PDE has announced that the Dyslexia and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program (Act 69 of 2014 or 24 P.S. §§17-1701-C et seq.) has been extended and expanded for two years.  This pilot will continue with the original schools as well as add up to 15 additional sites.  The pilot expansion will be phased in over the 2019-2020 school year with all schools identified and enrolled no later than November 15, 2019.  Interested districts should review the Dyslexia Pilot Application, print, and submit by October 31, 2019 at [email protected].The link to the Dyslexia Intervention Pilot Research can be accessed by clicking here.

Interested parties are also advised to contact Carole L. Clancy, BSE Director, at [email protected] for additional information.

On October 9, 2019, BSE Director Carole L. Clancy released a memo titled Special Education Students Placed in Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home. When a special education student is placed on Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home, the local education agency (LEA) must report the student’s status to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) via the Special Education Students at Home website. PIMS reporting of students receiving Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home does NOT fulfill this additional court-ordered requirement. Timely reporting of such students is required by PDE to meet its obligations of Intensive Interagency (also referred to as the Cordero Court Order).  When a student is reported, regional interagency coordinators will:

• Review each student report and contact the LEA in cases where interagency support may be needed to address student need (e.g., students who have behavioral health needs that are the reason for Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home placement); and
• Collaborate with Intermediate Unit interagency coordinators to support the LEA in connecting families with other county-level child-serving agencies and in collaborating with such agencies.

This reporting helps PDE to build capacity to meet the needs of all students with disabilities who require services from agencies outside of the educational system. While this reporting requirement applies to both Homebound Instruction and Instruction Conducted in the Home, it is important to understand the distinctions between the two arrangements.  The most important difference is that Homebound Instruction is NOT a special education placement while Instruction Conducted in the Home is a placement made by an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. 

Regional interagency coordinators at each Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network office are available for assistance: Pittsburgh – Hillary Mangis at  800.446.5607 or [email protected];  East –Amy Smith at 800.441.3215 or [email protected] ; and Harrisburg – Roni Russell at 800.360.7282 / 717.901.2262 or [email protected].  PDE’s Adviser/Single Point of Contact from the Bureau of Special Education assigned to your area can also assist LEAs in the procedures for Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home. Questions concerning Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home should go to Amy Deluca, Chief, Division of Monitoring and Improvement – West, at 717.736.2650 or [email protected].

In an October 9, 2019, BSE Director Carole L. Clancy disseminated a memo via PennLink titled Training in Response to Recent Changes by the Federal Office of Special Education Programs. The memo states that the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has oversight of states’ compliance with federal special education regulations and requirements.  A component of OSEP’s compliance monitoring verification visits is a fiscal verification review.  Part of that fiscal verification includes a review of the use of funds for coordinated early intervening services, maintenance of effort, and general use of federal, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B), funds.

To assist local education agencies (LEAs) with these components of the federal on-site visits, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is providing training to familiarize special education directors and business administrators with clarifying information.  This training will address three topics:  IDEA Fiscal Programming, Contingency Funding, and Approved Private School Electronic Management System (New Enrollment System for Approved Private Schools/Chartered Schools for the Blind and Deaf). Each school district and charter school is required to send participants to this training.  Because the training is highlighting the fiscal program data verifications associated with the IDEA-B fiscal reporting requirements, it is strongly recommended that the participants representing your LEA be your special education director and business administrator.  If a school district or charter school contracts for business services, its contracted business representative should attend as well. This training will be held at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) offices as well as Intermediate Units 4, 20, 26, and 29. Register at www.pattan.net for the following training sessions: Monday, October 28^th at PaTTAN West, October 29^th at IU 4, and October 31^st at IU 26. Questions regarding the fiscal training should be directed to Dr. Del Hart, Chief, Division of Analysis & Financial Reporting, at 717.772.1114 or [email protected].  Questions about registration should be directed to Sharon Kennedy at PaTTAN-Harrisburg at 717.901.2265, 800.360.7282 (in PA only), or [email protected].

The General Assembly is considering companion bills,  HB 1500 and SB 749, that would increase the number of school counselors, school psychologists, and social workers in PA schools. Both bills recommend ratios of 250 students per counselor, 250 students per social worker, and 500 students per school psychologist. Those ratios are as recommended by the PA School Counselors Association.

HB 1500 was referred to committee on May 23rd and SB 749 was referred to committee on June 10th. Neither bill has moved from committee.

There is no question that students would benefit from such ratios, but the big question for school boards and administrators is how to afford the additional staff without state dollars being attached to the legislation.