Governor Tom Wolf and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale have announced the creation of a School Safety Task Force to discuss ways to improve school safety and security. The task force will include government officials, school officials, teachers, parents/guardians and students. A series of regional meetings will be held across the state over the next few months to explore concerns with safety and potential policy changes. There will also be significant changes to how school safety is reviewed. School safety objectives will be included in all school audits and review and the distribution of confidential school safety audit results will be expanded beyond the current distribution to school superintendents and school safety officers and will include the Pennsylvania State Police, the Attorney General, and local police departments. The auditor general will also examine how the school construction and renovation process incorporates school safety concerns in the planning for such projects.
Category: State Government Actions
PDE Releases Guidance for Medical Exemptions from State Assessments (March 14, 2018)
According to guidance released from PDE for medical exemptions from state assessments, generally, if a student can receive instruction, then they are also able to participate in state assessments. However, the health and well-being of students should take priority in determining whether they can participate. Students may receive a medical exemption if they cannot participate in a state assessment during the testing window, including make-up dates, due to a significant medical event. Examples include, but are not limited to, a student who is 1) receiving short-term medical treatment due to a medical emergency; or 2) seriously ill or has a medical condition that prevents them from receiving instruction during the testing window. A medical emergency is defined as a circumstance in which a student cannot take or finish taking the assessment during the entire testing window, including make-up dates, because of a recent significant medical event just prior to or during the annual testing window. Examples of medical emergencies include, but are not limited to: serious injury; concussion; confinement to home or hospital with an acute condition, not a long-term home instruction or hospital instruction situation; the inability to interact with others without serious risk of infection or contamination; pregnancy with significant health complications or delivery just prior to or during the testing window; and a mental health crisis that prevents a student from receiving instruction. A note from a physician dated at least two weeks within the start of the testing window must be on file at the school. These records must be retained for three years. A serious illness or medical condition is defined as one in which the student is receiving active treatment for a life-threatening illness or medical condition and/or the associated recuperation. A note from a physician must be on file at the school and must be retained for three years. To account for a student with a medical exemption, as defined above, the “Medical Emergency” bubble on testing documents should be used. Note: An assessment of a student’s medical condition must be made annually at the testing window for each content area.
Stem Sends Memo Regarding Participation in State Assessments
FROM: Matthew Stem, Deputy Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
RE: Participation in the State Assessments and Parental/Guardian Rights Afforded Under Chapter 4 and Accountability Under ESSA
Date: March 5, 2018
As we approach the PSSA and spring Keystone testing windows, I would like to remind all LEAs about requirements for participation in the state assessments. The United States Department of Education (ED) continues to require participation of all students; however, in recognition of special circumstances, ED provides some flexibility for five percent non-participation. This five percent flexibility is important to Pennsylvania, as Chapter 4 regulations allow parents/guardians to have their children excused from testing due to a conflict with religious belief. Though Pennsylvania regulations permit this excusal, ED does not recognize this as an allowable reason for non-participation and all students who do not participate due to the allowance in Chapter 4 will have a negative impact on an LEA’s/school’s participation rate, and potentially achievement rate as well. (For more information, please view the webinar: https://youtu.be/kPIWKVDkqII ). The provision in Chapter 4 specifically says,
§ 4.4 General Policies.
(d) School entities shall adopt policies to assure that parents or guardians have the following:
(4) The right to review a State assessment in the school entity during the convenient hours for parents and guardians, at least 2 weeks prior to their admijn9istration, to determine whether a Sate assessment conflicts with their religious belief. To protect the validity and integrity of the State assessments, each school entity shall have in place procedures to be followed when parents or guardians request to view any state assessment. Procedures must be consistent with guidance provided by the Department in its assessment administration instructions. If upon inspection of a State assessment parents or guardians find the assessment to be in conflict with their religious belief and wish their students to be excused from the assessment, the right of the parents or guardians will not be denied upon written request that states the objection to the applicable school district superintendent, charter school chief executive officer or AVTS director.
Parents/guardians are not to be denied their right to have their children excused if they follow proper protocol. Parents/guardians must sign a confidentiality agreement form prior to reviewing the assessment. After reviewing the assessment, parents/guardians must state in writing to the superintendent, CEO, or AVTS director that they wish to have their child(ren) excused from the assessment due to a conflict with religious belief. The specific conflict does not need to be stated; simply that it is a conflict with religious belief.
LEAs and schools are encouraged to seek 100 percent participation in the assessments, but please be reminded of parents’/guardians’ rights under Chapter 4.
Gov. Wolf’s Budget Proposes Increased Ed Funding
On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, Governor Wolf delivered his state budget address to the PA General Assembly. His proposal contained a 3.1% increase over last year. The $32.9 billion proposed budget is supportive of education, highlighted by an increase in basic subsidy and special education line items; an increased investment in both career and technical education and workforce development initiatives; and an increase in funding for early childhood programs. The proposal has no major cuts in education. In fact, most other education programs would receive either an increase in funding or would be level-funded. The budget proposal is devoid of any broad-based new taxes. However, seeking to bolster revenue, the governor called for the passage of a severance tax, in addition to maintaining the existing impact fee. Finally, despite the $989.8 million increase in education, public schools will still be facing significant cost increases in employee pensions and special education.
PDE Releases Tentative Schedule for Data Summit
The Pennsylvania Department of Education Office of Data Quality has released a tentative schedule for the 2018 PDE Data Summit March 25-28. The agenda can be found as an attachment in the registration link https://teampa.com/datasummit or on the PDE Data Summit webpage. Education entities are advised to distribute to data and IT staff and managers, Business Managers, Technology Directors, Curriculum Coordinators, EL Coordinators, Child Accounting Coordinators, Special Education Coordinators, or any other interested parties. The Hershey Lodge Reservation Link: https://aws.passkey.com/go/DATASUMMIT2018. Those with questions are asked to reach out directly to Adrian Huber at [email protected].