On Friday, April 26th, Pat Hollinger, PDE’s Administrative/Fiscal Officer, Office for Safe Schools, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, sent a PennLink containing two documents on Mental Health Consent to Treatment FAQs. To view those documents, click below:
Consent to Mental Health Treatment for Minors FAQs ā June 29, 2018
Age of Consent to Mental Health Treatment in PA ā Handout #11
On Friday, April 26, 2019 Pat Hozella, Interim Director of PDEās Bureau of Special Education, released a PennLink communique titled āLocal Educational Agency Special Education Data Reports Online Preview.ā That document reminded readers that this year states are required to report LEA performance on the following State Performance Plan school-age indicators for students with disabilities: Graduation Rates; Dropout Rates; Participation and Performance on Statewide Assessments; Suspension Rates; Educational Environments; School-Facilitated Parent Involvement; Disproportionate Representation by Race/Ethnicity Receiving Special Education; Disproportionate Representation by Race/Ethnicity in Specific Disability Categories; Timelines for Initial Evaluation; Individualized Education Program Secondary Transition Goals and Services; and Post-School Outcomes.
To fulfill the State Performance Plan public reporting requirement for the 2017-18 school year, each LEA will have an online Special Education Data Report (SEDR) that shows local performance on the above indicators. In some instances, an LEAās report will not have data for every indicator (e.g., the data comes from cyclical monitoring and the LEA was not monitored in 2017-18 or the data set is too small to be reliable) and a reason code will be on the report.
Prior to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) publishing these reports publicly, LEAs will have an opportunity to preview the site and their reports. The preview period will begin April 29, 2019, and end on May 3, 2019. To review your State Performance Plan SEDR, visit Preview of LEA SEDR and click on SEDR Reports. Once on the SEDR preview landing page, select your LEA from either of the Public Reporting Preview drop-downs. The accompanying narrative explains how data are obtained and how to interpret the reports. If your LEA has questions or concerns about the data displayed, first consult your Intermediate Unit Data Manager to ensure that the data submitted to the state matches what your LEA provided. If questions remain following these internal reviews and verifications, contact Jodi Rissinger, Data Manager with PDE, via email at [email protected].
When the SEDR Reports go live on the public site, they can be accessed by visiting the PennData homepage at PennData Webpage and clicking on Public Reporting. The most current State Performance Plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education is available for reference on the PDE website at www.education.pa.gov and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network website at www.pattan.net.
In an April 18, 2019 news release, PDE announced a new initiative, resulting from a partnership forged with the College Board, which would allow economically disadvantaged high school students to possibly earn college credit through taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams at a reduced cost of $20 per exam, rather than the normal cost of $85 per test.
Beginning with the 2019 exams, the Commonwealth will pay $33 toward the $85 cost for each exam for economically disadvantaged students, which along with the College Boardās $32 fee reduction, will allow students who qualify to pay only $20 per test. Students are considered low-income if they qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The College Board will bill PDE for each qualifying student who takes an AP test at the end of an AP course.
Economically disadvantaged students may also potentially benefit from taking AP courses and scoring well on the end-of-course test, since some colleges use AP scores to exempt students from intro courses, which could result in saving money and reducing the time it would take to earn a degree.
In an April 18, 2019 news release, PDE announced a new initiative, resulting from a partnership forged with the College Board, which would allow economically disadvantaged high school students to possibly earn college credit through taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams at a reduced cost of $20 per exam, rather than the normal cost of $85 per test.
Beginning with the 2019 exams, the Commonwealth will pay $33 toward the $85 cost for each exam for economically disadvantaged students, which along with the College Boardās $32 fee reduction, will allow students who qualify to pay only $20 per test. Students are considered low-income if they qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The College Board will bill PDE for each qualifying student who takes an AP test at the end of an AP course.
Economically disadvantaged students may also potentially benefit from taking AP courses and scoring well on the end-of-course test, since some colleges use AP scores to exempt students from intro courses, which could result in saving money and reducing the time it would take to earn a degree.
| Last week, the PA House Children and Youth Committee approved HB 835, which would authorize Children and Youth Services (CYS) caseworkers to request and gain access to all of a student’s records as part of an investigation concerning that student. This would include school records, medical records, records of mental health treatment, and records of D&A treatment. Neither the consent of a parent/guardian nor any other release would be required to obtain the student records being requested by the county CYS agency. |
| Last week, the PA House passed a pair of bills to address child sexual abuse cases. Ā HB 962 would amend the PA Judicial Code to eliminate the statute of limitations on future child sexual abuse cases if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. The bill also extends the time that an individual is entitled to pursue civil action from 12 to 37 years (up to age 55) after reaching 18 years of age . Sovereign and governmental immunity would not apply with respect to offenses committed if the conduct of the entity that caused injury to the plaintiff constitutes gross negligence. HB 963 proposes an amendment to the state Constitution to provide a two-year window from the effective date of the act for lawsuits against the state in cases regarding childhood sexual abuse in instances where the statute of limitations has expired. Constitutional amendments require approval in two consecutive legislative sessions and then approval by the voters through a referendum. House Bill 962 becomes effective following the first passage of House Bill 963 by both chambers of the General Assembly. Thanks to PSBA for its contributions to this article. |