After securing funding for period products for the first time ever in the 2024/25 budget, the 2025-26 budget once again includes $3 million to ensure students have access to hygiene products to help them stay in school and focus on learning. In fact, on February 25, 2026, the PA Departments of Health (PDH) and Education (PDE) announced that $3 million allocated in the 2025/26 budget will be distributed to more than 750 Pennsylvania school districts, intermediate units, career and technical centers, and brick-and-mortar charter schools to continue providing free period products to their students.
The funding enables schools to provide students with access to period products at no cost, in line with efforts by the Shapiro Administration to improve health equity.
The program has become a vital source of funding for schools in every corner of the Commonwealth, taking one more burden off students’ plates and ensuring they are focused on learning.
Applications and reimbursement requests will not be required. All qualifying school entities will receive funding proportional to the total number of students enrolled at a rate of $1.79 per student.
Schools may use the funding for period product purchases made between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
School funding allocations for the 2025-26 Feminine Hygiene Product Grant Program’s non-competitive, non-solicitation grants are available on the Pennsylvania Department of Health website. Schools can opt out of receiving grant funding. Any remaining funds following the first round of grant funding will be dispersed in a second round.
Schools should consider privacy, responsiveness, access, and education when developing and implementing strategies to make period products available to their students. Additional guidance and suggestions are available in the Menstrual Equity for Pennsylvania Students – Guidance for School Entities.
Recorded January 2026, you can receive a legal overview and best practices to create a school environment that respects the rights of immigrant students, and an update on the status of national legal challenges that could impact schools serving immigrant students. In January 2025, the U.S. government rescinded the longstanding “Sensitive Locations” policy, which has resulted in disruptions at schools. The video will cover immigrant students’ rights in enrollment, attendance, non-discrimination, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protections, and warrant requirements for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at schools. You can also view a model Welcoming Schools policy and protocol.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Refugee Education Program offers advocacy for a special population of students and parents who otherwise may not have support. A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their home country due to war, violence, persecution, or natural disaster. Refugee students often face significant challenges—language barriers, discrimination, disrupted education, and trauma from displacement—that can impact their experiences in the classroom.
This year’s report shows how Pennsylvania’s evidence-based Parents as Teachers home visiting model strengthened families and supported early learning across the Commonwealth. In the 2024-25 program year: -56 PAT affiliate programs served 5,352 families and 6,941 children statewide. -Parent educators completed 66,630 personal visits — helping families build confidence and promote healthy development. -Over 90% of children received timely health and developmental screenings, and 88% of families were connected to community resources. -Family stressors such as housing instability, low income, and special needs were documented for 81% of enrolled families — highlighting the program’s role in meeting complex needs.
The PA PAT State Office also continued professional development, cross-model collaboration, and quality improvement efforts—including a pilot parent feedback initiative with an outstanding Net Promoter Score of 93.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended, requires the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to identify in writing to local educational agencies regulations, rules, and policies that are state-imposed requirements and not required by IDEA and its regulations (20 USC §1407 (a) (2)). This notice fulfills the requirement to distribute an updated list of state-imposed requirements that exceed IDEA and its regulations.
Chapter 14 (22 Pa. Code Chapter 14)§14.101(Relating to Definitions) §14.104 (Relating to Special Education Plans) §14.105(Relating to Personnel) §14.106(Relating to Access to Instructional Materials)§14.108(Relating to Access to Classrooms) §14.121(Relating to Child Find) §14.123(Relating to Evaluation) §14.122(Relating to Screening) §14.124(Relating to Reevaluation) §14.125(Relating to Criteria for Specific Learning Disability) §14.131(Relating to Individualized Education Program) §14.132(Relating to Extended School Year) §14.133(Relating to Positive Behavior Support) §14.143(Relating to Disciplinary Placements) §14.144(Relating to Facilities) §14.145(Relating to Least Restrictive Environment Requirements) §14.146(Relating to Age Range Restrictions) §14.152(Relating to Child Find, Public Awareness and Screening) §14.153(Relating to Evaluation) §14.154(Relating to Individualized Education Program) §14.155(Relating to Range of Services) §14.156(Relating to System of Quality Assurance) §14.157(Relating to Exit Criteria) §14.158(Relating to Data Collection) §14.162(Relating to Impartial Due Process Hearing and Expedited Due Process Hearing) §14.163 (Relating to Resolution Session)
Chapter 711 (22 Pa. Code Chapter 711)§711.1 (Relating to Definitions) §711.5(Relating to Personnel) §711.6(Relating to Annual Report) §711.7 (Relating to Enrollment) §711.8(Relating to Education Records) §711.9 (Relating to Payments) §711.21(Relating to Child Find) §711.22(Relating to Reevaluation) §711.23(Relating to Screening) §711.24(Relating to Evaluation) §711.25 (Relating to Criteria for the Determination of Specific Learning Disability) §711.41 (Relating to IEP) §711.42(Relating to Transportation) §711.43(Relating to Educational Placement) §711.44(Relating to Extended School Year) §711.45(Relating to Access to Instructional Materials) §711.46(Relating to Positive Behavior Support) §711.61(Relating to Suspension and Expulsion) §711.62(Relating to Procedural Safeguards)
Annually, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), requires the Pennsylvania DeafBlind Project to conduct the National DeafBlind Child Count. The DeafBlind Child Count records the number of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have deafblindness or who are at risk of developing deafblindness, and who are enrolled in early intervention or special education as of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) child count on , 2025.
The count began with Approved Private School programs in and is in the phase for LEAs and Infant Toddler and Preschool Early Intervention Programs in . You must verify and submit your information no later than , 2026. It is important for Pennsylvania to have an accurate DeafBlind Child Count as this information is tied to funding research, training, and technical assistance for this population of children.
Please be aware that for the DeafBlind Child Count, the federal definition of deafblindness is more inclusive and extensive than the one used for the IDEA child count. Children ages birth through 21 years should be reported in the count if they meet one or more of the following criteria: 1. Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a diagnosis of deafblindness and/or receive both vision and hearing support services; 2. Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students who have a mild to profound hearing loss and mild to profound vision loss with correction that still requires adaptations or modifications; 3. Infants and toddlers (ages birth-to-three; i.e. Part C) who have a diagnosis that places them at-risk for an intellectual disability with inconsistent responses to visual input and sound. (At-risk means a diagnosis that does not guarantee hearing/vision loss); or 4. Infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and students with multiple disabilities who may demonstrate inconsistent responses to visual input and sound.
It is important for each Early Intervention Program and Local Educational Agency (LEA) to participate in the DeafBlind Child Count. 1. If you do not have any infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or students with deafblindness, you will still need to log in and identify that you are not educating anyone with deafblindness at the present time. 2. If you are educating an infant, toddler, preschooler, or student with deafblindness, you will need to either enter a new record or verify information about a child who already exists in the system. 3. School-Age and Preschool Early Intervention Programs are encouraged to work closely with contracted providers (e.g., Approved Private Schools, Charter Schools for the Deaf or Blind) to ensure an accurate count of children. 4. Connecting families of children who are deafblind with supporting networks and information is vital. A feature of the DeafBlind Child Count is a letter which you will be asked to send to the family of each child listed in your count. The letter provides information which will link families to support and information related to deafblindness.
DeafBlind Child Count – Approved Private School Entries All Approved Private Schools (APSs) entered their student data prior to the DeafBlind Child Count being opened for Early Intervention Programs, school districts, charter schools, and service providers. While there are few infants and toddlers served at APSs, you may see a child in the DeafBlind Child Count which has been entered by an APS. For those programs with many students who qualify, this will save them valuable time. This was done by all APSs even if there are no students who qualify for the DeafBlind Child Count enrolled in their school. As the Early Intervention Program or LEA for these respective children, you must either confirm that the child is your responsibility or reject them if the child is not within your catchment area or in the age range of children you serve. Please be aware that exceptions may exist. After you confirm that you are the Early Intervention Program or LEA for the child, you can update other data as necessary.
DeafBlind Child Count – Early Intervention Programs If you are the Early Intervention Program responsible for providing Early Intervention Services to the entered child, you should confirm that the child is your responsibility. If the child is not the responsibility of your program (i.e., the child is not within your catchment area or in the age range of children you serve), please email dbchildcount@pattankop.net.
Log In Information This year, login has been transitioned to the PDE Integrated Monitoring System, or PDE-IMS. If you believe that you should be receiving these communications and need to be added OR should no longer be receiving these communications and need to be removed, please contact your Chief School Administrator. When you log into IMS at https://www.pdeims.com, the DeafBlind Child Count is labeled as DeafBlind under the Bureau of Special Education section. All functionality in the application remains the same. If you have any questions regarding the data collection system or your responsibilities for entering child data into the DeafBlind Child Count, please email dbchildcount@pattankop.net.