On the evening pf December 13, 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro signed the school and fiscal code bills into law, major bipartisan bills as part of the bipartisan budget for fiscal year 2023-24. Governor Shapiro worked with legislative leaders from both parties to secure the bipartisan passage of major legislation that funds student mental health, environmental repairs in schools, 9-1-1 emergency dispatch, and a historic expansion of the Pennsylvania Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit Program.
The bills Governor Shapiro signed into law included language to drive out $175 million for environmental repairs and upgrades in Pennsylvania schools, $100 million for student mental health, $10 million for student teacher stipends, and $7.5 million for indigent defense.
Supporting and Investing in Pennsylvania Students & Teachers Building on the $567 million increase in basic education funding (BEF) for Pennsylvania school districts – the largest BEF increase in history – and the $46.5 million increase to provide universal free breakfast to 1.7 million Pennsylvania K-12 students, the school code bills signed by the Governor today include:
Releasing $261 million to support Pennsylvania community colleges – and $70.5 million for libraries.
Investing $175 million in environmental repairs and upgrades in our schools to create world-class facilities that are safe and healthy for students to learn in and teachers to work in.
Adding $150 million to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program & Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program.
Investing $100 million for school-based mental health resources for students, fulfilling another key promise of Governor Shapiro’s from the campaign trail.
Investing $10 million to provide Pennsylvania’s student teachers with stipends so the Commonwealth can get more well-trained teachers into our classrooms.
For more information on the investments made in the commonsense, bipartisan 2023-24 budget, visit shapirobudget.pa.gov.
On December 11, 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) sent a Pennlink to all Chief School Administrators to inform them of an upcoming change to MyPDESuite. Over the past several years, the PDE has been working diligently to transition users from the CompPlan application, hosted by Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU), to the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal (FRCPP), hosted by PDE, for the completion of LEA and school level plans and reports. Functions formerly completed within the CompPlan application have been successfully completed in the FRCPP for the past three years. Therefore, as of July 1, 2024, the CompPlan application and all LEA legacy reports currently stored within the application will no longer be available in MyPDESuite.
If schools would like to retrieve any plans or reports from the CompPlan application, they must do so prior to July 1, 2024. If assistance is needed in retrieving the plans or reports, they must use the directions for pulling plan/report from the CompPlan app. Those needing additional help with this process, should email [email protected]. Additionally, the CAIU help desk ([email protected]) will no longer be available as of July 1, 2024, as an option for support. PDE will provide all the technical and content support for the FRCPP and plans/reports, so please continue to request support at [email protected] or individual PDE Resource Accounts.
On December 4, 2023, PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy sent a PennLink to all LEAs titled 2023-24 School Year Restraint Information System Collection Tracking and Training Second Quarter Reporting Window. The memo says that the Restraint Information System Collection (RISC) is open for data entry for the second quarter (restraints occurring between October 1, 2023 – January 15, 2024, of the 2023-24 school year). The RISC program has been enhanced and gives local educational agencies (LEAs) greater opportunity to provide both more detail about restraints and to analyze trends in reducing the use of physical restraints.
LEAs are required to report RISC data quarterly during the 2023-24 school year. This includes reporting zero restraints during a quarter when restraints did not occur. Additionally, LEAs still are required to comply with 22 Pa. Code § 14.133(f) or 22 Pa. Code § 711.46(f) Positive Behavior Support related to training of personnel in specific procedures, methods, and techniques. However, 22 Pa. Code § 14.133(f) and 22 Pa. Code § 711.46(f) Positive Behavior Support does not require LEAs to acquire specific certification in the use of restraints and leaves this up to the LEAs and their specific training model. The training of personnel should provide varied intervention and strategies needed to address problem behaviors. The types of intervention chosen for a specific student or eligible young child shall be the least intrusive necessary. The use of restraints is considered a measure of last resort, only to be used after other less restrictive measures, including de-escalation techniques.
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 quarterly windows of reporting for the 2023-24 school year are as follows:
Quarter
Begin Date
End Date
Last Day to Report
Zero Window Opens
Zero Window Closes
1
07/01/2023
09/30/2023
10/19/2023
10/01/2023
10/18/2023
2
10/01/2023
12/31/2023
01/15/2024
01/01/2024
01/15/2024
3
01/01/2024
03/31/2024
04/14/2024
04/01/2024
04/14/2024
4
04/01/2024
06/30/2024
07/14/2024
07/01/2024
07/14/2024
The RISC reporting design provides an “End Date” for LEAs to comply with their end of quarterly reporting. In addition, there is a two-week window date labeled “Last Day to Report” to allow LEAs to gather and report on those students that attend an out-of-district facility where they were placed in a restraint during that quarter. This two-week period is also a designated time for LEAs that had no restraints during the quarter to report zero in RISC. BSE will continue to send out reminder PENN*LINKS about this quarterly reporting requirement.
In reviewing restraints submitted in RISC of school-age students with IEPs, the Special Education Advisers of BSE will continue to focus on LEA monitoring responsibilities, as well as:
Training of staff in de-escalation techniques;
Excessive time of restraint;
Excessive use of parent/guardian waivers;
Mechanical restraints;
Injuries;
Number of restraints;
10-day window (school days) to convene an IEP meeting after a restraint occurs; and
Handcuffing of students, students tased, or students charged with a safe school’s offense;
Excessive law enforcement involved in restraints with staff not involved.
A RISC reporting webinar is posted on the RISC website: apps.leaderservices.com/_risc/index.aspx. This RISC reporting webinar link is located below the login box of the Leader Services RISC sign-in page. This webinar explains the reporting and investigation process and how to use the RISC program. The webinar also shares how to update your LEA’s contact information. All parties involved with RISC are highly encouraged to view this webinar to learn how to report restraints, how to use the system, and to understand the regulatory responsibility of LEAs.
Additionally, the Bureau of Special Education has recently updated the Restraint Information System of Collection (RISC) Program Guidelines. The “RISC Program Guidelines” are available for review on the RISC website.
Questions regarding RISC should be directed to Keith Focht: 717-783-6921 or [email protected] or to the RISC Resource Account – [email protected].
According to PA Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, PA’s payment error rate for Medicaid has significantly improved since 2019 and now stands at 2.49 percent compared to 8.85 percent nationally. This makes PA’s rate among the lowest in the country.
Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) reviews are conducted every three years and measure improper payments for Medicaid and CHIP. For Pennsylvania’s most recently completed review cycle in 2022, the Medicaid improper payment rate was 2.49 percent and the CHIP improper payment rate was 5.58 percent. Those numbers are significantly lower than the newly reported federal figures for 2023 which show the national Medicaid improper payment rate is 8.85 percent, and the national CHIP improper payment rate is 12.81 percent.
These numbers also showed significant improvement over the 2019 review cycle, when Pennsylvania Medicaid error rate was 14.24 percent and the CHIP error rate was 20.67 percent. The national rates for Medicaid and CHIP were 14.90 percent and 15.83 percent, respectively.
Federal agencies are required to review programs they administer and identify those that may be susceptible to significant improper payments, estimate any improper payments, submit those estimates to Congress, and submit a report on actions the agency is taking to reduce the improper payments. Medicaid and CHIP are programs at risk for significant improper payments because of the large volume of services and expenditures involved.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the PERM program to comply with oversight and reporting requirements. PERM does not measure fraud; it is a measurement of payments made that did not meet legal, regulatory, or administrative requirements and may be overpayments or underpayments.
To learn more about Medicaid, CHIP and how to apply for health coverage, visit dhs.pa.gov.
On November 30, 2023, PDE BSE Director Carole L. Clancy sent a PennLink memo to all LEAs and other applicable entities titled Annual Deaf-Blind Child Count for Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Students. The memo states that on an annual basis the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), requires the Pennsylvania Deaf-Blind Project to conduct the National Deaf-Blind Child Count, formerly called the National Deaf-Blind Census. The Deaf-Blind Child Count records the number of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have deaf-blindness or who are at risk of developing deaf-blindness, and who are enrolled in early intervention or special education as of the December 1, 2023 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) child count.
The count will be conducted beginning with Approved Private School programs in January 2024 followed by LEAs in February 2024. You must verify and submit your information no later than March 8, 2024. It is important for Pennsylvania to have an accurate Deaf-Blind Child Count as this information is tied to funding research, training, and technical assistance for this population of children.
Please be aware that for the Deaf-Blind Child Count, the federal definition of deaf-blindness is more inclusive and extensive than the one used for the IDEA child count. Children ages birth through 21 should be reported in the count if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a diagnosis of deaf-blindness and/or receive both vision and hearing support services;
Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a mild to profound hearing loss and vision loss with correction that still requires adaptations or modifications;
Infants and toddlers (ages birth-to-three; i.e. Part C) who have a diagnosis that places them at-risk for an intellectual disability with inconsistent responses to light and sound. (At-risk means a diagnosis that does not guarantee hearing/vision loss); or
Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students with multiple disabilities who may demonstrate inconsistent responses to light and sound.
It is important for each Early Intervention Program and Local Educational Agency (LEA) to participate in the Deaf-Blind Child Count.
If you do not have any infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or students with deaf-blindness, you will still need to log in and identify that you are not educating anyone with deaf-blindness at the present time.
If you are educating an infant, toddler, preschooler, or student with deaf-blindness, you will need to either enter a new record or verify information about a child who already exists in the system.
School-age and preschool programs are encouraged to work closely with contracted providers (e.g., Approved Private Schools, Charter Schools for the Deaf or Blind) to ensure an accurate count of children.
Connecting families of children who are deaf-blind with supporting networks and information is vital. A feature of the Deaf-Blind Child Count is a letter which you will be asked to send to the family of each child listed in your count. The letter provides information which will link them to support and information for their family.
Deaf-Blind Child Count – Approved Private School Entries All Approved Private Schools (APSs) entered their student data prior to the Deaf-Blind Child Count being opened for Early Intervention programs, school districts, charter schools, and service providers. While there are few infants and toddlers served in an APS, you may see a child in the Deaf-Blind Child Count which has been entered by an APS. For those programs with many students who qualify, this will save them valuable time. This was done by all APSs even if there are no students who qualify for the Deaf-Blind Child Count enrolled in their school. As the Early Intervention Program or LEA for these respective children, you must either confirm that the child is your responsibility or reject them if the child is not within your catchment area or in the age range of children you serve. After you confirm that you are the Early Intervention Program or LEA for the child, you can update other data as necessary.
Deaf-Blind Child Count – Early Intervention Programs If you are the Early Intervention Program responsible for providing early intervention services to the entered child, you should confirm that the child is your responsibility. If the child is not the responsibility of your program (i.e., the child is not within your county/county joinder or in the age range of children you serve), please email [email protected].
Log In Information The Deaf-Blind Child Count website is: https://www.leaderservices.com/_DBcensus. The process for entering information is as follows: How to log in and submit your count.
If you do not know or cannot remember your username or password for the Deaf-Blind Child Count, use the “Forget your Login Info” link on the Deaf-Blind Child Count website to have the information emailed to you or email [email protected] for support.
If you have any questions regarding the data collection system or your responsibilities for entering child data into the Deaf-Blind Child Count, please email [email protected].