Category: State Government Actions

PDE Announces Survey to be Sent to Parents of Students with Disabilities (June 13, 2022)

On June 13, 2022, PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy disseminated a PennLink message titled Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities. That message stated that Pennsylvania’s State Performance Plan requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) include collecting and reporting data on the involvement of families in special education programs. Specifically, states must report annually to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the public on State Performance Plan Indicator 8 which is the: “percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.”

Like many other states, Pennsylvania is collecting this data through a large-scale survey. Pennsylvania reports results of the survey to OSEP in its State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report. This report is posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) websites. Reporting on local educational agency (LEA) performance is done through the Special Education Data Reports on the PennData website.

To ensure that parents from every LEA in the commonwealth are included in the survey, PDE developed a sampling plan that was approved by OSEP. Under this sampling, each year PDE collects data from a representative sample of parents in approximately one-fifth of the LEAs. The LEAs in this year’s sample are listed in the PennLink message. Parents receiving the survey were selected from PennData using a stratified random sample of school age students in each LEA. Surveys will be mailed directly to the parents from Leader Services in the next few weeks.

The survey being used was developed by the National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring under a grant awarded to that center by OSEP. The survey can be viewed at Leader Services-Parent Survey. Additional information about the survey can be found on the PaTTAN website at PA Indicator 8 Information.

A letter that accompanies the survey assures parents that their responses will be confidential. Parents may direct questions about the survey to the Special Education Consult Line at 800-879-2301. Should parents contact LEA personnel about the survey, PDE asks that staff encourage them to participate in the survey process.

Questions regarding this PENN*LINK may be addressed to Barbara Mozina, Special Education Adviser, at [email protected].

DHS: 988 Suicide Hotline Ready to Go on July 16th (June 12, 2022)

According to the PA Department of Human Services, starting July 16, 2022, people who call, text, or chat with 988 will be directly connected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The existing Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will remain available. Callers can also connect with the Veterans Crisis Line or assistance in Spanish.
Who can call 988?
988 can be used by anyone, any time, at no cost. Trained crisis response professionals can support individuals considering suicide, self-harm, or any behavioral or mental health need for themselves or people looking for help for a loved one experiencing a mental health crisis. Lifeline services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at no cost to the caller.
What happens when you call 988?
-Callers will be directed to a local 988 call center based on a caller’s area code where trained professionals are waiting to listen and assist. Note: Callers will also be given the option to reach the Veterans Crisis Line (Option 1) or a Spanish speaker (Option 2). 
-If a local call center does not answer the call within 60 seconds, the call will be routed to one of Pennsylvania’s three regional 988 call centers.
-If a regional call center is unavailable, the call will be routed to the national backup network able to assess the crisis and connect to local assistance.

See Graphic: What happens when someone calls/texts/chats with the Lifeline.

For more from DHS, click here.

PA Senate Passes SB 1191 to Keep Transgender Athletes from Participating in Girls’ Sports (June 10, 2022)

On June 07, 2022, the PA Senate passed SB 1191 to prevent athletes who were male at birth from participating in women’s and girls’ school sports. The vote was 30-20. One Democrat and one independent joined all Republicans voting in favor of the bill, which now goes to the PA House for consideration.

It is reported that Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would veto the bill.

Source: Morning Call

Summer Food Options for Students Announced (June 7, 2022)

The Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Education are reminding Pennsylvanians to take advantage of the many summer food assistance programs for students and caretakers across the commonwealth. State and local options are available to Pennsylvania families facing food insecurity this summer.  

According to 2019 food insecurity data provided by Feeding America, 10.6% of Pennsylvanians — or 1,353,730 people — did not always know where their next meal was coming from. That number included 383,500 children, 14.6% of all children in the state. When school-based meals end with the school year, addressing child food insecurity can become an even greater challenge.

Options for Pennsylvania caretakers and children experiencing food insecurity include:

Seniors and seniors taking care of children also may be eligible for the following:  

Learn more at agriculture.pa.gov/foodsecurity.

PennLink Informs LEAs of Indicator 13 Cyclical Monitoring Requirements (June 7, 2022)

On June 6, 2022, Carole L. Clancy, Director of the PDE Bureau of Special Education disseminated a PennLink message to LEAs  titled Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition (Indicator 13). The memo states that in response to the accountability requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) Part B State Performance Plans, the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) and intermediate unit transition consultants will provide sustained professional development for targeted local educational agencies (LEAs). This targeted professional development will assist with creating compliant and effective individualized secondary transition programming for students with disabilities. 

 The requirements for each LEA assigned to the 2022-2023 Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition training are as follows: 
-Develop an administrative team to support the targeted training and technical assistance process. The administrative team is required to attend a webinar on September 15, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Administration team members will need to register in advance for this training through the PaTTAN website.
-Lead contact person to complete an interview/survey regarding effective practices for secondary transition as facilitated by an intermediate unit and/or PaTTAN consultant. Lead contact will work with IU Transition TaC/PaTTAN Consultant to develop and implement a local training plan for the 2022-2023 school year.
-With support from the IU Transition TaC/PaTTAN Consultant, identify targeted staff (i.e. special education directors, building principals, transition coordinators, special education teachers, speech/language therapists, guidance counselors, school psychologists, career tech ed staff, and other LEA staff involved in secondary programming) to participate in IEP pre-reviews using the PA Indicator 13 checklist, complete IEP post-reviews, participate in coaching activities as warranted with IU Transition TaC, and complete an online (Schoology) course.

In addition, the required online (Schoology) course will yield 6 Act 48 hours and must be completed by February 28, 2023. PLEASE NOTE: All staff must register for the Schoology course on the PaTTAN website (found on the training calendar for September 16, 2022). The registration key to register for the Schoology course is IND13-2022. This registration key will need to be shared with all LEA staff members who are identified to participate in this year’s cyclical monitoring preparation activities.

For questions concerning Preparing for Cyclical Monitoring: A Focus on Secondary Transition training for 2022-23, LEAs are directed to contact: Cecil Crouch, Educational Consultant at PaTTAN-Pittsburgh, at 800-446-5607, ext. 6866 or [email protected].