Category: News in the Field

Free Act 48 Webinars for Educators & Nurses on Tourette Syndrome (July 18, 2026)

The PA Tourette Syndrome Alliance is excited to offer free professional training for Educators and Nurses in August 2026! Gain valuable insights into Tourette syndrome, co-occurring conditions, effective classroom strategies, and more—all while earning Act 48 credits.
Educators:
-Aug 18, 2026 | 9:30–11:30 AM (2 hours)
-Aug 19, 2026 | 7:00–8:00 PM (1 hour)

Nurses:
-Aug 21, 2026 | 1:00–3:00 PM (2 hours)

What’s included:
-Expert-led training with engaging content
-Tools, resources, and one-year website access
-[A powerful “experience having a tic” exercise
-Strategies for supporting students with TS
-Q&A session

Register now by selecting the correct button on the PATSA Support for Schools webpage. 

Need a custom training for your school? We offer in-person and virtual Act 48-accredited sessions and Peer Anti-bullying In-Services as well. Contact us at 1-800-990-3300 or email Sherrie at sherrie@patsainc.org with your questions.

Here’s what past attendees have said:
“The most engaging training I’ve attended! The strategies were empowering and applicable to all students.”
“This training is a game-changer for understanding and supporting students with TS. Highly recommend!”

Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your skills and make a difference in students’ lives.

Sign up today!

10 Republican-led Bills Are First Steps in Closing the USDE (July 17, 2026)

On July 15, 2026, the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee approved 10 Republican-led bills that are the first steps in eventually closing the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The bills would codify several interagency agreements the USDE already has in place that move core education-related functions, but not the statutory responsibilities for them, out of the USDE and into other federal agencies. Select legal responsibilities would be permanently moved out of the USDE, including programs involving K-12 student academic supports, career and technical education, and federal student loan activities.

Committee Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sponsor of two bills in the 10-bill package, said the USDE has “failed.” Conversely, ranking committee member Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., opposed the bills, saying the transfers were “impractical” and “represent the abdication of the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that all students, regardless of race, religion, disability, income, or zip code, have access to a quality public education. Whatever you say about the ‘problems’ at the Department of Education, these bills will only make things worse.”

The panel’s Republican majority rejected Democrat-led amendments to the bills, including those to require progress reports, funding guardrails, and increased staffing to support the outsourced activities.

The bills still need full House and then Senate approval.

For more details from K-12 Dive, click here.

PDH Launches Measles Dashboard to Keep Parents, Public Informed of Ongoing Cases, Highlights Efforts to Battle the Disease (July 16, 2026)

On July 14, 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) launched a new online dashboard to keep Pennsylvania families and communities informed about measles cases in the Commonwealth, including case details on county, age, and hospitalizations. The new dashboard will be updated Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons with the latest data available. In addition to the number of cases per county, the dashboard includes demographic data, hospitalization rate, and vaccination status of the cases.

In late June, to ensure that Pennsylvania infants, who are particularly vulnerable to measles, are protected from getting the virus, PDH issued guidance to health care providers enabling them to vaccinate infants as young as six months of age. This early dose of the MMR vaccine is safe and provides moderate protection when measles is spreading.

Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk for infection. 

Boosting Vaccine Information and Access
Two doses of the MMR vaccine is the best protection against the measles virus, as it is 97% effective at preventing a person from ever contracting it. The vaccine has long-proven effectiveness over several decades. Since the vaccine was introduced in the early 1960s, cases and deaths from measles in the U.S. decreased more than 97% compared to the pre-vaccine era.

Because measles was essentially eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, most health care providers have not treated a patient with the disease. To ensure Pennsylvania providers have the information they need, PDH issued multiple Health Alert Network messages outlining the signs and symptoms of measles and reminding clinicians to encourage patients to stay up to date on their vaccinations.

Educating Health Care Providers
To help address the outbreak, PDH measles experts hosted in-person and live, virtual medical briefings for more than 1,000 doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to help them identify and treat patients with measles.

Measles: What You Should Know
Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads to other people when a person who has measles breathes, coughs, or sneezes. The virus remains in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours even after the person with measles leaves the area. Symptoms to watch for include fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis), followed by a rash that starts on the head and spreads downward. Symptoms can start 7 to 21 days after exposure. Measles can cause serious health complications, including hospitalization or death.

When PDH is alerted to a new measles case, local public health staff conduct contact tracing to immediately identify contacts and places exposure may have occurred, and to implement necessary public health action, including public notification, to prevent further spread of the virus. The contact tracing team works around the clock to reach everyone who might have been exposed and to ensure people with measles are isolating while contagious.

PDH continues to closely monitor the situation and work with local health care partners to ensure timely notification and testing of any potential cases. Throughout the response, PDH evaluates new public health strategies and partnerships that aim to reduce the spread of the virus, while also providing easy access to vaccination.

People who believe they were exposed to measles and are experiencing symptoms should contact their health care provider or call PDH’s toll-free hotline at 877-PA-HEALTH (877-724-3258).

School Vaccination Rates
PDH currently provides school vaccination data at the county and state level. In August, school-level vaccination information will be available online, so families have additional information to make personal health and educational decisions. These efforts underscore the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to boosting public access to information and ensuring transparency in our work to protect public health.

More information on measles is available at www.pa.gov/measles.

Battling Absenteeism: The Effective Use of Attendance Incentives is Important (July 16, 2026)

At a recent session at the National Association of Elementary School Principals’ National School Leaders Conference, attendees heard how choosing the right incentives to motivate students can make or break efforts to combat chronic absenteeism. For example, the use of perfect attendance awards is unrealistic and can be punitive for students who tried to make an effort to be at school everyday but were ill or felt compelled to attend an event or ceremony, including such things as a funeral or medical appointment.

However, other types of incentives can be critical tools to help combat absenteeism, such as using school-based incentives through the positive behavioral interventions and supports model to boost student attendance.

For more information from K-12 Dive, click here.

Former Federal Officials Send Letter to Congress Opposing USDE’s Special Ed. Interagency Agreement (July 15, 2026)

In a July 13, 2026 letter to federal legislators, 13 former federal officials who were responsible for overseeing special education implementation in states and districts urged Congress to reject the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) plans to move programs serving students with disabilities to another federal agency.

The letter’s authors are former officials who served under every presidential administration since President Richard Nixon, including during the first President Donald Trump administration, but not for the second Trump administration. According to the letter, efforts to shift special education responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “dismantles, rather than relocates, the federal infrastructure built over five decades” of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

It also expressed concern that moving special education programs from the USDE’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to HHS would deprioritize students’ educational needs. In fact, according to the letter, “Moving IDEA’s implementation into a health agency risks substituting medical management for educational access.”

In June, the USDE announced four interagency agreements, including one to move certain special education activities to HHS. USDE also stated it was transferring some civil rights activities from its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

In total, the USDE has publicly announced 14 interagency agreements with six other federal agencies. The agreements come as the Trump administration works to eliminate the USDE.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.