Category: State Government Actions

Bill Mistakenly Strips School Police of Arrest Powers (October 2, 2019)

On Tuesday, July 2, 2019, Governor Wolf signed legislation that created new training requirements for armed school security officers and other armed personnel who work in PA schools. It also purportedly disallowed teachers from carrying firearms. However, the bill that was championed by Sen. Mike Regan R-York and passed the Senate by a 30-20 vote, mistakenly stripped school police officers, which are licensed law enforcement professionals who are employed by school districts across the Commonwealth, of their power to arrest anyone.

Legislators who were instrumental in the legislation claim that they didnā€™t intend to strip school police officers of their arrest power and that the goal of the legislation in question was to increase training requirements for school security personnel and to make sure that school police officers hired by private, third-party contractors could not perform arrests.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) recognized the change in a joint letter sent to school districts in August 2019. A corrected bill was sent to the Senate Education Committee on September 26, 2019.

OSEP to Hold SAS Institute (September 22, 2019)

Brian W. Campbell, Director of the Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction released a memo to LEAs titled  2019 Standards Aligned System Institute: Bridging the Skills Gapā€¦A Pathway to Employability. According to the memo, PDE’s 2019 SAS Institute, Bridging the Skills Gapā€¦A Pathway to Employability, will be held December 8-10, 2019, with optional half-day sessions on December 11th. An Act 45 program will commence on Sunday afternoon. The location is the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.  A draft agenda is available for review.  The planning committee is accepting proposals for presentations. Registration will open October 1, 2019 and may be accessed at the Northwest Tri-County website. Questions may be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].

PA DHS Plans Act 147 Webinar (September 22, 2019)

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is planning a statewide training to discuss Act 147 of 2004, Mental Health Treatment ā€“ Consent to Treatment, Release of Medical Records. School administrators and other partners in education who are interested in learning more about Act 147 of 2004 are welcome to attend. Registration information for this webinar will be distributed in the near future. The date and time for the webinar is on October 8th, 2019 from 10:00 AM ā€“ 11:00 AM. For those unable to attend, the webinar will be recorded and available to be viewed at their convenience. Those with questions they believe will be helpful in developing the upcoming webinar should submit them to [email protected].

PDH: SHARRS Report is Due September 30th (September 10, 2019)

PDH is reminding LEAs that the 2018-19 SHARRS is dueĀ September 30, 2019. Ā If not submitted by September 30, school reimbursement will be forfeited. LEAs are advised to share this reminder with staff responsible for completing the report. SHARRS can be accessed atĀ https://apps.health.pa.gov/SHARRS/Login.aspx.Ā  There is an ā€œINSTRUCTIONSā€ button on every page to provide guidance on completing the report. The SHARRSĀ September 30Ā due date is required by the PA Public School Code Section 2505.1. Reimbursement for Health Services.

BSE Memo Addresses Indicator 14 Requirements (September 10, 2019)

On September 5, 2019, Carole L. Clancy, Director of PDEā€™s Bureau of Special Education disseminated a memo via PennLink titledĀ State Performance Plan Data Requirements – Postsecondary School Survey (Cohort 5 Exit). According to the memo, the accountability requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) mandates that each state determine the extent to which students are achieving transition outcomes (State Performance Plan – Indicator 14). To meet the federal reporting requirement, each local education agency (LEA) is mandated to administer Exit-and Post-School Surveys to students who have graduated, aged out or dropped out with individualized education programs (IEPs) once over a five year period, based on the LEA’s assignment to a targeted sampling year (Cohort). For 2019-2020 LEAs assigned to Cohort 5 are required to administer Exit Surveys, and during 2020-2021, these same LEAs will be required to complete the Post-School Surveys.

The following information specifically addresses Exit Survey administration for 2019-2020.  LEAs assigned to Cohort 5, as listed below, are required to address the following:

  • Administer the Exit Survey for all student leavers (graduates, dropouts and students who reach maximum age) who have IEPs.
  • Participate in the Pennsylvania Post School Outcome Survey Overview for Cohort 5 webinar, which is scheduled for September 24, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  Information concerning the administration of Exit Surveys will be addressed during the webinar.  Registration is required and may be accessed at https://www.pattan.net/Events/Webinar/Course-1838/Events/Session-33217.
  • Participate in the February 27, 2020, Exit Survey training webinar from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Registration for this event is required and can be completed when registering for the September webinar.  Information regarding accessing and entering information into the online system will be presented during this webinar. 

For questions about the Exit Survey or Indicator 14 process, please contact PaTTAN Educational Consultants Hillary Mangis atĀ [email protected]Ā or Jacki Lyster atĀ [email protected].Ā