Category: State Government Actions

New Eligibility Guidelines For Free And Reduced School Meals Announced For The 2024-25 School Year, Helping More Families Access Resources (June 29, 2024)

06/27/2024

On June 27, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals and free milk for July 2024 – June 2025, expanding access to resources and helping more kids and their families get what they need to fuel their minds and bellies.

Schools, and other institutions and facilities, use the guidelines to determine eligibility for the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special Milk Program for Children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program.

“The Shapiro Administration has signaled its commitment to addressing food insecurity by providing universal free breakfast to public school students, and expanding access to nutritious meals throughout the day through the free and reduced program,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “We know that students need to be fed to focus, learn, and achieve, and we encourage all previously eligible and newly eligible households to apply for this incredible program.”

To apply, households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) need only include the SNAP or TANF case number on their application. Households enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or Medicaid may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals based on income and should complete a Household Meal Benefit Application. Other households can find more information on the commonwealth’s COMPASS website.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

The following annual income eligibility guidelines are effective July 1, 2024, until further notice:

​Free Meals – 130%
​Household Size​Annual​Monthly​Twice per Month(24 pay periods/year)​Every Two Weeks(26 pay periods/year)​Weekly
​1​$19,578.00$1,632.00$816.00$753.00$377.00
​2$26,572.00$2,215.00$1,108.00$1,022.00$511.00
​3$33,566.00$2,798.00$1,399.00$1,291.00$646.00​
​4$40,560.00$3,380.00$1,690.00$1,560.00$780.00
​5$47,554.00$3,963.00$1,982.00$1,892.00$915.00
​6$54,548.00$4,546.00$2,273.00$2,098.00$1049.00
​7$61,542.00$5,129.00$2,565.00$2,367.00$1,184.00
​8$68,536.00$5,712.00$2,856.00$2,636.00$1,318.00
​​​​​​
​For each add’l family member, add$6,994.00$583.00$292.00$269.00$135.00
Reduced Price meals – 185%
​Household Size​Annual​Monthly​Twice per Month(24 pay periods/year)​Every Two Weeks(26 pay periods/year)​Weekly
​1$27,861.00$2,322.00$1,161.00$1,072.00$536.00
​2$37,814.00$3,152.00$1,576.00$1455.00$728.00
​3$47,767.00$3,961.00$1,991.00$1838.00​$919.00
​4$57,720.00$4,810.00$2,405.00$2,220.00$1,110.00
​5$67,673.00$5,640.00$2,820.00$2,603.00$1,302.00
​6$77,626.00$6,469.00$3,235.00$2,986.00$1,493.00
​7$87,579.00$7,299.00$3,650.00$3,369.00$1,685.00
​8$97,532.00$8,128.00$4,064.00$3,752.00$1876.00
​
​
​For each add’l family member, add$9,953.00$830.00$415.00$383.00$192.00

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

email:
[email protected]

PA Receives CMS School-Based Services Grant, CMS Provides New Resources (June 28, 2024)

On June 25, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 18 states that are award recipients of the grants for the Implementation, Enhancement, and Expansion of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) School-Based Services (SBS). The states will use these funds to implement, support, or enhance their efforts to connect millions more children to critical health care services, especially mental health services, at school. Made possible by the historic investments of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the states will each receive at least $2.5 million over 3 years for the implementation, enhancement, and expansion of the use of school-based health services through Medicaid and CHIP.

Additionally, the CMS school-based services technical assistance center released two additional resources as a part of its continual effort to support states in implementing school-based services in their schools. They are:
–Medicaid School-Based Services Readiness Checklist Tool: A resource to help state Medicaid agencies draft an SBS state plan amendment (SPA), adopt certain flexibilities, and generally assist in the process of working with CMS to reimburse for SBS.
–Updated School-Based Services Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Additional technical assistance FAQs for state Medicaid agencies based on questions received from the states.

To see the full list of states and learn more about the grants, visit Medicaid.gov.

Distributed by Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS).

Penn Analysis: Proposed $5B increase in Ed. Funding for PA Schools Would Deliver Long-term Benefits (June 25, 2024)

According to University of Pennsylvania analysts, there would be long-term benefits for public schools across the commonwealth from a $5.1 billion proposal to change the way Pennsylvania funds education. Released on June 18, 2024, the analysis by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education quantified those prospective benefits. According to the analysis, there would be:
-Improved student outcomes including an additional 3,800 high school graduates, a 4.47% point increase in high school graduation rates, a 4.54% point increase in college enrollment and 3,860 more college enrollees, according to the report.
-Higher earnings for high school graduates over time and greater equity in staffing across school districts  with regard to teacher salaries.
-The creation of more than 18,000 K-12 jobs.

From a pupil services perspective, 82% of PA’s underfunded school systems would see student-teacher and student-counselor ratios rise to match those of well-funded systems.

According to lead researcher Brooks Bowden, associate professor of education and head of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, benefits of improving school quality outweigh the cost through “a strategic investment that would pay off for the state and its students [who] would have better access to teachers and counselors, succeed in higher numbers, and strengthen the state’s workforce.”

As a result of a landmark 2023 Commonwealth Court decision that found that Pennsylvania’s existing education funding system fails to meet students’ constitutional rights by failing to provide sufficient resources for schools, a judge ordered the General Assembly to come up with a fix. Subsequently, the Basic Education Funding Commission spent months holding hearings and designing a system that would pour the $5.1 billion in additional funding into state schools over seven years.

For the 2024-25 school year, the proposal would increase education spending by $864 million statewide.

Thus far, the PA House has approved the new system, which is now before the PA Senate where some stiff resistance is expected.

For more details regarding the study, visit the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.  

Governor’s 2024-25 Proposed Budget Would Make Major Investments In ID/A Services, Workforce (June 22, 2024)

On June 20, 2024, Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh today visited Children and Adult Disability & Educational Services (CADES), a provider serving Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) in Delaware County, and discussed the need for historic investments in Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2024-25 proposed budget, which would increase the number of Pennsylvanians who can access ID/A services, and support the professionals who care for Pennsylvanians with ID/A.

The proposed  budget has received bipartisan support and would invest $483 million in federal and state funding to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers so they have the ability to increase the average starting wage from approximately $15/hour to $17/hour; an increase in wages would both attract and retain the qualified staff who provide these essential services. The governor also announced that DHS would re-examine rates earlier than required to better support home and community-based service providers and the direct support professionals who dedicate their careers to helping Pennsylvanians with ID/A. In addition, service providers also received a one-time supplemental payment in June to assist with workforce recruitment and retention. 

Earlier this year, Governor Shapiro directed DHS to immediately release additional program capacity to counties, which will allow an additional 1,650 Pennsylvanians to receive services this year. The 2024-25 proposed budget seeks to build on this by investing $78 million in federal and state funds to serve an additional 1,500 Pennsylvanians in the next fiscal year. 

If passed, Governor Shapiro’s budget would increase the number of Pennsylvanians with ID/A who are able to receive home and community-based services, kicking off a multi-year growth strategy to make Pennsylvania a national leader and end its adult emergency waiting list. To support this growth, the budget would increase rates for providers, which will support higher wages for the direct support professionals who care for Pennsylvanians with ID/A.

To read the Governor’s budget proposal, click here.

BSE Memo Provides Chort 5 Exit Info (June 22, 2024)

On June 21,2024, PA Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy sent a PennLink memo to local educational agencies (LEAs) titled State Performance Plan Data Requirements – Postsecondary School Survey (Cohort 5 Exit). The memo stated that the accountability requirement under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 mandates each state determines the extent to which students are achieving transition outcomes (State Performance Plan – Indicator 14). To meet the federal reporting requirement, each LEA is mandated to administer an Exit Process and Post-School Surveys to students (who have graduated, dropped out, or reached the maximum age) with individualized education programs (IEPs) once over a five-year period, based on the LEA’s assignment to a targeted sampling year.

For the 2024-2025 school year, LEAs assigned to target sampling Cohort 5 are required to administer the My Plan for Success (MP4S) Exit Process. During 2025-2026 these same LEAs will be required to complete post-school surveys.

The following information specifically addresses the Exit Process administration for 2024-25. LEAs assigned to target sampling Cohort 5, as listed below, are required to address the following:
-Participate in the Pennsylvania Post-School Outcome Survey Overview for Cohort 5 webinar, which is scheduled for September 19, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The webinar will provide information concerning the administration of the Exit Process. Registration is required and may be accessed online.
-Participate in the February 20, 2025 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 MP4S Exit Process or Indicator 14, please contact PaTTAN Educational Consultant, Hillary Mangis, [email protected].