On July 26, 2019, Dr. Christina Baumer, PDE’s Chief of the Division of Professional Education and Teacher Quality, Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality, released a memo via Penn*Link titled Student Teaching Requirements versus the Substitute Teaching Permit for Prospective Educators. The memo addresses the differences between student teaching and substitute teaching permits for prospective educators and can be accessed on the PAPSA website by clicking here.
Category: State Government Actions
PDE and DHS Announce 2019-20 School-Based ACCESS Program Statewide Training Sessions (July 28, 2019)
On Friday, July 26, 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced the schedule for annual statewide training sessions offered to all participating School-Based Access Program (SBAP) teams. Trainings are scheduled for two different dates. You may register to attend a session based on your location and availability. Registration is required see instructions and dates below. A General Session will be led and presented by DHS. DHS team members will review policy highlights of SBAP, updates to the Provider Handbook, SBAP annual performance and claiming levels, compliance requirements for credentials and licensure, and other important information and reminders. Attendees will learn what information they are required to provide, how to provide it, and the timeline for completing SBAP requirements. Another session will be led and presented by Public Consulting Group (PCG). PCG will focus on assisting participating LEAs in achieving compliance within SBAP, addressing LEA responsibilities. A third session will be led and presented by Sivic Solutions Group (SSG). SSG will review the expense elements associated with annual cost settlements as well as critical dates in the cost settlement process
These training sessions are intended for ACCESS coordinators, special education directors and supervisors, business managers, and anyone else involved in SBAP. Training dates and times are: September 26, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at PaTTAN Harrisburg or Zoom Link and October 7, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at PaTTAN Harrisburg or Zoom Link. Register online via PaTTAN at http://www.pattan.net. Contact Sharon Kennedy at [email protected] with any registration questions. For content questions, contact DHS’ vendors at [email protected] or [email protected].
PDH Releases 2019 Vaccination Information (July 27, 2019)
On Wednesday, July 24th, PDH Division of School Health Chief Jill Clodgo disseminated a flyer on 2019 School Vaccination information via Penn*Link on behalf of the Division of Immunizations. That flyer can be accessed by clicking here or visiting the PAPSA website at https://papsa-web.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-SCHOOL-VACCINATION-INFORMATION-FOR-NURSES-final-7-25-19.pdf. Questions are to be directed to the LEA’s immunization nurse consultants or the Division of Immunizations.
PDE Receives Tentative Approval of Amended ESSA Statewide Implementation Plan (July 27, 2019)
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has tentatively approved Pennsylvania’s revisions to its plan for statewide implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Revisions include aggregating racial and ethnic group student data by public schools in which no particular racial or ethnic student group meets the minimum n-size of 20 in any single year; additional specificity regarding Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) designations that must occur annually beginning with the fall of 2019; and examining academic achievement and academic growth in determining annual meaningful differentiation.
New Keystone Exam Composite Score Approved (July 26, 2019)
At its July 10, 2019 meeting, PA State Board of Education approved PDE’s recommendation to revise the satisfactory Keystone Exam composite score to 4,452, which would be used as one of the pathways to graduation under Act 158 of 2018. The Keystone Exam Composite Score is the sum of the scale scores for the three Keystone Exams (Algebra I, biology and literature). A student must achieve at least a scale score of 1,500 on any one exam in order to score proficient, with 4,500 as the sum of three proficient scores. The change in the composite score to 4,452 , helps to ensure that a student who may have missed the composite cut of 4,500 due to measurement error is not prevented from graduating. However, students who meet the board-approved composite score of 4,452 must also score proficient on one of the three exams and no less than basic on the other two. According to PDE, 65.4% of 2017-18 twelfth graders scored met those requirements. For more information, please see PSBA’s summary of Act 158 changes to high school graduation requirements.
Thanks to PSBA for its contributing information.