Category: Government Actions

PDE: Act 16 – Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students Due October 14th (August 30, 2022)

On, August 30, 2022, PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy, disseminated a PENN*LINK titled Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students. The memo states that Act 16 of 2000 (24 PS §13-1372(8)) requires the Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students.  School districts and charter schools must report the number of students with disabilities for which expenditures fall in one of five categories. The categories will be 1A, 1B, 2, 3A, and 3B for the 2021-2022 school year. The dollar amounts for these categories will be posted on PDE’s website at Act 16 – Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students.  The 2022-23 PIMS Manual will also be updated to reflect the dollar amounts to be reported. This report will now be collected at the student level through PIMS using the Student Fact Template for Special Education Act 16 Funds. The template will be collected during Collection #1 (opening October 3 and closing with a deadline of October 14, 2022). Data is to be based on expenditures incurred during the entire 2021-2022 school year.

Guidelines regarding the Act 16 reporting can be found at Act 16 Information.

The Student Fact Template for Special Education Act 16 Funds can be found in the 2022-23 PIMS Manual.

Failure to complete the Student Fact Template for Special Education Act 16 Funds report may have an adverse effect on your local education agency’s special education funding.

Questions regarding this reporting requirement may be emailed to [email protected]. A copy of this information is being provided to each intermediate unit so they may assist school districts and charter schools with report preparation, as needed. 

Ed. Sec. Hagarty Highlights Innovative STEM Programming (August 23, 2022)

On August 23, 2022, Acting Secretary of Education Eric Hagarty, while visiting the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, noted that with more than 90% of children playing video games and the explosive growth of esports worldwide, Whitaker Center and its partners saw an opportunity to offer students and their families a space to reconnect, share passions for gaming and esports and learn about coding, art, and the technology embedded in video games. The PNC Innovation Zone hosts weekly activities, led by certified educators, for youth ages eight and older.

The PNC Innovation Zone complements efforts at the state level to engage students in STEM education. During the past seven years, the Wolf Administration has secured $40 million for career and technical education and has invested $116 million in science, computer science and technical education, including $80 million in the innovative PAsmart program and $36 million in apprenticeships and workforce training. To view the press release, click here.

PDE & DHS Announce SBAP 2022-23 Training Sessions (August 22, 2022)

On August 22, 2022, the PA Department of Education (PDE) and the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) disseminated a PennLink memo titled 2022-23 School-Based ACCESS Program Statewide Training Sessions. The memo announce that PDE and DHS will provide this year’s annual statewide training for all participating School-Based ACCESS Program (SBAP) teams on September 20, 2022.

This training will be offered one day only. Registration is required. Attendees may attend in person or online. See instructions below. Participation is strongly encouraged. Local educational agencies (LEAs) are encouraged to assign at least one representative to attend this annual training to receive important SBAP information.  

A General Session will be led and presented by DHS. DHS team members will review updates to the Provider Handbook which include Medical Assistance-reimbursable use of telemedicine within SBAP, updates to the credentialing requirements of Orientation and Mobility Specialists, SBAP annual performance and claiming levels, and other important information and reminders including the enrollment revalidation process.

A Compliance Session will be led and presented by DHS. DHS team members will review documentation requirements, credentialing, overbilling, and common errors found during SBAP record reviews.

A Ways to Optimize Your SBAP Potential session will be led and presented by Public Consulting Group (PCG). PCG team members will focus on assisting participating LEAs in achieving compliance within the SBAP and managing operational changes associated to virtual requirements. Different areas will be identified that LEAs are able to focus on to increase their reimbursement.

LEA responsibilities impacting compliance include the following:

  • Related Service Documentation: Monitoring of service log entry, compliance information, and reimbursement levels;
  • Random Moment Time Study (RMTS): Ensuring the quality of staff pool positions, moment responses, and shifts; and
  • Medicaid Administrative Claiming (MAC): Participant activity and the impact of the annual Unrestricted Indirect Cost Rate on MAC.

A Navigating the SBAP Cost Reconciliation/Cost Settlement Process session will be led and presented by Sivic Solutions Group (SSG). SSG team members will provide an overview of Pennsylvania’s SBAP Cost Reconciliation and Cost Settlement program. SSG will focus on the details of the cost report including a discussion on how the direct billing and RMTS drive the annual cost settlement. In addition, the training will review some of the frequently asked questions received during the process and common mistakes identified during Desk Review.

All sessions are intended for ACCESS coordinators, special education directors and supervisors, business managers, and anyone else involved in SBAP.

Sessions will be held on September 20, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Live at PaTTAN Harrisburg or via Webinar.        

Registration is required and is online via the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) at http://www.pattan.net. Go to the training calendar for September 20, 2022 to register. Contact Sharon Kennedy at [email protected] with any registration questions. For content questions, contact DHS’ vendors at [email protected] or [email protected].

USDE Makes $8 Million in New Grants Available to Help Colleges Strengthen and Diversify the Teacher Workforce (August 22, 2022)

On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced a new $8 million grant competition aimed at increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce and preparing teachers to meet the needs of our most underserved students. Named for Augustus F. Hawkins, the first Black politician elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from west of the Mississippi River, the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) program supports comprehensive, high-quality teacher preparation programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).

This year marks the first time the Hawkins Program has received funding since its creation in 2008. In the 2022 omnibus, Congress appropriated $8 million for the grants, under Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

“At a time when we need to do more to support our teachers and the educator profession, Hawkins Centers of Excellence will help increase the number of well-prepared and qualified teachers, including teachers of color, in our workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “We know that teachers of color benefit not only students of color, but all students. When students of color can see their backgrounds and experiences reflected in their teachers, we see higher levels of student achievement and engagement in school, and more students aspiring to be teachers themselves one day.”

The Hawkins Program will focus on key aspects of a high-quality teacher preparation pipeline, including evidence-based, comprehensive teacher preparation programs that provide extensive clinical experience. Grants will fund applicants that propose to incorporate evidence-driven practices into their teacher preparation programs. Studies have shown that teachers who enter the profession through comprehensive pathways are 2 to 3 times more likely to remain in the profession compared to teachers who enter through less comprehensive pathways.

HBCUs, TCUs and MSIs prepare a disproportionate share of teachers of color. These colleges are uniquely positioned to recruit, prepare, and place teachers who will provide culturally and linguistically relevant teaching in underserved and hard-to-staff schools.

Today’s teacher workforce does not reflect the demographics of the nation’s public school students. More than 50% of public school students are students of color, yet in 2017-18, the most recent year for which data were available, only 21% of teachers were teachers of color. And while English learners are the fastest growing public school student demographic, comprising more than 10% of America’s enrollment, most states face a shortage of bilingual and multilingual teachers prepared and qualified to teach this population and foreign languages. These roles are critical for ensuring Americans can compete in the increasingly globalized economy, equal access to education opportunity for English Learners, and the creation of a strong economy in which all Americans can thrive. As a result, the Notice Inviting Applications includes competitive priorities for applicants that propose projects designed to increase the number of well-prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds, as well as bilingual and multilingual teachers with full certification.

The Hawkins Program grant program builds on the USDE’s efforts to strengthen and diversify the teacher pipeline, especially as states and districts work to meet their staffing needs.

An official notice inviting applications will be published in the coming days in the Federal Register.

An unofficial notice is available to view here.

Gov. Wolf Signs Executive Order to Protect LGBTQIA+ Pennsylvanians from Conversion Therapy (August 18, 2022)

On August 16, 2022, Governor Tom Wolf signed Executive Order 2022-2 to protect Pennsylvanians from conversion therapy. According to the governor, “Conversion therapy is a traumatic practice based on junk science that actively harms the people it supposedly seeks to treat. This discriminatory practice is widely rejected by medical and scientific professionals and has been proven to lead to worse mental health outcomes for LGBTQIA+ youth subjected to it. This is about keeping our children safe from bullying and extreme practices that harm them.”

The Executive Order directs commonwealth agencies to discourage conversion therapy in the commonwealth. It directs commonwealth agencies to take steps to actively promote evidence-based best practices for LGBTQIA+ individuals that is actually supported by the scientific and medical communities. It directs agencies to make updates to policies and procedures to better support LGBTQIA+ employees and the Pennsylvanians we serve. It also directs the Department of Human Services, the Insurance Department and Department of State and other appropriate agencies to explore and implement all options to ensure state funds, programs, contracts, and other resources are not used for the purposes of providing, authorizing, endorsing, reimbursing for, or referring for conversion therapy, to the extent permitted by law.

A survey on LGBTQIA+ Youth Mental Health by The Trevor Project shows that LGBTQIA+ youth are at increased risk for negative mental health outcomes. The survey results show that 45% of LGBTQIA+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. 73% of LGBTQIA+ youth reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety. 58% reported symptoms of depression. Additionally, 36% of LGBTQIA+ youth reported they have been physically threatened or harmed due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

According to a peer-reviewed study from The Trevor Project, 13% of LGBTQIA+ youth nationwide reported being subjected to conversion therapy, and 83% of those subjected to it were under age 18.

The study showed that LGBTQIA+ youth who underwent conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide in the past year. Researchers found that when they accounted for the harms caused by conversion therapy – including negative mental health outcomes and substance use – conversion therapy costs our nation $9.23 billion each year.

A 2019 study from the UCLA Williams Institute estimated that 73,000 LGBTQIA+ youth will be subjected to conversion therapy before they turn 18 – including 16,000 youth who will receive conversion therapy from a licensed health care professional.

“Conversion therapy is causing horrific consequences for the mental health and well-being of a generation of young LGBTQIA+ individuals,” said Gov. Wolf. “But there is something very simple that we can all do to help. We can stand up and tell LGBTQIA+ youth that we hear them and we accept them exactly as they are. ​The Trevor Project’s Youth Mental Health Survey showed that rates of negative mental health outcomes among LGBTQIA+ youth are much lower in communities, schools and families that are accepting and supportive of LGBTQIA+ people. That’s why I signed this executive order to protect Pennsylvanians from conversion therapy and the damage it does to our communities. Because all of our youth deserve to grow up in a commonwealth that accepts and respects them.”

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.