On September 7, 2023, Carole L. Clancy, Director of the PDE Bureau of Special Education, disseminated a PennLink memo titled Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) and the 1% Threshold Justification: Tiered System of Oversight and Monitoring of LEAs. The memo states that the PA Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education (BSE) must meet regulatory requirements of the US Department of Education (USDE) relative to participation of students with disabilities in statewide systems of assessment for accountability. To meet requirements, the BSE implements the following tiered system of oversight and monitoring of local education agencies (LEAs). Regulatory requirements, the tiered system of oversight and monitoring rationale, and required actions of LEAs are included here. Adherence to the guidelines and timelines set forth by the BSE are required.

Regulatory Requirements
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to ensure participation of students with disabilities in statewide assessments in two ways:

• Requires that no more than 1 percent of the total tested population of students in each grade and subject participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards.
• Requires that 95 percent of students, including students with disabilities, participate in statewide assessments.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires states to ensure that all children with disabilities are included in general assessments with accommodations or alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards. IDEA requires states to develop a State Performance Plan (SPP) which describes how states are improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities and complying with the IDEA. Student participation and performance on statewide assessments (SPP Indicator 3) includes a 95 percent participation target for students with IEPs.

Tiered System of Oversight and Monitoring Rationale and Procedure
The BSE developed the three-tiered system of oversight and monitoring as required by ESSA to monitor the participation rates of students in the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). The submission process for LEAs has been updated this year to include all three tiers in one form/survey submission. The new process allows the LEA to review the previous school year’s PASA participation data prior to enrolling students for testing this year, and ensure only those students who meet all 6 of PA’s Eligibility Criteria are enrolled to take the PASA.

What is the “1% Threshold”? How are the 1 Percent and 95 Percent participation rates calculated?
The 1% threshold is the term used by the BSE to identify those LEAs who exceed the 1 percent participation rate allowance per ESSA. The calculation is explained during annual training. LEAs will continue to provide their anticipated participation rate for the 2023-24 school year. However, an LEAs identification in tiered monitoring will be based upon the LEAs actual participation rate data from the 2022-23 assessment cycle. BSE will provide each LEA with their 2022-23 participation rate data and tier status.

1% Threshold Tiered System of Oversight and Monitoring Timeline and Resources
The evaluation of the 1% threshold is based on all students belonging to the LEA, including students who are educated in out-of-district placements. The Special Education administrator for every LEA will receive two separate email communications from BSE in September.

• LEA Special Education Administrators will receive the first email with LEA’s 2023 testing data and tier designation on September 18,2023. The data will include the LEA’s 1 percent PASA participation rate, as well as the overall 95 percent participation rate for students with disabilities (i.e., Pennsylvania System School Assessment, PASA, and Keystone Exams).
• The second email will be sent to the LEA Special Education Administrator on September 20, 2023. This email will include a personalized survey link to submit the required responses for the tier they have been identified. All survey responses are due to BSE by October 16, 2023.

Each tier includes more extensive questions and data review within the survey. Survey questions will be dependent on the tier designation. LEAs in Tier 3 will engage in an intensive needs review with BSE personnel in addition to completing the survey. A list of LEAs who anticipate exceeding the threshold in the 2023-24 assessment cycle will be made publicly available on the PDE website, in accordance with 34 CFR 200.6 (c)(3) regulations. Any LEA that exceeds the 1% threshold may be subject to further review by BSE.

The updated 2023-24 PASA 1% Threshold Tiered System of Oversight and Monitoring form can be accessed on the Bureau of Special Education Assessment page here: ESSA 1.0 Percent Threshold Justification Requirements (pa.gov).

Special Education leaders can access full information and training on this requirement by viewing “2023-24 PASA Getting Ready: What Special Education Administrators Need to Know about PASA DLM Participation and 1 percent Compliance Requirements”. This asynchronous webinar will be posed by September 8, 2023 on the BSE Assessment page: Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA).

Questions on this requirement can be directed to Lisa Hampe at [email protected] and/or Lisa Hauswirth at [email protected].

Please contact [email protected] if you had a recent change in the assigned Special Education Administrator for your LEA to ensure the email notifications are sent to the correct individual.

On August 30, 2023, Dr. Carole L. Clancy, Director of the PDE Bureau of Special Education, sent a memo to all LEAs titled Change in Age of Eligibility for Free and Appropriate Public Education.

The memo states that “[t]he Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is writing to communicate an important policy change that will provide continued education services to special education students. This policy change will ensure students can access Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) as they are entitled under federal law.”

“Effective no later than September 5, 2023, all students entitled to FAPE and all of the rights and procedural safeguards under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Chapter 14 of Title 22 of the Pennsylvania Code may remain enrolled in public school until they turn 22 years of age. This includes students who turned 21 and exited during or after the 2022-2023 school term.”

It goes on to state that “PDE has concluded that Pennsylvania’s adult education programs constitute public education for the purposes of section 1412(a)(1)(B) of IDEA, and Pennsylvania is required to make FAPE available to students with disabilities until their 22nd birthday. This change is effective no later than September 5, 2023.”

The Guidelines

In addition, PDE has revised its guidance pertaining to INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABLITIES EDUCATION ACT PART B POLICIES AND PROCEDURES UNDER 34 CFR §§ 300.101—300.176 . That guidance can be accessed at: www.education.pa.gov/Documents/IDEAB.pdf.

Page three of that document states, “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ensures that all children with disabilities ages 3 years through 21 years residing in Pennsylvania have the right to a FAPE, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school. The commonwealth shall make FAPE available to a child with a disability eligible under IDEA until the student turns 22. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a child eligible under IDEA who attains the age of twenty-one (21) years may remain enrolled in their resident district free of charge until their 22nd birthday.”

PDE Advises these Next Steps

First, LEAs should review the FAQs at https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/IDEABFAQ.aspx. They should then take the following steps to comply with this change in policy:

1. PDE will be contacting students with disabilities who turned 21 and exited during or after the 2022-2023 school term. LEAs should also contact those students and provide them the option to re-enroll and access FAPE until their 22nd birthday.
2. LEAs should include a link to PDE’s webpage that contains the Amended Age-Out Policy, a copy of the Notice Letter, and a copy of the Penn Link Communication on their websites.
3. Upon enrollment, LEAs should provide FAPE in accordance with IDEA. Please direct questions or requests for assistance to [email protected]

To access the Memo, click here.
To access the guidelines, click here.\
To access the FAQs, click here.

Webinars are 50-minute presentations with a brief question/answer period; whereas, office hours are open forums with brief introductory presentations All sessions are scheduled from 11:00 am to noon.

September 26, 2023
HS Graduation Requirements Refresher (webinar)

October 3, 2023
Grad Report: Collecting & Reporting Data (webinar)

October 10, 2023
PDE Tracking Tool (office hour)

October 17, 2023
Grad Data: Informing Local Practice (webinar)

October 24, 2023
FAQ (office hour)

Sessions can be accessed using the following log-in:
https://iu13.zoom.us/j/99586637885?pwd=Q25VVHR4TTB3VDgra1hTTktON0VYZz09

On August 17, 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced a new tool to help Pennsylvanians earn a high school equivalency (HSE) credential by combining their scores from different high school equivalency tests, an option that was not previously available in Pennsylvania. The opportunity to earn an HSE opens up employment and higher education opportunities for Pennsylvanians, giving them the freedom to chart their own course in life.

“This system will help more students achieve a credential, no matter their background, first language, or age,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “As we endeavor to increase credential attainment across all demographics, this commonsense approach will expand our workforce and enable learners to complete—or take the next step in—their education journey.”

Using TotalTranscript® by DiplomaSender, students can combine subtests of the two high school equivalency tests, the GED® test and the HiSET® exam, to earn the Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma (CSSD), Pennsylvania’s high school equivalency credential. Students may also now combine Spanish and English subtests to earn the CSSD. CSSDs may be issued to applicants who reside in Pennsylvania, are at least 18 years of age, do not possess a secondary school diploma from the United States, and have either scored a passing score on a high school equivalency test or have completed 30 semester hours of study at a U.S. accredited institution of postsecondary education.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please visit the PA Department of Education website. 

Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy recently sent a PennLink message to all LEAs titled Revised Special Education Forms: Prior Written Notice for a Reevaluation Form and Request for Consent for a Reevaluation Form. It informs local educational agencies (LEAs) that the Prior Written Notice for a Reevaluation and Request for Consent form has been separated into two forms, the Prior Written Notice for a Reevaluation form and the Request for Consent for a Reevaluation form.

The form was separated into two forms to ensure LEAs provide parents with prior written notice and obtain parent consent at proper times during the reevaluation process in accordance with 34 CFR 300.300 and 300.503. The revised and the annotated versions are now available on the PaTTAN website at www.pattan.net. The “Special Education Forms” tab is located on the top of the home page for easy access to the revised and annotated forms. A training video on these forms is available at: https://www.pattan.net/Legal/Special-Education-and-Gifted-Forms. 

LEAs are required to start using these forms by November 1, 2023.