On March 17, 2021, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, in collaboration with Indiana Area School District, is hosted a freeE virtual safe schools conversation.  Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was be the evening’s special guest and provided opening remarks. He spoke of post-pandemic challenges to education. In addition to fiscal challenges, he also pointed to the need for more MH help availability in schools; the need to examine a more holistic educational program with less emphasis on standardized testing; better wages for teachers; and opening doors to outside resources, including possible employers of students.

On Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) released the latest issue of the Positive Approaches Journal, which aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to live an everyday life. This edition focuses on the importance of social connectedness and outlines ways of supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism in forming healthy and long-lasting relationships.

“While the past year has proven incredibly difficult for everyone’s relationships and social life, the pandemic has revealed major disparities in this regard for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism. These disparities hurt everyone,” said DHS Secretary Teresa Miller. “People with dual diagnoses often face challenges for true inclusion in their communities; historic segregation, inadequate education, and, on some occasions, abuse have made developing healthy relationships difficult. It is our hope that this edition of the Positive Approaches Journal will shine a light on ways to address these issues and ensure an everyday life for the people we serve.” 

This edition features research and guidance on the following:

-Lessons from COVID-19: The Importance of Social Networks: This article examines importance of strong social networks to overall health and how those networks have served – or failed – individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-Our Contribution to Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships: This article outlines best practices in sex education for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.
-Building Healthy Relationships Together: Healing the Past to Promote a Positive Future: This article explores the societal challenges that people with disabilities face in forming healthy, long-lasting relationships and explores how this has a detrimental impact the community.
-Toward the White Picket Fence: Experiences Providing Education on Sexuality and Healthy Relationships to People with Intellectual; and Developmental Disabilities: This article outlines how to implement a healthy relationships & sexuality curriculum with groups of self-advocates and details the best practices and barriers to implementation.
-Sexuality, Social Connectedness, and the Internet: This article details ways to ensure people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are safely included on social media and in digital communities without victimization and exploitation.

The journal is a collaboration of DHS’ Office of Developmental Programs and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and collects resources, observations, and advancements in mental and behavioral health in order to better serve people with dual diagnoses in their communities. 

“Our goal at DHS is to serve more people in their communities, and we hope that by publishing these resources and advancements to professionals and supporters, we can foster more research and improved services to the people who need them,” said Secretary Miller.

Read this edition of the Positive Approaches Journal.

For more information visit www.dhs.pa.gov.

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, Governor Wolf and the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force announced that the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) single-dose COVID-19 vaccine will be used to vaccinate PreK-12 public and non-public teachers and other school staff. Just a week previous, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use. The efforts to vaccinate PreK-12 school staff is separate from the ongoing Phase 1A vaccine rollout.

The Commonwealth is slated to receive 94,600 doses within the week. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), along with PDE and PDH, are partnering with the 28 Intermediate Units (IUs) in the state to establish vaccine sites. The Pennsylvania National Guard and AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI) will administer the vaccine. Each IU region will have at least one vaccination location with most locations starting vaccinations between March 10th and 13th.

The initial priority is vaccinating the following school staff:

• Pre-K-12 teachers of students with disabilities and English learners and related in-classroom support staff;
• Elementary teachers and related in-classroom support staff, beginning with the youngest students;have regular and sustained in-person contact with students; 
• Bus drivers/transporters, and support staff and contracted service providers who have direct contact with elementary students; and
• Other priority school staff who have regular, sustained in-person contact with students during the school day.

Initially, staff that services schools that house younger children are being targeted since those children are felt to be more susceptible to learning loss and their families are more likely to have childcare challenges.

Note: The city of Philadelphia operates a separate vaccine distribution.

Please click here to access Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About the COVID-19 Vaccine for Pre-K to 12 School Staff on the PDE website or click here to view the press release.

According to a draft letter from PA Acting Education Secretary Noe Ortega to the federal government made public on February 23rd, PA will administer standardized tests this year, but give school districts the option to delay the assessments until fall. The letter comes one day after the Biden administration announced it would not allow states to waive federal standardized testing requirements. However, the U.S. Department of Education has stated could administer tests remotely, give shortened versions of their annual exams, or “extend the testing window to the greatest extent practicable.”

In the draft letter, Sec. Noriega said that PA will allow school districts and charter schools to “hold assessment materials until later in the calendar year (i.e., September 2021) to ensure that a larger, more representative sample of students participates in the assessments.” Also, according to the letter, the option would lie with individual school districts. The letter does not indicate that Pennsylvania will administer tests remotely or shorten them.

To read more from WHYY, click here or go to: https://whyy.org/articles/pa-says-it-will-allow-public-schools-to-postpone-standardized-tests-until-fall/

To read the draft letter, click here or go to: https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Assessment%20and%20Accountability/2021-02-22%20USDE%20Assessment%20Letter.pdf