On August 29, 2022, Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy sent a PennLink memo to all LEAs titled Basic Education Circular – Educational Programs for Students in Non-Educational Placements Date of Issue:  September 1, 1997 Date of Review:  May 2010, January 2018. It states that “By way of this communication, the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) Bureau of Special Education (BSE) is reminding school districts of their duty to educate students with disabilities who reside in residential facilities within their boundaries.  In addition, this communication serves as a reminder of the joint policy of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and PDE prohibiting the bundling of education and non-educational services in DHS-licensed facilities.  For more information on these topics, review PDE’s Basic Education Circular (BEC), titled Educational Programs for Students in Non-Educational Placements.  This BEC does not apply to children who are placed in an educational program directly by their resident school district, charter school, or cyber charter school. A copy of this BEC can be found on PDE’s website under the Policy and Funding and then BECs drop-down menus and by accessing the following link: Educational Programs for Students in Non-Educational Placements (pa.gov).”

Interested parties are advised to contact Tim Krushinski at 717.329.4029 or [email protected]  with any questions regarding this information.

On August 30, 2022, PDE Bureau of Career and Technical Education Director  Lee Burket, Ed.D. sent a Penn*Link Message to all LEAs titled Provision of Certified School Nurse Services to Pennsylvania School Students. The memo is a reminder that all public school entities, including school districts, charter schools, area career-technical schools and intermediate units, are responsible to provide school health services, specifically nursing services provided by certified school nurses.

Section 1402(a.1) of the Public School Code (24 P.S. § 14-1402(a.1)) requires that every child of school age be provided with school nurse services. Pursuant to Section 1402(a.1), the number of pupils under the care of each school nurse must not exceed 1,500. Section 1410 (24 P.S. § 14-1410) provides that all school districts alone or jointly with other districts or joint school boards must employ one or more school nurses. Section 1402(a) provides that “[e]ach child of school age shall be given by methods established by the Advisory Health Board, (1) a vision test by a school nurse, medical technician or teacher, (2) a hearing test by a school nurse or medical technician, (3) a measurement of height and weight by a school nurse or teacher, who shall use the measurement to compute a child’s weight-for-height ratio, (4) tests for tuberculosis under medical supervision, and (5) such other tests as the Advisory Health Board may deem advisable to protect the health of the child. Vision tests shall be given at least annually and other tests at intervals established by the Advisory Health Board.”

Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) regulations (28 Pa. Code § 23.51) provide that “[a] child in private, parochial and public schools shall be provided with school nurse services in the school which the child attends.” 28 Pa. Code Chapter 23 lists required school health services and required school health personnel. These regulations may be accessed at: http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/028/chapter23/chap23toc.html.

Duties of school nurses must be those assigned by the school district or joint school board which are exclusively connected with medical and dental school health activities. (28 Pa. Code § 23.34) PDH determines the technical content of the school nurses’ duties.

School nurses must have the proper certification issued by PDE.(28 Pa. Code § 23.54) Chapter 49 of Title 22 of the Pennsylvania Code (22 Pa. Code § 49.1) defines an Educational Specialist as “[p]rofessional certified personnel whose primary responsibility is to render professional service other than classroom teachers, such as…[a] school nurse…”

Teachers and other professional personnel may not perform professional duties or services in the schools of this Commonwealth in any area for which they have not been properly certified or permitted. 22 Pa. Code § 49.11(b). An individual who holds a teaching certificate may teach but cannot concomitantly provide the school health services that are to be provided by a certified school nurse, even if that individual is a licensed health professional, including health occupations and protective services instructors.

Section 1410 of the School Code (24 P.S. § 14-1410), however, provides that “[a]ny school district alone or jointly with other districts or joint school boards may employ dental hygienists and such other technical and clerical personnel as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.” Section 1410 permits schools to employ a licensed registered nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to assist a certified school nurse. Although schools are permitted to enter into an agreement with a supplemental RN or LPN to assist a certified school nurse, a supplemental nurse may not be assigned a student case load.

With respect to emergencies, 28 Pa. Code 23.79 provides that “[s]chool nurses shall plan for first aid services and instruct personnel responsible for giving first aid.” In the event of an emergency, any trained individual at the scene may render appropriate first aid procedures, including CPR and AED, prior to the arrival of EMS.

Comprehensive career and technical centers (CTC) are required to have a full-time certified school nurse on staff. Part-time CTCs can meet this requirement in one of three ways: (1) Hire a certified school nurse; (2) Develop an agreement with the school district in which the CTC building is located for school health services; or (3) Hire an RN or LPN to provide first aid care and medications while serving as a supplemental school nurse under the supervision of one of the school district’s certified school nurse.

Further clarification can be found on PDE’s website at http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/schools/14130/what%27s_new_with_school_health/556690.

Questions about 28 Pa. Code Chapter 23 may be directed to the Pennsylvania Department of Health Bureau of School Health at 717-787-2390. Questions about 22 Pa. Code Chapter 49 may be directed PDE’s Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality at 717-787-3356.

On, August 30, 2022, PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy, disseminated a PENN*LINK titled Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students. The memo states that Act 16 of 2000 (24 PS §13-1372(8)) requires the Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students.  School districts and charter schools must report the number of students with disabilities for which expenditures fall in one of five categories. The categories will be 1A, 1B, 2, 3A, and 3B for the 2021-2022 school year. The dollar amounts for these categories will be posted on PDE’s website at Act 16 – Reporting of Expenditures Relating to Exceptional Students.  The 2022-23 PIMS Manual will also be updated to reflect the dollar amounts to be reported. This report will now be collected at the student level through PIMS using the Student Fact Template for Special Education Act 16 Funds. The template will be collected during Collection #1 (opening October 3 and closing with a deadline of October 14, 2022). Data is to be based on expenditures incurred during the entire 2021-2022 school year.

Guidelines regarding the Act 16 reporting can be found at Act 16 Information.

The Student Fact Template for Special Education Act 16 Funds can be found in the 2022-23 PIMS Manual.

Failure to complete the Student Fact Template for Special Education Act 16 Funds report may have an adverse effect on your local education agency’s special education funding.

Questions regarding this reporting requirement may be emailed to [email protected]. A copy of this information is being provided to each intermediate unit so they may assist school districts and charter schools with report preparation, as needed. 

On August 22, 2022, the PA Department of Education (PDE) and the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) disseminated a PennLink memo titled 2022-23 School-Based ACCESS Program Statewide Training Sessions. The memo announce that PDE and DHS will provide this year’s annual statewide training for all participating School-Based ACCESS Program (SBAP) teams on September 20, 2022.

This training will be offered one day only. Registration is required. Attendees may attend in person or online. See instructions below. Participation is strongly encouraged. Local educational agencies (LEAs) are encouraged to assign at least one representative to attend this annual training to receive important SBAP information.  

A General Session will be led and presented by DHS. DHS team members will review updates to the Provider Handbook which include Medical Assistance-reimbursable use of telemedicine within SBAP, updates to the credentialing requirements of Orientation and Mobility Specialists, SBAP annual performance and claiming levels, and other important information and reminders including the enrollment revalidation process.

A Compliance Session will be led and presented by DHS. DHS team members will review documentation requirements, credentialing, overbilling, and common errors found during SBAP record reviews.

A Ways to Optimize Your SBAP Potential session will be led and presented by Public Consulting Group (PCG). PCG team members will focus on assisting participating LEAs in achieving compliance within the SBAP and managing operational changes associated to virtual requirements. Different areas will be identified that LEAs are able to focus on to increase their reimbursement.

LEA responsibilities impacting compliance include the following:

• Related Service Documentation: Monitoring of service log entry, compliance information, and reimbursement levels;
• Random Moment Time Study (RMTS): Ensuring the quality of staff pool positions, moment responses, and shifts; and
• Medicaid Administrative Claiming (MAC): Participant activity and the impact of the annual Unrestricted Indirect Cost Rate on MAC.

A Navigating the SBAP Cost Reconciliation/Cost Settlement Process session will be led and presented by Sivic Solutions Group (SSG). SSG team members will provide an overview of Pennsylvania’s SBAP Cost Reconciliation and Cost Settlement program. SSG will focus on the details of the cost report including a discussion on how the direct billing and RMTS drive the annual cost settlement. In addition, the training will review some of the frequently asked questions received during the process and common mistakes identified during Desk Review.

All sessions are intended for ACCESS coordinators, special education directors and supervisors, business managers, and anyone else involved in SBAP.

Sessions will be held on September 20, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Live at PaTTAN Harrisburg or via Webinar.        

Registration is required and is online via the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) at http://www.pattan.net. Go to the training calendar for September 20, 2022 to register. Contact Sharon Kennedy at [email protected] with any registration questions. For content questions, contact DHS’ vendors at [email protected] or [email protected].