Category: Government Actions

Reps. Wild and Fitzpatrick Introduce Bipartisan Bill in Congress to Expand Specialized Instructional Support in Schools (March 27, 2022)

New bill to create a grant program to better recruit, develop, and retain SISPs professionals in rural and lower-income school districts that historically experience workforce shortages 

On March 24, 2022, U.S. Representatives Marie Newman (IL-03), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Susan Wild (PA-07) introduced H.R. 7219, the Growing, Recruiting, and Obtaining Workers in Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Services (GROW SISPS) Act, as part of an effort to ensure students receive the individualized support they need to succeed in the classroom. The new bill will create a grant program at the Department of Education to increase partnerships between school districts and colleges to train and certify various Specialized Instruction Support Personnel programs (SISPs) to better serve rural and lower-income school districts. 

“All of us in Congress have a fundamental obligation to ensure our nation’s children have access to high-quality public education, no matter where they live or the wealth of their community,” said Rep. Newman. “By passing the GROW SISPS Act, we can provide America’s school districts with a pipeline of Specialized Instructional Support Personnel that work directly with students who are facing learning barriers and ensure they’re getting the services they need to succeed. At a time when schools are facing national workforce shortages and students are reeling from mental health crises caused by the pandemic, I am proud to introduce this comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to better support our students, teachers, parents and entire communities across the nation.” 

“Specialized Instructional Support Personnel work tirelessly in schools across the country to support students and foster positive and safe learning environments. Unfortunately, there is a nationwide shortage of qualified SISPs, particularly in rural and lower-income school districts, and the demand for these professionals is only increasing,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “Our legislation will establish a Department of Education grant program that will allow these underserved school districts to bolster recruitment and retention of qualified SISP professionals so that schools can provide crucial support services and meet student needs.” 

“As our students emerge from a long battle with learning barriers that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s critical that we give schools the tools to train Specialized Instructional Support Personnel, or SISPs, and properly address the shortage of essential services that many school programs experience,” said Rep. Wild. “This legislation is a commonsense, effective solution for our nation’s most hard to staff school districts in rural and lower-income areas, and I’m proud to have introduced it with a group of bipartisan colleagues.” 

In school districts across the nation, Specialized Instructional Support Personnel, or SISPs, work with teachers, school support staff, parents, community members, and other education stakeholders to help students remove learning barriers. They can include school-based mental health professionals like school counselors, school psychologists, and professionals that work with students with disabilities who provide crucial services to students to address students’ needs in school. However, the vast majority of schools nationwide fall short of the recommended ratios of school-based mental health professionals to students, especially in rural and lower income school districts. 

Rural and lower-income school districts often struggle to find and retain qualified SISPs, putting those school districts at great risk of shortages. To mitigate this challenge, GrowYour Own programs focus on recruiting staff already living and working in these communities. Some may already be working in other roles within the same school district and can be re-trained and certified in other essential roles, such as school psychology. 

This bill would help add more “Grow Your Own” programs to schools to recruit, develop, and retain SISPs professionals who are already in the community. Grow Your Own programs have typically been used develop and train teachers to address teacher shortages and have been proven to be a successful model for graduate programs such as school psychologists. By passing the GROW SISPS Act, Congress can better address national workforce shortages of SISPs roles, particularly in hard to staff school districts in rural and lower-income areas. 

A number of organizations support this legislation, including the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). 

To view H.R. 7219, click here.

USDE and HHS Announce Joint Effort to Expand School-based Health Services (March 26, 2022)

U.S. Ed. Sec. Cardona and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra have announced a joint effort to expand school-based health services. The announcement said the pandemic has challenged the health and well-being of youth, highlighting pre-existing inequities in access to health services. USDE and DHS will provide additional technical assistance, resources and support to schools, including guidance on federal funding available for school-based physical and behavioral health services and recommendations for using Medicaid in delivering these services.

Letter to Educators and Parents Regarding New CDC Recommendations and Their Impact on Children with Disabilities (March 26, 2022)

On March 24, 2022, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote a letter to educators and parents regarding new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations and the recommendations’ impact on children with disabilities. This letter addresses the needs of students with disabilities as we move into a new phase in our response to the pandemic. The letter addresses the CDC’s February 2022 framework for identifying COVID-19 Community Levels and encourages schools to lead with equity and inclusion to ensure all students have access to in-person learning alongside their peers.

The letter includes sections on leveraging the individualized education program or Section 504 process to ensure schools have protections in place to protect in-person learning; continuing use of layered prevention strategies to keep school communities safe; and ensuring students receive education and services in the least restrictive environment. Click below to access the:

Letter to Educators and Parents Regarding New CDC Recommendations and
Their Impact on Children with Disabilities

PA Education Group Seeks Members to Elevate Student Voice Across State (March 22, 2021)

On March 21, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that Students for Education in Pennsylvania (SEPA), a group created by student representatives of the state Board of Education, is seeking dedicated, passionate high school students to help elevate student voices across the commonwealth.

“At PDE, we often note that the best way we can accomplish our mission to provide high-quality education to all learners is by hearing from students who are actually in the classroom learning,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Noe Ortega. “Effective and meaningful public policy is developed through collaboration and feedback, and we believe that as policies are considered, student voices should be heard. We encourage any interested students in the commonwealth to lend their time — and their voice — to Students for Education in Pennsylvania.”

SEPA was created out of a shared passion for a broader and more diverse student representative network. As a complement to PDE’s mission, SEPA aims to establish an ongoing relationship with dedicated students throughout the commonwealth to more effectively represent student voice in Pennsylvania’s educational policymaking.

To accomplish their mission, student representatives to the Pennsylvania Board of Education, Senior Student Member Eva Rankin and Junior Student Member Reva Gandhi, asked stakeholders across the commonwealth to nominate two to three dedicated, passionate high school students to contribute their unique voice to the Pennsylvania Student Representative Program, which comprises geographically based groups that will meet on a regular basis to discuss education and student life.

In 2021, the Board student representatives conducted several regional meetings to gauge concerns and interests of students. Common findings from these meetings included a desire for more student voice and choice in curriculum, providing more global perspective on historical events and issues, an urge for better representation of cultures and religions in the classroom, mixed responses to standardized testing, and concerns about mental health and closing the educational gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each year in the spring, the Pennsylvania Board of Education, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC), selects one rising high school junior to serve a two-year term as a student representative to the State Board. The primary responsibility of the student representative position is to provide student perspectives at board meetings. Historically, student representatives have met with small groups of student stakeholders, however, the current student representatives are looking to expand and elevate student voices further.

Student representation on the state Board of Education is made possible through a grant provided by Highmark, supporting opportunity for students in Pennsylvania to have a direct voice in helping to shape education policy.

To read the press release, click here.