The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is inviting Pennsylvania schools to join the second round of a pilot program designed to teach K-12 students about the political, economic, and social contributions of individuals with disabilities. The Disability Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program influences the overall culture and environment of schools by reducing stigma and including disability as a part of a school-wide strategic plan.

Schools can apply for up to $30,000 in grant funding to implement the curriculum over three years.

For the program’s launch in 2023-24, PDE) selected 10 schools from across the Commonwealth to implement the program over three years. In the second round, PDE will select 20 schools to join the pilot program starting this year and running through 2028.

PDE developed a toolkit to assist schools with implementation of the pilot. The toolkit resources are inclusive of all age/grade levels and include sample lesson plans, professional development offerings/opportunities, ideas for implementing a disability inclusive curriculum, disability-led organizational contacts, and other resources.

Established under state law in 2022, the program is open to all school districts, charter schools, regional charter schools, cyber charter schools, intermediate units, area career and technical schools and nonpublic schools. Any interested entity must complete an intent to apply at PA Disability Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program, Cohort 2 Grant Application Request. Once the intent to apply is completed, the entity will receive access to the application in the eGrants system within 48 hours.

Applications will be opened March 31, 2025, and must be submitted in eGrants by 3:00 PM on Monday, May 12, 2025. Schools can implement the new curriculum beginning in the 2025-26 school year.

Questions should be directed to Tim Krushinski at [email protected] or Nichole Kopco at [email protected].

The Shapiro Administration is launching a free water sampling program for eligible schools and childcare facilities across Pennsylvania to test for lead in drinking water. This initiative through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is funded by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act’s Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program and is part of the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to protect children from lead exposure.

Partnering with Terraphase Engineering, the program offers no-cost water testing and, for those with elevated lead levels, grant funding to support lead reduction activities such as installing hydration stations. Eligible applicants could receive up to $3,000 per hydration station installed. It’s an easy, no-cost way to protect children’s health and make sure they’re drinking safe water.

Schools and childcare centers that meet the criteria are encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted online through the Commonwealth’s Electronic Application: Grant Details | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Enrollment is currently open and will remain so until funds are exhausted.

For more information, visit DEP’s webpage Lead Information for Schools and Child Care Facilities.

Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh joined advocates from The Arc of Indiana County for a roundtable discussion on the successes to-date of the Shapiro Administration’s multi-year growth strategy for intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) services and the importance of continued funding in Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal for this community and the workforce that supports them.

The 2024-25 bipartisan budget made historic new investments in Pennsylvanians with ID/A and the direct support professionals (DSPs) who care for them by securing $354.8 million in federal and state funding to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers. The funding included:

-$280 million to help raise wages for DSPs, ensuring better retention and quality of care
-This investment in provider rates supported recruitment, retention, and wages for DSPs who make inclusive, enriching lives possible for people with intellectual disabilities and autism.
-$74.8 million to begin the process of eliminating the years-long emergency waiting list for services.

In less than one year, DHS has reduced the adult emergency waiting list for services by just under 20 percent. This is a remarkable shift given that the emergency waiting list had been growing for years. During the Shapiro Administration, more than 3,000 additional individuals have been enrolled in services, and that number will continue to rise. For the first time ever, more than 40,000 individuals are receiving ID/A services through the Department of Human Services. Funding in Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 proposed budget will continue this rate of progress, which includes 1,300 people newly receiving services since July 2024.

The Shapiro Administration believes every Pennsylvanian with intellectual disabilities and autism deserves the supports they need to achieve an everyday life with dignity and the opportunity to live and work among their families and peers. While home- and community-based services have been offered in Pennsylvania for decades, the way the program was structured limited capacity and did not allow flexibility that could help individuals access the services they needed when they needed them. Historically, individuals may have waited for years to be enrolled in services even if they have immediate needs. 

Through the multi-year growth strategy, DHS has shifted away from setting capacity in programs by numbers or “slots” and instead sets capacity by an overall budget-based system. This will allow counties flexibility to make decisions based on local needs and will help establish Pennsylvania as a national leader in eliminating its emergency waiting list for home- and community-based services.