

Responding to GAO officials expressing concern that the USDE could repeat a similar debacle for the  2025-26 academic year, a USDE spokesperson said the agency has already made improvements for the 2025-26 form which will be fully available by December 1, 2024. In fact, starting October 1st the USDE will test the new form with a limited number of students and institutions to help ensure complete functionality when the form fully launches on Dec. 1st.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

PDE Creates Information Literacy Toolkit for Educators Preparing PA’s Next Generation of News Consumers (September 25, 2024)

On September 23, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) unveiled a comprehensive toolkit to develop the information literacy skills of educators, students, and families to help the next generation of Pennsylvanians learn how to discern fact from fiction online.  

As children find misinformation online and bring it into the classroom, educators are forced to confront it. According to Governor Shapiro, the first step is giving teachers and parents more tools in their toolbox to help teach kids how to think critically about what they find online. Thus, PDE has developed a toolkit for teachers and parents on digital literacy and critical thinking.

The toolkit, which is available to the public on PDE’s website, is designed to help Pennsylvania’s educators incorporate age-appropriate media literacy into their lesson plans and their conversations with students and offers resources about how to recognize biases, distinguish between credible information and misinformation, and create and share content responsibly. Through a collection of evidence-based resources, the toolkit encourages critical thinking, active participation in society, and contextual understanding of past and current events. 

Resources in the toolkit are primarily geared toward educators, but there are also tools to help families and their children navigate the media landscape.  

Click here  to access the information literacy toolkit.

Click here to access the press release.

GAO Study: Black Girls Face More Frequent, Severe Discipline in School (September 21, 2024)

On September 19, 2024, NPR reported that, according to a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Black girls face more discipline and more severe punishments in public schools than girls from other racial backgrounds. The report, shared exclusively with NPR, took nearly a year-and-a-half to complete.

The findings offer a first of its kind snapshot of the disciplinary disparities that Black girls face in public schools across the U.S. — often for similar behaviors.

Over the course of the 85-page report, the GAO found that in K-12 public schools, Black girls had the highest rates of so-called “exclusionary discipline,” such as suspensions and expulsions. According to the report, Black girls accounted for 45% of out-of-school suspensions, 37% of in-school suspensions and 43% of expulsions for actions like “defiance, disrespect, and disruption.” Nationally, Black girls received such exclusionary discipline at rates 3 to 5.2 times those of white girls. The study also found that when they had a disability, discipline rates for Black girls grew even larger.

The GAO report is the first to examine underlying infraction data among discipline disparities and identify what contributes to them. It found that school poverty levels, the percentage of girls facing disabilities, the number of new teachers and the presence of a school resource officer were among the factors tied to increased discipline for girls.

Source: NPR

To read more on the study from NPR, click here.

PDH Health Alert Notice: Kids’ Gardening Lead Paint Recall (September 19, 2024)

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is alerting parents and caregivers about the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall of Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Sets because the paint on the hoe and rake contains lead levels that exceed the federal content ban.

Approximately 459,200 garden sets were sold in the U.S. from February 2024 through June 2024. They were sold exclusively at Costco stores nationwide and online at Costco.com for approximately $35.

This recall involves the long hoe and rake in the Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set, model number 1662178. The wheelbarrow has a white label on the bottom labeled “Red Toolbox” and a manufacturing date of December 2023. The recalled hoe and rake have a yellow-painted long wooden handle with the words “Stanley Jr.” painted in black. The hoe and rake are black-painted metal.

Consumers should immediately stop using the hoe and rake in the garden set. Visit Red Toolbox’s recall website for information on obtaining a free replacement hoe and rake. Consumers must fill out a form and upload photos of disposing of these items, as well as the white label on the bottom of the wheelbarrow showing the December 2023 manufacturing date. Costco is attempting to contact all known purchasers directly.

According to CDC recommendations, all young children should be tested for lead exposure at least once, and when elevated levels are detected, the tests should be repeated. Early identification of elevated lead levels can prevent the most serious effects so that all children can reach their full potential.

The Department maintains a toll-free lead information hotline (1-800-440-LEAD) to provide information about lead poisoning prevention, testing, follow-up, and local resources.

Lead information can also be found on the Department of Health’s website. 

Parents and caregivers of children who may have used the recalled garden set should contact their child’s health care provider about getting a blood lead test.

The Department of Health has shared a health alert notice to further communicate this recall among state and local public health agencies, health care providers, hospitals, and emergency management officials.

DHS Recognizes Suicide Prevention Month, Discusses Multi-Agency Approach to Strengthen Behavioral Health Supports and Save Lives (September 16, 2024)

On September 16, 2024, Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh joined leaders from multiple state agencies, the Governor’s Advisory Commissions on LGBTQ Affairs and African American Affairs, and suicide prevention advocacy groups, to recognize September as Suicide Prevention Month. Although behavioral health and suicide prevention are important to address year-round, this month provides a dedicated time to offer resources, information, and support to those who have been affected by suicide and honor survivors and lives lost to suicide.

To access the DHS press release, including resources, click here.