Category: State Government Actions

PA Nonprofit: Three Ways to Create a Disability-inclusive Curriculum (November 4, 2023)

As interest in disability-inclusive curricula grows, in April 2023 the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced the creation of a Disability Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program to instruct K-12 students on the political, economic, and social contributions of individuals with disabilities. Under the program, schools can apply for up to $30,000 in grant funding to implement disability inclusive curriculum. In addition, the nonprofit Disability Equality in Education, based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, has developed a curriculum and lesson plans vetted and evaluated by people with disabilities. The goal is the challenge the stigma of disability in education as well as to help to build empathy and understanding for those with disabilities.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

To learn more about the Disability Equality in Education program, click here.

PDE: New Funding to Expand Hands-On Learning Opportunities (November 2, 2023)

On October 30, 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that Remake Learning Days in Pennsylvania will occur from May 2-22, 2024 to create engaging, hands-

Remake Learning Days celebrates the many learning opportunities in a community with innovative experiences and opportunities for youth to develop their sense of creativity, perseverance, and curiosity.

Since its implementation in southwest Pennsylvania, Remake Learning Days has become one of the worldā€™s largest open houses of family-friendly learning activities. Since 2016, the festival has hosted more than 5,100 events throughout the world for pre-K through high-school learners at libraries, schools, tech centers, museums, play spaces, community centers, and more, reaching more than 225,000 families.

BSE Sends Memo with Special Ed Plan Info for Phase 3 School Districts (November 1, 2023)

Carole L. Clancy, Director of the PDE Bureau of Special Education, sent a PennLink memo to LEAs titled Special Education Plan Information for Phase 3 School Districts. It states that 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 Ā§ 14.104. The school districtā€™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 here: Register a Username and Log In. 

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 page in My PDE Suite.

School districts in Phase 3 must submit their plans by May 1, 2024 in the FRCPP.

A mandatory pre-recorded webinar was released on March 16, 2023 for all school districts. It can be accessed at: https://www.pattan.net/legal/special-education-plans/. 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 PDEā€™s Bureau of Special Education at [email protected].

PA to Invest Nearly $10 Million in Transition Services for Students With Disabilities (November 1, 2023)

On October 25, 2023 the Shapiro administration announced a new pilot project that is expected to benefit an estimated 2,200 additional students with disabilities over the next five years.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industryā€™s (L&I) Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) recently announced a $9.9 million federal grant to invest in improvements to pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities who are preparing for life after high school. The Pathways to Partnership model demonstration project will improve the collaboration of the many organizations involved in helping high school students achieve their goals as they prepare for post-secondary education and employment.

This grant funding will be used to develop and pilot a new transition model that will provide students with more comprehensive transition planning services. The model will also identify new opportunities for teens to gain valuable work-based learning experiences and support the development of the skills and knowledge they need to achieve their post-graduation goals.

Governor Josh Shapiro has identified workforce development as a top priority of the Administration through an expansion of job training, career and technical education, and apprenticeship to develop and expand career pathways for underserved populations via partnerships between schools, employers, organizations, and the Commonwealth.

The Pathways to Partnership project will be developed in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Departments of Labor & Industry, Education, Human Services, and stakeholders including Centers for Independent Living and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network.

The grant will fund three critical components of the Pathways to Partnership project:Professional -Development, Capacity Building, and Training: This component will provide shared training opportunities for approximately 6,100 youth service professionals, including teachers, counselors, and rehabilitation counselors. The training will focus on best practices for transition planning and service delivery.
-Transition Discoveries: This component will implement a ā€œtrain the trainerā€ model at intermediate units (IUs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to support the dissemination of curriculum that helps students with disabilities make transition-related choices from school to work. An estimated 1,914 additional students with disabilities statewide will benefit from this program by the end of the grant.
-Pathways to Partnership Work-Based Learning Experience (PTP-WBLE): This component will develop and pilot PTP-WBLE programs in six LEAs across Pennsylvania in two urban and three rural areas, and one cyber school. The PTP-WBLE programs will provide about 260 students with disabilities with valuable work-based learning experiences.

The Pathways to Partnership project is expected to benefit an estimated 2,200 additional students with disabilities by the time the model demonstration funding ends in 2028.Ā 

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, please visit the website.

PDH Encourages Parents To Test Children For Lead (October 31, 2023)

Exposure to lead, even at low levels, can have lasting intellectual and behavioral effects on children, as well as many other health impacts on adults. That is why the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) is encouraging parents to get their childrenā€™s blood lead levels tested.

ā€œLead is not natural to the human body and even low levels in children have a lasting impact. The only way to identify exposure is by testing the blood,ā€ said Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. ā€œThat is why as a pediatrician, I urge all families to have their children tested for lead exposure, per CDC recommendations. Early identification can prevent the most serious effects, so all children can reach their full potential.ā€

In Pennsylvania, by far the most common source of lead exposure among children is from lead-based paint in homes built before 1978. Over time, lead paint transforms into dust that can poison children and adults when they swallow or breathe it in. Other less common sources of exposure include toys, ceramics, and other consumer products, and drinking water when it flows through older lead plumbing or pipes where lead solder has been used.

Earlier this year, PDH published its sixteenth annual Childhood Lead Surveillance Annual Report, which includes data through 2021. In 2021, 156,018 children under 72 months of age were tested for lead exposure, and 4,850 (3.1 percent), were confirmed to have elevated blood lead levels.

PDH provides resources to families to prevent and address elevated blood lead levels.

Through the federally funded Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP), PDH works collaboratively with six local county and municipal health departments in Allegheny, Chester, Montgomery, Luzerne, Lehigh, and York counties to reduce lead exposure and promote childhood lead poisoning prevention.

Local partners invest CLPPP funding to implement strategies to ensure blood lead testing and reporting, enhance blood lead surveillance, and improve access to services for lead-exposed children.

PDH maintains a toll-free lead information hotline (1-800-440-LEAD) to provide information about lead poisoning prevention, testing, follow-up, and local resources.