Category: Government Actions

PDE: New Eligibility Guidelines for Free and Reduced School Meals Announced for the 2022-23 School Year (July 11, 2022)

On July 8, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals and free milk for July 2022 through June 2023. Schools and other institutions and facilities use the guidelines to determine eligibility for the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Milk Program for Children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program.

As schools begin to transition from use of nationwide waivers, which in the 2021-2022 school year included the option to serve free meals for all students, the importance of determining individual student eligibility is vital to ensure eligible students receive school meals at reduced or no cost. 

To apply, households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) need only include the SNAP or TANF case number on their application. Households enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals and should complete a Household Meal Benefit Application. Other households can find more information on the commonwealth’s COMPASS website. 

Click here to view the updated annual income eligibility guidelines, which are effective July 1, 2022, until further notice.

Gov. Wolf Signs Budget with Historic Increase in Ed. Funding (July 10, 2022)

On Saturday, July 9, 2022, Governor Tom Wolf signed a 2022-23 budget that, in his words, “makes a historic $1.8 billion increase in education funding — bringing the total investment my administration has made in education at all levels to more than $3.7 billion.” The historic $1.8 billion investment increase in education is seen as solidifying Gov. Wolf’s commitment to education. In fact, the Wolf Administration has increased education funding by more than $3.7 billion since 2015.

This year’s $1.8 billion increase includes: 

  • $525 million increase through the Fair Funding Formula. On average Pennsylvania schools will see their funding increase by 8 percent. 
  • $225 million increase for Level Up to provide targeted support to the 100 most in-need school districts, ensuring that every child in Pennsylvania has the opportunity to thrive and succeed through equal access to a high-quality education no matter their zip code. 
  • $100 million increase for Special Education. 
  • $79 million increase for Early Education through Pre-K Counts and Head Start. 
  • $220 million for public higher education. 

The budget also includes funding to help make Pennsylvania communities safer through increased security and grassroots violence interruption efforts, including:

  • $100 million increase for School Safety Grants to ensure children learn and grow in safe, healthy environments.
  •   $50 million for Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention programs to promote grassroots efforts for safer communities. 
  • $105 million for violence prevention, public safety, and safer communities. 

To view the press release, click here.

USDE Answers Call for ARP Funds Use Strategies (July 10, 2022)

In answer to President Biden’s call for more schools to invest in strategies to accelerate academic recovery using American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and to galvanize more Americans to serve their communities by becoming tutors and mentors to help address the impact of missed instruction on our nation’s students, the USDE announced that it will build on the progress school communities made this year in helping students and families recover from the pandemic. Those actions include: 

Launching the National Partnership for Student Success and recruiting 250,000 new tutors and mentors – USDE is joining forces with leading education, youth, and service organizations to launch the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS), a new coalition that will support the expansion, launch and improvement of high-impact tutoring, mentoring and other programs to make up for lost instructional time, and support student mental health and overall wellbeing. The NPSS is run through collaboration between USDE, AmeriCorps, and the Johns Hopkins Everyone Graduates Center. 

Expanding the USDE’s Best Practices Clearinghouse to share best practices around academic and mental health recovery efforts – The Best Practices Clearinghouse will highlight and celebrate evidence-based and promising practices implemented by states, schools, and school districts using ARP funds to support learning recovery, increased academic opportunities, and student mental health. The updated Best Practices Clearinghouse is the next phase of the Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse that was launched in Spring 2021.

Empowering parents and school communities with knowledge about how their school is using and can use federal funds to provide the necessary academic and mental health supports – In June, the USDE launched the National Parents and Families Engagement Council to facilitate strong and effective relationships between schools and parents, families, and caregivers and has now put out a call to states and school communities to contribute to the revamped Best Practices Clearinghouse. USDE has also updated an interactive map to make state and local plans for ARP funds more accessible to families.   

To view the USDE announcement in its entirety, click here.
For additional information on the USDE’s announcements click here. 

BSE Sends Reminder of Sp. Ed. Performance Grant to all LEAs (July 9, 2022)

On July 5, 2022,  BSE Director Carole L. Clancy released a PennLink titled Special Education Performance Grant – Transition Discoveries: Designing Pathways to Competitive Integrated Employment 2022-2024. The message states that the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Bureau of Special Education is requesting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Approved Private Schools (APS) interested in using the Transition Discoveries framework and Quality Indicators survey to create evidence-based systems that improve competitive integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth with disabilities. Through the use of the Transition Discoveries framework, school communities will co-design opportunities for youth, families, and stakeholders to build on their knowledge, skills, and relationships to prepare youth for life after high school. By utilizing the framework, school communities are empowered to identify transition practices and design new approaches that help youth with disabilities better reach their goals.

The purpose of the Transition Discoveries: Designing Pathways to Competitive Integrated Employment grant is to:

  • Build a team to create and support engagement in the collection, review, and analysis of survey data to develop a customized approach to the transition planning process to improve inclusive transition services and supports for students with disabilities.
  • Empower youth, families, educators, and community members to serve as meaningful partners in the design and delivery of transition planning and systemic implementation of transition services.
  • Utilize available resources and supports to improve and increase cross agency collaboration.

LEAs and APSs, including career and technical centers, charters schools, cyber charter schools, intermediate units, and school districts, are eligible to apply. Grant monies will be awarded to applicants with a full complement of Transition Change Agent Team members and who have evaluated and described their readiness to successfully implement Transition Discoveries and all required activities.

Funding of up to $45,000 over the two-year grant period will be available for each successful applicant from the date of the award through August 15, 2024.

This two-year grant opportunity will require LEA or APS Implementation Teams to:

  • Form a Transition Change Agent Team.
  • Utilize Transition Discoveries tools and protocols to collect data from youth, families, and community partners.
  • Identify up to four priorities from the Transition Discoveries Quality Indicators data.
  • Participate in asynchronous and synchronous professional development.
  • Develop and implement a community action plan.

The application is posted on the Secondary Transition webpage of the PaTTAN website. Applications must be received by Monday, September 12, 2022, at 3:00 PM.

PaTTAN educational consultants will provide an informational webinar regarding the grant application process on Friday, August 5, 2022, at 10:00 AM. Register for the webinar using the following link:

https://pattanpgh.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUodu6uqDktG9FiTUtodjO1uVFR0S8W5VEH.

The webinar will be recorded and posted on the PaTTAN website.  For questions regarding the Transition Discoveries: Designing Pathways to Competitive Integrated Employment grant contact: Hillary Mangis, Jacki Lyster, or Matt Flanagan.

PDH PennLink Informs LEAs of Act 84 Requirements (July 9, 2022)

On June 30, 2022, Nicholas Slotterback, Health and Physical Education Advisor, PDE Division of Instructional Quality disseminated a PennLink message titled Approved Seizure Training for School Personnel to all LEAs. The message said that the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) recently shared guidance for an approved seizure recognition and response training for school personnel, which stated that on November 17, 2021, Act 84 was signed into law in Pennsylvania. This law, which is effective at the beginning of the 2022-223 school year, added section 1414.11, related to seizure recognition and related first aid to the Public School Code. Act 84 enables professional employees of a school entity to be trained in seizure recognition and response through an online course or in-person training approved by PDH. Under Act 84, the approved course must be provided at no cost and count toward a professional educator’s continuing professional education requirement and a school or system leader’s continuing professional education requirement.

In consultation with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Department of Health’s Epilepsy Program, PDH determined the following course from the Epilepsy Foundation to meet the requirements of Act 84 and was approved for use in Pennsylvania schools:

Seizure Training for School Personnel
Though the training is voluntary, PDH recommends completing the training every two years, consistent with other health-related trainings for school personnel, such as CPR, First Aid, AED, and EpiPen trainings. For questions regarding school health-specific trainings (Seizure Recognition & First Aid, Epinephrine or CPR/First Aid) please contact [email protected] and indicate the training topic in the Subject line.