Category: News in the Field

White House Restricts Ed-related Programs for Some Immigrants (July 11, 2025)

On July 10, 2025, the Trump administration scaled back access to a number of federal programs based on immigration status. Those programs include education-related programs such as Head Start, tuition for dual enrollment, adult education, and career and technical education training (CTE) programs.

The move is a result of Trump’s February executive order titled Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders, which called on agencies to “defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and protect benefits for American citizens in need,” including by preventing “taxpayer resources from acting as a magnet and fueling illegal immigration to the United States” and ensuring that “no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.” It also ordered agencies to identify all federally funded programs they oversee that allow “illegal aliens to obtain any cash or non-cash public benefit.” 

Source: K-12 Dive

PA State Board of Ed. Holds 386th Meeting (July 9, 2025)

On July 9, 2025 the PA State Board of Education held its 386th meeting. Highlights of the meeting included a number of reports. The in-person meeting was conducted by Dr. Pedro Rivera due to the physical absence of Chairperson Karen Farmer White.

Ms. Sandra Dungee Glenn provided a report on the Teacher and School Leader Effectiveness Committee, which held a meeting earlier in the day. The committee reviewed PDE Form 430 with discussion focused on the evaluation of teachers. It appears that the form has been well-received in the field. The committee also continued to review assessments to evaluate teachers for certification with a focus on how to better align assessments with effective classroom practices. The committee also looked at removing barriers to gaining certification without lowering standards in order to attract and retain instructional staff.

PA Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe reported on the Education Stabilization Funds lawsuit and that the $200M in funds sought are being doled out to LEAs and that PDE will seek reimbursement from USDE. She also reported that PDE has now received notice of a delay in receiving $230M in funding for Title I-C (migrant ed.), Title II-A (professional development), Title III-A (English language learners), Title IV-A (student support and enrichment programs), and Title IV-B (21st Century Community Learning Centers). These funds were already appropriated and should have been received from USDE. The withholding will affect summer programs.

Dr. Rowe also reported that PDE has re-launched the Teach in PA recruiting website and it is more user friendly. She also said that the Accelerated Special Ed. Teacher Program’s newly formed second cohort has 110 new students and that the first two cohorts will have over 250 in the program in total. She also reported that an apprenticeship program developed with the PA Department of Labor and Industry has $7.76M invested in these opportunities. Dr. Rowe also said that over 622,000 adults in PA are without high school diplomas and HiSET tests can now be available for free with the use of promo codes.

Deputy Secretary Amy Lena reported that the Health & Phys. Ed. and Fine Arts standards committees met together today and the meeting was very productive. She also reported that a new app is now available for administrators to easily submit hours earned in a doctoral program for Act 45 credits as part of a move to reduce or remove barriers for gaining credit for such higher ed. programming.

Deputy Secretary Dr. Lynette Kuhn reported that over 54% of the most recent high school class completed the FAFSA, which is an increase of over 10,000 students. She also reported on the Empower U program that addresses basic needs for PA postsecondary students and the PA Cares suicide prevention program.

Dr. Kuhn also said that Act 69 is making it easier for students who earn credits for an associate degree to transfer those credits into a baccalaureate degree program. In addition, she reported on the increased flexibility for teachers with general science certification to teach general and first level biology, physics, and chemistry courses.

Reports concluded with the new executive director of the Professional and Standards and Practices Commission Amber Czerniakowski providing the commission’s 2024 Annual Report as required by law. She reported that 131 public disciplinary actions were taken, which is over a dozen less than the previous year. Of those cases, 22 were for sexual misconduct or inappropriate relationships, including moral turpitude.

The only action item was the approval of the board’s meeting schedule for 2026.

Med Groups Sue RFK Jr. Over Vaccine Schedule Changes for Healthy Kids (July 9, 2025)

On July 7, 2025, six medical groups and a pregnant physician sued Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his principal deputies over changes made to federal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.

Filed Monday, the lawsuit argues that Kennedy’s directive, which removed guidelines recommending COVID vaccination for pregnant people and healthy children, is unlawful and “a pressing public health emergency that demands immediate legal action and correction.”

“The Directive is but one example of the Secretary’s agenda to dismantle the longstanding, Congressionally-authorized, science- and evidence-based vaccine infrastructure that has prevented the deaths of untold millions of Americans,” the suit states.

Plaintiffs include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and several other groups.

For more from K-12 Dive click here.

New Eligibility Guidelines for Free and Reduced School Meals Announced for the 2025-26 School Year, Helping More Students Succeed by Ensuring They Receive Nutritious Meals at School (July 8, 2025)

On July 8, 2025 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 2025 to June 2026.

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.

The Shapiro Administration has made it a top priority to ensure Pennsylvania students can start the day with a full stomach, ready to learn. In his 2025-26 budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro included funding for universal free breakfast in schools across the Commonwealth for the third year in a row, helping to ensure Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million students continue to receive free breakfast at school, regardless of income. As a result of universal free breakfast, more students are able to start the day with a nutritious, filling breakfast in the morning to kickstart their day and get their minds ready to learn. In 2024, more than 90 million breakfast meals were served in schools – that’s nearly 10 million more meals than were served the previous school year.

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

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To view the annual income eligibility guidelines that are effective July 1, 2025, click here.

USDE Withholds $6.2B from Schools (July 7, 2025)

As a result of $6.2 billion in federal K-12 grant money that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is withholding from states and school districts, it is likely that they will be forced to cancel after-school programming, services for English learners and professional development.

The funding that has already been appropriated by Congress and that was supposed to be available to states and school districts on July 1st are:
-Title II-A for professional development: $2.2 billion.
-Title IV-A for student support and academic enrichment: $1.4 billion.
-Title IV-B for 21st Century Community Learning Centers:  $1.3 billion.
-Title III-A for English-learner services:  $890 million.
-Title I-C for migrant education: $375 million.

Although it presently appears that federal funding for Title I to support students from low-income communities and for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for students with disabilities is being distributed, the USDE notified states on June 30th that decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year. The USDE usually allows state education agencies to draw down their funds by July 1st so states and school districts can plan their spending for the upcoming school year.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.