On July 18, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) released The Foundation of Our Economy: Pennsylvania Educator Workforce Strategy, 2022-2025, PDE’s strategic plan to recruit and retain more educators across the commonwealth. The strategy was developed after conducting extensive feedback sessions with vested partners across Pennsylvania and contains 50 steps that PDE and its partners will use to address the commonwealth’s educator shortage.

The last few years have been among the most challenging for those working in schools, and the number of new educators entering the profession has declined as a result: a decade ago, roughly 20,000 new teachers entered the workforce each year, while last year only 6,000 did so. To make matters worse, the rate of educators leaving the profession continues to accelerate. This means that schools are having a harder time than ever before in filling critical staff positions.

Additionally, by 2025, the commonwealth’s K-12 population will have higher proportions of students of color, yet less than 7% of teachers in Pennsylvania are people of color. Research has proven that students learn best when they have the opportunity to do so from teachers whose life experience reflects their own. Meeting the needs of the diverse student population will require a significant increase in the diversity of Pennsylvania’s educator workforce.

The Foundation of Our Economy sets forth ambitious goals related to the following five educator workforce focus areas:

• Meeting the educator staffing needs of rural, suburban, and urban areas;
• Building a diverse workforce representative of the students we serve;
• Operating a rigorous, streamlined, and customer service-oriented certification process;
• Ensuring high-quality preparation experiences for aspiring educators; and
• Ensuring educator access to high-quality and relevant professional growth and leadership development opportunities.

Additionally, recently approved amendments to the Public School Code will complement the efforts and actions contained in the educator workforce strategy. The bill — negotiated by the Wolf Administration — improves pathways to Pennsylvania certification for teachers prepared out of state, including career and technical education teachers, establishes a Committee on Education Talent Recruitment within PDE to develop programs of study for high school students interested in pursuing careers in education, establishes a Talent Recruitment Grant Program for colleges to increase participation in the education workforce, and waives the Basic Skills assessment for education candidates for three years.

For more information about Pennsylvania’s education policies and programs, please visit the PA Department of Education’s website. 

On July 18, 2022, Dr. Jeffrey Fuller, PDE Acting Deputy Secretary, disseminated a PennLink messafe to all LEAs titled Act 55 Amendment to the State Graduation Requirement; State Board of Education Action Amending State Graduation Requirement. He states that the purpose of the memo is to inform LEAs of two significant changes to the statewide high school graduation requirements and that PDEencourages LEAs to take them into account before scheduling students for retests in the summer and winter Keystone Exam windows. Those changes are:

1. Two Score Keystone Composite
Act 55 of 2022 amends the Pennsylvania School Code to further assist students in meeting statewide high school graduation requirements. Effective immediately, any student may graduate via the Keystone Composite Pathway provided the student:

• Earned a non-numeric Proficient in a Keystone Exam pursuant to  Act 136 of 2020;
• Successfully completes locally established, grade-based requirements for academic content associated with each Keystone Exam in which the student does not have a numeric or non-numeric score of Proficient/Advanced; and
• Achieves a Keystone Composite score of 2939 or greater for two of the three Keystone Exams (calculated using the highest numerical scores attained by the student, neither of which may be Below Basic and at least one of which must be Proficient or better).

2. Extension of the Pandemic as an Extenuating Circumstance
On September 9, 2021, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education approved the addition of the COVID-19 pandemic to the list of extenuating circumstances for which pathway-specific graduation requirements may be waived by a chief school administrator for students in the graduating classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Each student granted a waiver must complete locally established, grade-based requirements for academic content associated with each Keystone Exam in which the student does not have a numeric or non-numeric Proficient/Advanced.

If waivers exceed more than 5% of the graduating class, the school entity may be required to submit an improvement plan or be subject to an audit.

Refer to the SAS Graduation Toolkit for additional information on non-numeric scores, locally established grade-based requirements, waivers, and other related topics. Questions may be submitted to [email protected].

LEAs are advised to  note that the Tracking Tool,  SAS Toolkit, and PDE website are in the process of revision but will not reflect these changes immediately. Please check back for updates and emerging details on PDE Open Office Hours and training opportunities available late summer/early fall.

Former PA Secretary of Education Dr. Pedro Rivera re-joined the State Board of Education, assuming the position of Chair of the Council of Higher Education. He was warmly welcomed by State Board Chair Karen Farmer White and those in attendance.

At its meeting, the Council of Basic Education discussed and approved the final omitted technical amendments and correction of any typos to Chapters #11 (Student Attendance) and 12 (Students and Student Services) of PA Code Title 22 C.S.A. – Education, recommending its passage to the State Board for approval. The State Board thus approved those omits during its subsequent meeting.

The Council of Basic Ed. also announced that, as is required, Chapter 4 standards will be advertised in the PA Bulletin on July 16th for review.

Acting PA Ed. Sec. Eric Hagarty expressed his sincere thanks to Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly regarding the passage of a budget with historical increases in education including, but not limited to, a $525M increased in basic education funding through the fair funding formula; a $100M increase in Special Ed.; a $100M increase in school safety; and a $100M increase in student mental health.

PDE Executive Deputy Sec. Dr. David Volkman announced that the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan is on track to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in September 2022. The State Board was also informed that previous ESSA pandemic-related waivers regarding accountability are no longer in place for 2021-22 school year reporting.

The State Board also approved its 2023 calendar, which will be posted on the PDE website.

On July 8, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals and free milk for July 2022 through June 2023. 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.

As schools begin to transition from use of nationwide waivers, which in the 2021-2022 school year included the option to serve free meals for all students, the importance of determining individual student eligibility is vital to ensure eligible students receive school meals at reduced or no cost. 

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) may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals and should complete a Household Meal Benefit Application. Other households can find more information on the commonwealth’s COMPASS website. 

Click here to view the updated annual income eligibility guidelines, which are effective July 1, 2022, until further notice.

On Saturday, July 9, 2022, Governor Tom Wolf signed a 2022-23 budget that, in his words, “makes a historic $1.8 billion increase in education funding — bringing the total investment my administration has made in education at all levels to more than $3.7 billion.” The historic $1.8 billion investment increase in education is seen as solidifying Gov. Wolf’s commitment to education. In fact, the Wolf Administration has increased education funding by more than $3.7 billion since 2015.

This year’s $1.8 billion increase includes: 

• $525 million increase through the Fair Funding Formula. On average Pennsylvania schools will see their funding increase by 8 percent. 
• $225 million increase for Level Up to provide targeted support to the 100 most in-need school districts, ensuring that every child in Pennsylvania has the opportunity to thrive and succeed through equal access to a high-quality education no matter their zip code. 
• $100 million increase for Special Education. 
• $79 million increase for Early Education through Pre-K Counts and Head Start. 
• $220 million for public higher education. 

The budget also includes funding to help make Pennsylvania communities safer through increased security and grassroots violence interruption efforts, including:

• $100 million increase for School Safety Grants to ensure children learn and grow in safe, healthy environments.
•   $50 million for Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention programs to promote grassroots efforts for safer communities. 
• $105 million for violence prevention, public safety, and safer communities. 

To view the press release, click here.