Category: State Government Actions

Leaders Convene 2nd Annual PA MASLOW Convening (October 30, 2024)

On October 29th, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) hosted school leaders, state officials, and advocates in Harrisburg for the second annual PA MASLOW convening to support postsecondary students in meeting their basic needs.

Collegiate Basic Needs are important at every institution of higher education across the Commonwealth, including public two- and four-year institutions, private, not-for-profit institutions, and business trade and technical schools. Students in higher education institutions throughout the Commonwealth and nation experience anxiety and other mental health issues, food insecurity, housing insecurity, sexual violence, and more.

PA MASLOW is a cross-agency partnership that expands upon the mission of PDE—ensuring every student not only has access to education, but that the education pursued provides them with support and resources to create optimal learning environments. This initiative complements investments in higher education and engages postsecondary institutions in several pillars of work, including digital equity, housing and transportation, mental health, personal needs, adult student needs, financial, and safety and belonging.

The 2024-25 budget provides nearly $60 million to make postsecondary education more accessible and affordable to Pennsylvanians, with a $35.1 million increase for Pennsylvania State System universities, a $15.7 million increase for community colleges, and an additional $143 million to PHEAA to make college more affordable for PA students, including: a $54 million increase for student grants, a $5 million increase for disadvantaged students’ scholarships, a $36 million increase for the Ready to Succeed Scholarship and expanded criteria to increase the number of eligible students, and $25 million for the new Grow PA Scholarship Program.

Earlier this year, PDE launched a new anti-stigma campaign to ensure students know it’s okay to ask for help. Through the PA MASLOW “You Good?” campaign, PDE developed posters that colleges and universities can personalize, print, and post on their campuses directing students to critical resources. PDE convened student panel discussions around the state as a proactive way to inform the anti-stigma campaign as well as the programs and policies that postsecondary institutions are implementing. Through quarterly virtual meetings, the department has been engaging with the field on ways to expand upon and improve anti-stigma efforts. 

While most of PA MASLOW’s efforts have been to help practitioners support their learners, PDE also created the EmpowerU landing page, directed to the Commonwealth’s diverse learners themselves to provide health, safety, and basic needs supports by connecting them with important resources right on their campuses and at their fingertips. For more information from PDE, please visit the website or follow PDE on Instagram, X, YouTube, or Pinterest.

PDE to Begin to Accepting Applications for Contingency Funds for Extraordinary Expenses (October 30, 2024)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) will begin accepting applications for the Special Education Contingency Funds for Extraordinary Expenses on November 18, 2024. The fund’s purpose is to provide additional state funding for the implementation of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a student with significant disabilities. Interested local educational agencies (LEAs) will have until January 3, 2025 to apply.

The application and review process for the 2024-25 school year is specified in the Contingency Funds Guidelines. Applications for the Special Education Contingency Funds must be submitted electronically through the contingency funds request system website.

Questions regarding Special Education Contingency Funds for Extraordinary Expenses should be directed to Janette Fulton, Special Education Adviser, Division of Analysis and Financial Reporting, at 717-425-5442 or [email protected].

As GAO Report Looked at Effectiveness of ESSER, PA Reports Appropriate Funds Usage (October 30, 2024)

According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released October, 23, 2024, school districts prioritized spending of COVID-19 emergency (ESSER) funds based on community input, financial need, state policies and other influences. It also found that the effectiveness of the ESSER money for COVID-19 recovery efforts is difficult to determine because school districts were involved in many activities during the pandemic. Additionally, long-term improvements are unknown because not enough time has passed since initial positive effects were noted.

Republican members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee had asked GAO to examine school district ESSER spending. Some conservative lawmakers at the federal level have questioned the proper use of the money. A statement posted on the Senate HELP Committee GOP page on X said that the report “found it difficult to determine what uses were effective. More research is needed from the field,” read a statement posted Wednesday on the Senate HELP Committee GOP page on X.

In addition, AASA, The School Superintendents Association released a September report on spending practices from ESSER’s allocations from the American Rescue Plan and found most districts directed money toward expanded learning time, including summer programming and after-school activities. But because districts had various fiscal priorities and approaches for investing the money in different phases, it was difficult to generalize the best practice approaches for the emergency funds.

GAO’s report said education officials from varying states sometimes differed on what they considered was an allowable expense for district-level use of federal COVID-19 emergency funds for schools. Directives from state legislatures also influenced spending practices. Pennsylvania officials told GAO researchers that proposals to renovate or upgrade athletic fields, stadiums or tracks were denied because school districts could not justify that those improvements were necessary to respond to the pandemic.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

DHS Announces Annual Update to SNAP Benefit Amounts, Changes to Income Limits, and Continued Reimbursement of Electronically Stolen Funds (October 29, 2024)

Last week, Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh announced  increases  to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) income and benefit limits in Pennsylvania, following a yearly adjustment from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Secretary Arkoosh also announced that the replacement of stolen SNAP benefits – which DHS began offering in 2023 – has been extended to benefits stolen through December 20, 2024.

In September 2024, SNAP served 2,021,263 individuals  by providing $367,985,636 in federally-funded food assistance.

Because of federal SNAP rules, the benefit levels and income limits for SNAP are updated every year. These changes will benefit all SNAP recipients with an average increase of just over $5 per month. No one will experience a decrease in benefits.

Below are the SNAP income limits beginning October 1, 2024:

Household SizeMaximum Gross Monthly Income
1$2,510
2$3,408
3$4,304
4$5,200
5$6,098
6$6,994
7$7,890
8$8,788
9$9,686
10$10,584
Each additional member+$898

Factors that could contribute to a household’s higher SNAP allowances and income limits in Pennsylvania include household size, monthly income, and if a member of a household is 60 years of age or older or has a disability.

Additionally, below are the changes to the Maximum Thrifty Food Plan effective October 1, 2024. The Maximum Thrifty Food Plan is the maximum amount of SNAP benefits a household can receive.

Household SizeMaximum Thrifty Food Plan
1$292
2$536
3$768
4$975
5$1,158
6$1,390
7$1,536
8$1,756
9$1,976
10$2,196
Each Additional Member$220

There is no change to the minimum monthly benefit this year; the minimum benefit remains $23.

The best way to determine if your household will qualify for SNAP and the amount of your monthly benefit is to apply. Current recipients should continue to report income and address changes to DHS and submit any semi-annual reviews or renewals they receive during this period so that they do not risk an interruption of their benefits.

Under federal guidelines, SNAP benefits do not expire as long as the recipient’s EBT card remains active, which means that the household’s EBT card must be used at least once every nine months. SNAP recipients can check their current EBT balance, make transaction inquiries, and request card replacements from DHS’ EBT contractor, Conduent, at 888-328-7366. Recipients may also check their EBT balance, transaction history, and change their PIN at any time using the free myCOMPASS PA mobile app on both Apple and Android devices. The myCOMPASS PA app is the official safe and secure app for Pennsylvanians to access and manage their benefits.

In addition to the benefit changes, DHS has been made aware of multiple reports of EBT card skimming in recent months. Skimming is the act of applying a device to a point-of-sale (POS) machine or an ATM to read a card’s magnetic strip, gather its data, and create a cloned card. SNAP recipients are encouraged to protect their EBT cards and personal information, such as a PIN.

SNAP recipients who have their benefits electronically stolen through December 20, 2024, can make a request to have their benefits reimbursed. To request a reimbursement, SNAP recipients should fill out a Benefit Theft Claim via a PDF form or web form within 60 calendar days of the incident. DHS will then validate within 30 calendar days of the request being submitted for evaluation, and if a replacement is to be issued, it can be done within 10 calendar days of the evaluation.

Pennsylvanians are encouraged to report any potential EBT skimming activity by calling the DHS fraud tip line at 1-844-DHS-TIPS (1-844-347-8477) or making a report through the Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) website. Pennsylvanians can learn more about current scams and phishing attempts on DHS’ Scam page. Additionally, Pennsylvanians who have questions about whether a call, text, letter, or other communication is legitimate should contact DHS’ Office of Income Maintenance. 

For more information on SNAP, including how to apply, visit dhs.pa.gov.

PDE Provides Special Education Plan Information for Phase 1 School Districts (October 29, 2024)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is responsible for ensuring that all special education programs in public schools are appropriate and effective. To do this, school districts must submit a Special Education Plan every three years to PDE as required under 22 Pa. Code § 14.104. The school district’s Special Education Plan outlines planning generated from district special education data, compliance monitoring, professional development activities, and training necessary to provide appropriate programs to students with disabilities.

The special education plan will continue to be developed in the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal (FRCPP). The first step to gaining access to the FRCPP is to ensure that you are a registered user on the PDE Portal. If you are not a registered user, please register using the Register a Username and Log In instructions.

Your school district’s Local Security Administrator can add/remove users in My PDE Suite. If you need help adding users to the new portal, please use the step-by-step guide for Accessing the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal. If you do not know who your Administrators are, you can find this information by clicking on Find my Security Administrator on the main webpage in My PDE Suite.

School districts in Phase 1 must submit their plans by May 1, 2025 in the FRCPP.

A mandatory pre-recorded webinar is available on the PaTTAN Special Education Plan Training webpage. The purpose of the webinar is to train school districts on the special education plan requirements and the FRCPP system.

Should you have any questions, please contact Sandy Zeleznik in PDE’s Bureau of Special Education at [email protected].