Category: News in the Field

Survey: Teacher Prep Grant Cuts Affect Teacher Pipeline (October 12, 2026)

As reported by K-12 Dive, The Trump administration’s sudden cancellation of over 100 federal teacher training grants last year caused at least 127 teacher candidates to drop out of their programs and another 259 accepted candidates to not enroll after all. In fact, survey results released on October 8, 2026, based on 36 grantees across 22 states, further show that before being canceled, the grants were being used to help educate future teachers to work in Title I schools or in high-need areas, such as STEM, early childhood education and special education. Research results also indicate the cuts have harmed efforts to address hard-to-staff teaching positions. Survey respondents said their grants were being used to train teacher candidates in 210 school districts before they were canceled. The 36 surveyed grantees had been awarded almost $263 million for the programs, and about half of that was canceled by the Trump administration.

The survey focused on the effects seen from the cancellation of the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) programs. The report cited a March 12 court filing in which the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) confirmed it had canceled 104 of the 109 active TQP and SEED grants because the funds were being used to train teachers using “divisive ideologies.” 

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

PDE Provides Special Ed. Plan Information for Phase 3 School Districts (October 9, 2026)

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 § 14.104. The school district’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 using the Register a Username and Log In instructions.

Your school district’s Local Security Administrator can add/remove users in MyPDESuite. 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 Local Security Administrators are, you can find this information by clicking on Find my Security Administrator on the main webpage in MyPDESuite.

School districts in Phase 3 must submit their plans by May 1, 2027, in the FRCPP.

Mandatory training on completing and submitting school district Special Education Plans is available at: School District Special Education Plan Training.

Additionally, required training on completing Special Education Plan Revision Notices (SEPRNs), is available at: SEPRN Training.

Should you have any questions, please contact Sandy Zeleznik in PDE’s Bureau of Special Education at RA-EDSpecEdPlanFRCPP@pa.gov.

USDE, DOJ Threaten Federal Funds over MH Screenings (October 9, 2026)

According to K-12 Dive, the Trump administration is escalating its crackdown on mental health screenings for students, stressing that the practice doesn’t comply with parental rights laws if school officials administer the screenings without first notifying parents and obtaining their written consent. In fact, on October 5, 2026 a warning was sent to state attorneys general by the U.S. Departments of Education (USDE) and Justice (DOJ). It follows a Dear Colleague letter sent in August that described the Trump administration’s approach to enforcement under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

In addition, the administration has opened investigations at a rapid pace under the privacy laws to crack down on schools’ policies related to LGBTQ+ students, such as creating gender support plans or using students’ pronouns when they differ from the students’ biological sex.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

PDE Announces 2026-27 Programming Opportunities through Mikayla’s Voice (October 1, 2026)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education announces Mikayla’s Voice programming for the 2026-2027 school year. This programming is grant-funded and available at no cost to districts. Mikayla’s Voice offers original programming to help build a positive school culture and ensure the well-being of your staff and students, and includes all of the following: 
Two Assemblies: 
Two school-wide assemblies are held in which the book Our Friend Mikayla is shared. One of the presenters is a student or young adult with a disability who also shares their personal story. Questions are encouraged for further discussion about having a friend with a disability. Each presentation concludes with an invitation for all students to serve as Mikayla’s “Voice.” 
One Art Project: 
Participating schools choose one of the following projects in which 24 students of all abilities will work together to create large-scale artwork to celebrate kindness and friendship in their school.
–Wheels of Friendship®:
Wheels of Friendship® is an original art program that incorporates wheelchair painting and tissue paper decoupage, both mediums that offer success for students of all abilities. Together, the group of students choose the theme for their art and decide how best to represent kindness, belonging, and friendship in their school. 
-Kaya’s Kaleidoscope: Kaya’s Kaleidoscope is created when students complete their own individual canvases that work together in an interactive, puzzle-like design. Symbolic of school communities, every canvas is as essential to the mural as each student is at their school. And, in keeping with Mikayla’s Voice message, mission, and style, each canvas features wheelchair tracks, tissue paper decoupage, and a yellow spot. The canvases can be arranged and rotated any way, creating an endless number of options…each as unique and beautiful as the next. The interactive exhibits allow thousands of students to engage in art and consider its many lessons. 

Artwork Unveiling and Installation: 
Once complete, all student artists help unveil their collaborative artwork and share its message with the entire school community before it is permanently installed in their school. This culminating, year-end school-wide celebration also provides an opportunity to highlight individual and class projects based on the books or lessons and revisit Mikayla’s Voice message and mission with all students. 

Books about Belonging:
Mikayla’s Voice has published four children’s books written and illustrated by kids for other kids about having a friend with a disability. Mikayla was born with a brain injury, Jeffrey has Down Syndrome, Brady is challenged by autism, and Dot has a yellow spot, but these books are not about the main characters or their disabilities. They are about friendship and kindness. Two of each book are provided for your elementary school library and/or for your middle/high school students to share with younger students in your district. 
•    Our Friend Mikayla 
•    High Fives and A Big Heart 
•    Super Brady ~ Always on the Move! 
•    The Spot 

Mikayla’s Bookshelf Enrichment Website: 
“Mikayla’s Bookshelf” includes electronic versions of all four books, making it easier to share them with all classes, students, and families. The books are available in alternate formats such as read aloud and braille. The books are just the foundation upon which enrichment lessons for teachers and/or older students build upon to introduce and/or reinforce Mikayla’s Voice message of kindness, belonging, and friendship.

Mentor Program: 
Middle and high school students are encouraged to serve as mentors to read books to the younger students and complete several enrichment lessons from Mikayla’s Voice bookshelf. 

Data Collection: 
Mikayla’s Voice has partnered with Drs. Dever and Lindstrom as part of an ongoing program assessment for improvement and replication. Participating schools are required to complete pre- and post-data collection to measure the global quality of the programs and the ability to improve school culture and community. All data is reported in aggregate form, and no school is identified in the data report. 

Ease of Programs: 
Mikayla’s Voice assigns a Program and Outreach Coordinator who will facilitate on-site programming at schools and bring all materials and supplies. Districts assign a liaison for scheduling assemblies and art programs and to be present during art projects.

Schools interested in participating can contact: 
Molly Lick, Director of Programs, at 610-730-1644 or mlick@khs.org  Rita Cheskiewicz, Executive Director, at 484-523-7215 or rita@mikaylasvoice.org.

Schools are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis

USDE to Require Additional Layer Prior to Drawing Down Pre-Approved Funding (October 1, 2026)

Despite being seen by some as additional red tape, starting November 1, 2026, all U.S. Department of Education (USDE) grant recipients will be required to have written justification for drawing down pre-approved funding. ,

According to a September 28, 2026 agency memo. an additional step has been added to add accountability and transparency for spending taxpayer funds. The directive comes from President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Cost Efficiency Initiative, also known as “defend the spend.”

As per the memo, grant recipients will be required to provide “clear, detailed justifications for each payment request.” Each request must include the program name, expense categories and amounts, and the start and end dates for expenses. The written justifications can be no longer than 255 characters and clear without additional narrative. The directive applies to all Education Department grant recipients, including those with programs for early childhood education, K-12, higher education and adult education.

Some education organizations, including the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE), are expressing concern that the process could cause delays in moving federal resources to schools, school districts, and states. Presently, federal education funds are drawn down through state agencies, but the new justification requirements would create additional administrative work for both states and school districts since another layer of pre-approval paperwork increases administrative burden and redirect limited administrative capacity away from teaching, learning, and student services.

On September 30, 2026, NASDE released a statement the new requirement will “impact every student in every school,” especially students with disabilities. In fact, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act includes both formula and discretionary grant funds that students with disabilities depend on to receive timely services.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.