Category: News in the Field

PDE Releases 2025-26 Special Ed. Compliance Monitoring Schedule (July 3, 2025)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has the responsibility to ensure that all local educational agencies (LEAs) providing services, whether directly or by contractual arrangements, administer special education services and programs that are compliant with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. To fulfill this responsibility, PDE has established administrative procedures for monitoring program implementation, including evaluating the appropriateness, effectiveness, and accountability of special education services and programs. PDE has developed the schedule for compliance monitoring for the 2025-2026 school year in which 120 school districts and charter schools of varying size across the Commonwealth will be monitored. The list of selected LEAs is included at the end of this Bulletin. Additional monitoring reviews, if deemed appropriate, may be designated as the school year progresses. For the 2025-26 school year, the Cyclical Monitoring for Continuous Improvement (CMCI) process includes a combination of virtual and onsite components. Verification activities include digital and onsite reviews of student documents; studies of service delivery; and analysis of policies, procedures, and outcomes. This CMCI process will include:
Virtual Components
-Facilitated Self-Assessment submitted by the LEA, and verification of the information reported in the Facilitated Self-Assessment
-Administrative and Exit Interviews
-Parent and Teacher Interviews

On-Site Components
-Student Sample File Review
-Classroom Observations

Training for this monitoring process is designed as a series of web-based training modules. These modules will be available on the PaTTAN website via Schoology in late July. Relevant LEA personnel must complete the training and report date of completion to the chairperson by , 2025.

These training modules review the current monitoring process; Facilitated Self-Assessment submission; documents to be submitted; managing web-based documentation; and provide additional resources to assist LEA personnel prepare for the monitoring process. District superintendents, charter school chief executive officers, special education directors, and additional appropriate personnel at LEAs who will be monitored benefit from completing these training modules to familiarize themselves with the monitoring process.

PDE thanks you in advance for your cooperation in complying with this federally mandated requirement. PDE recognizes the time and effort required by each LEA to successfully participate in these monitorings. The Chairperson assigned to each monitoring will contact the LEA for follow-up. Should you have any questions regarding the 2025-26 monitoring schedule included below, please contact Kelli Franklin at kfranklin@pa.gov.

Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would Be Devastating Many Pennsylvanians (June 27, 2025)

According to Nicole Stallings, President and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, “Proposed Medicaid cuts will put Pennsylvanians’ access to care in jeopardy, especially in rural areas, making our communities less healthy and economically competitive.” Combined, proposed federal Medicaid and Pennie cuts could jeopardize health coverage for over 570,000 Pennsylvanians, drive up health care costs, and put rural hospitals at risk of closure.

There is a growing fear that, if passed, proposed Medicaid cuts in Congressional Republicans’ budget bill would have devastating impacts on Pennsylvania’s health care system.

“The proposed changes to the Medicaid program would have grave consequences for health care across Pennsylvania, from hospitals to individuals in both urban and rural communities,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “When people do not have health insurance, they are forced to forego preventive care and rely on emergency care. This, in turn, leads not only to worse health outcomes, but also increases uncompensated health care services, increases insurance premiums, and increases health care costs for all Pennsylvanians – on top of contributing to overcrowded emergency rooms.” 

Currently, proposed changes to Medicaid could strip health coverage from more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians, drive up health care costs, and put rural hospitals out of business. 

But the impact of the current federal proposal doesn’t end there. The bill fails to extend enhanced premium tax credits available to Pennsylvanians who purchase health insurance through Pennie, Pennsylvania’s official health insurance marketplace. These tax credits have made coverage more affordable than ever, and if they expire on schedule at the end of this year, it will also risk health insurance for an additional 270,000 Pennsylvanians, adding to the risk to hospitals and an increase in rates of uninsured and/or uncompensated care.

The loss of Medicaid-funded health care services will likely result in:

-Increases in uncompensated care;

-Exacerbation of chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart conditions; and/or

-Delays in seeking care or treatment, leading to worsened conditions, advanced diagnoses, and higher costs over time.

Pennsylvania cannot backfill or absorb these additional costs, as the Medicaid cuts create an unprecedented and unfunded increase in administrative burden that will strain existing operations and divert resources from delivering services to Pennsylvanians. 

Medicaid cuts will also hurt county and local agencies responsible for eligibility and program support. Medicaid provides health coverage for approximately three million Pennsylvanians. During fiscal year 2024-25, the Commonwealth contributed more than $14 billion to the Medicaid program, which is matched by more than $30 billion in federal funds.

PA Sees Boost in Certified Teachers (June 27, 2025)

110 students have begun fast-tracked training this summer to become special education teachers, part of Governor Shapiro’s broader effort to expand and strengthen the state’s teacher pipeline. More highly-qualified teachers are entering Pennsylvania schools with the skills and professional experience they need to help all K-12 learners succeed in the classroom and beyond, which is a key priority of Governor Josh Shapiro’s strategic plan to strengthen the Commonwealth’s pipeline of qualified K-12 educators.

Since the 2021-22 school year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has seen a steady increase in the number of Instructional I certificates issued every year.

As per the PA Department of Education (PDE), this summer a second group of students are set to begin summer coursework to become certified special education teachers in Pennsylvania through PDE’s Accelerated Special Education Teacher Certification Program. Enrolled at 14 colleges and universities throughout the Commonwealth, those 110 students are on track to obtain their teaching certification by December 2026.

Earlier this year, the first cohort of 142 students successfully completed the accelerated program, graduating with specialized skills to support students with disabilities and help them thrive in the classroom and beyond. 

PDE issued a total of 6,612 in-state and out-of-state Instructional 1 certificates in 2023-24. The Act 82 Report compiled and published each year by PDE also showed an increase of 793 newly certified PK-4 educators, 85 more health and physical PK-12 educators, and 762 PK-12 special educators over the past two years.

AED Bill Advances Through PA Senate (June 26, 2025)

This week, the Senate passed legislation to help schools across Pennsylvania prevent tragic deaths from sudden cardiac arrest among student-athletes.

Senate Bill 375 would require schools to have automated external defibrillators (AEDs) available at all PIAA-sanctioned athletic events and practices. It also calls for schools to develop and rehearse emergency response plans for cardiac incidents.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes, and access to an AED can increase survival rates by up to 70%. The vote brings PA one step closer to making AEDs and emergency planning standard, not optional, in our schools.

This bill was initiated to honor the life of Greg Moyer, who tragically passed away from sudden cardiac arrest during a high school basketball game. His story is a heartbreaking reminder of why preparedness matters. Greg’s mother, Rachel Moyer, has long advocated for AED access in schools and offered heartfelt thanks for the bill’s passage, “This bill honors my son Greg, and all the children lost to sudden cardiac arrest. For every parent who has faced this unimaginable loss, this is for you. The beat will go on.”

Senate Bill 375 now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

CTE’s Proposed Move to DOL is Criticized by Advocates (June 25, 2025)

Efforts by the Trump administration to move responsibility for career and technical education (CTE) from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) are being met with resistance from CTE advocates and Democratic lawmakers who claim that it is “fragmented” and “illegal.” The criticism follows last month’s signing of an interagency agreement to “promote innovation and process improvements in pursuit of better employment and earnings outcomes for program participants.” Thus far, the agreement, has been paused due to legal challenges.

The planned transfer of CTE responsibilities out of the USDE is another step towards dismantling that agency. 

The CTE interagency agreement ”lays out a confusing and fragmented division of roles and responsibilities” between DOL’s Employment and Training Administration and the USDE’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, said Advance CTE, an organization of state CTE directors and related professionals, in a June 13 statement.

Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education, a CTE advocacy organization, said in a June 11 joint statement that the agreement would have “far-reaching negative impacts on CTE programs and learners across the country.” That’s because the agreement “directly circumvents existing statutory requirements” under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, the groups said.

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