Category: State Government Actions

2019-2020 School Year Restraint Information System Collection Third Quarter Reporting Window is Open (February 13, 2020)

PDE has announced that The 2019-2020 school year Restraint Information System Collection (RISC) is open for data entry. The system has been enhanced to give local education agencies (LEAs) greater opportunity to provide both more detail about restraints and to analyze trends in reducing the use of physical restraints. The Bureau of Special Education (BSE) continues to require LEAs to report the restraints that occurred in each quarter. This reporting process permits LEAs to report restraints in a timely manner which, in turn, allows LEAs to monitor patterns of episodic behaviors and address them accordingly. The third quarter end date is 3/31/20, the last day to report is 4/15/20, the zero window opens on 4/1/20, and the zero window closes on 4/15/20.

Questions regarding RISC should be directed to either of the following Special Education Advisers: Keith Focht at 717-783-6921 or [email protected] / Pat Haglund at 814.662.2662 or [email protected].

PDE Announces Meeting for Gifted Liaisons (February 13, 2020)

On February 13, 2020, BSE Director Carole L. Clancy released a PennLink memo regarding gifted education programming. The memo states that  PDE is responsible for ensuring that all local educational agencies (LEAs) providing services, whether directly or by contractual arrangements, administer gifted education services and programs in compliance with applicable state laws and regulations.  In order to fulfill this responsibility, PDE has established contracts with two Intermediate Units (Allegheny IU 3 and Montgomery County IU 23) to provide professional development and technical training across the Commonwealth.  The memo also welcomes Amy Davis (IU 3) and Patrice Semicek (IU 23) to the state level team and, along with Shirley Moyer, they are  inviting all IU Gifted Liaison’s to attend a face-to-face meeting on April 23, 2020, in the Lancaster Room at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network in Harrisburg from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. to map out the needs of the field. Questions may be directed to Shirley Moyer, 717.705.5186, [email protected]; Amy Davis, 412.394.4193, [email protected]; or Patrice Semicek 610.755.9483, [email protected].

PDE recognizes the time and effort required on behalf of LEAs to successfully participate in gifted education and thanks them for their cooperation in complying with this state mandated requirement.

BSE Releases Instructions for Review of APS Enrollments in APSEM System (February 12, 2020)

On January 29, 2020, BSE Director Carole L. Clancy, released a memo to LEAs titled Review of Enrollments in the Approved Private School Electronic Management (APSEM) System as a follow-up communiqué to a prior notification regarding the review of School Year 2018-19, 4010 enrollments through the Approved Private School Electronic Management (APSEM) system.  LEAs are now asked to use the following instructions to review their enrollments.

  1. Log-in as an Approved Private School (APS) or a Local Educational Agency (LEA) User.
  2. Click the Reports link on the header.
  3. Choose the 4010 Enrollment Report from the report dropdown.
  4. Choose 2018-19 from the School Year dropdown.
  5. Click on the Run button.
  6. Click the Open button at the bottom of the screen to open the spreadsheet.
  7. Review the 4010 enrollments data, including the student name, date of birth, primary exceptionality, age category, etc.

Please forward this email to the individual responsible for the APSEM data review in your APS or LEA.  If you have questions regarding this information, please contact Janette Fulton at 717-425-5442 or [email protected].

PA Department of Insurance Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Regulation #11-258 “Mental Health Parity Analysis Documentation” (February 11, 2020

The PA Department of Insurance proposed Regulation #11-258 (IRRC #3252) entitled “Mental Health Parity Analysis Documentation” in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on February 8, 2020. The proposed regulation is available on the Pennsylvania Bulletin Web by clicking here. The proposed regulation is also available on IRRC’s Web site by clicking here.The Department is inviting the public to submit written comments on the proposal. Please reference Regulation #11-258 (IRRC #3252) on the correspondence. The deadline for submitting comments to the Department is March 9, 2020. All correspondence, public comments, and documents submitted relating to a regulation are a matter of public record and will appear on IRRC’s Web site at www.irrc.state.pa.us.

PDH Releases Coronavirus Fact Sheets (February 5, 2020)

​The PA Department of Health (PDH) has released two fact sheets regarding the coronavirus. One fact sheet provides general information on the virus. The other fact sheet is specific to K-12 schools in PA. To access these important fact sheets, either click on https://papsa-web.org/quick-links/downloads/ or visit the PAPSA website at www.papsa-web.org, go to the “Resources” drop-down,  and then click on “Downloads.”

Updated information can also be obtained in person by attending the 42nd Annual PAPSA Conference that will be held from April 1-3, 2020 in Williamsport. To register for the conference, please click here.