Category: News

PDE and DHS Announce 2025 School-Based ACCESS Program Stakeholder Sessions (March 1, 2025)

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) are announcing the schedule for School-Based ACCESS Program (SBAP) stakeholder sessions. PA received a grant from the federal government to support expansion of school-based health services beyond those contained in an IEP. To develop the best program and plan for expansion, PDE and DHS need as much stakeholder input as possible.

DHS and PDE want to hear from you and will be holding in-person stakeholder sessions across seven different locations and dates. Attendance at these events is limited to 50 individuals per site to ensure that voices are heard and input is captured. Attendees will participate in small group discussions to respond to questions about the provision of health-related services in the school setting and to share the needs Local Education Agencies (LEAs) experience in providing these services.

Interested parties may register to attend the sessions based on their location and availability. Registration is required (instructions below) and is limited, so register soon!

Registration is available for each live session online via the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) at https://www.pattan.net/events/inservices-workshops/course-3454/events/session-40778.

Please contact Sharon Kennedy at  [email protected] with any registration questions.

For content questions, please contact DHS at [email protected].

USDE Cancels NAEP (February 28, 2025)

Since the 1970s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has monitored student performance in reading and math for students ages nine, 13 and 17. These assessments, known as The Nation’s Report Card, measure students’ educational progress over long periods to identify and monitor trends in academic performance. However, the NAEP, which was scheduled to be given this March through May, has been cancelled by the U.S. Department of Education USDE .

With the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) cancellation of the NAEP for 17-year-olds, education researchers are losing one resource for evaluating post-high school readiness, although some say the test was already a missed opportunity since it hadn’t been administered since 2012 due to the pandemic.

The USDE cited funding issues in its cancellation of the exam.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

USDE Launches EndDEI.Ed.Gov Portal for Reporting Discrimination (February 28, 2025)

On February 27, 2025 the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) opened an online submission tool to collect reports of discrimination based on race or sex in public K-12 schools. EndDEI.Ed.Gov is a public portal for parents, students, teachers and the general public to alert the agency of ”illegal discriminatory practices.” According to a statement on the portal’s website, the USDE “is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination.” and people can provide an email address, the name of a school or school district, and details about concerning practices.

The information collection tool is part of the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate practices for diversity, equity and inclusion.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Gov. Shapiro Seeks Sponsors for Summer Meals Program to Help Ensure Year-Round Access to Nutritious Food for Children (February 27, 2025)

The Shapiro Administration is encouraging organizations across the Commonwealth to help provide nutritious meals to children in low-income areas during the summer months through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) Summer Food Service Program. New sponsors must apply by May 1, 2025.

The Shapiro Administration is committed to ensuring that all children and students have access to healthy meals all year long. That’s why Governor Josh Shapiro delivered free breakfast for Pennsylvania’s 1.7 million students in his first year. The 2024-25 bipartisan budget builds on that progress with a $16.7 million increase to continue the universal free breakfast program, making sure students have access to healthy meals to start their day on the right foot, and making sure no kid goes hungry during the summer by supporting the Summer Food Service Program.

Last summer, more than 200 organizations provided nutritious meals to children at about 1,650 locations throughout Pennsylvania. They served nearly 3.8 million meals – a 12 percent increase compared to summer 2023. To highlight the positive impact of these programs, PDE produced this video with testimonials from four of last year’s sponsors in both rural and urban settings.

To reach more children and narrow the hunger gap that summer may bring, more organizations and meal sites are needed throughout the state, especially in rural areas.

“Providing children with access to healthy meals year-round is a priority for the Shapiro Administration. The Summer Food Service Program is essential in ensuring that no child goes hungry during the summer months,” said Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe. “I urge organizations across Pennsylvania to step up and sponsor meal sites, so we can continue to support our communities and give every child the opportunity to grow and succeed.”

Participating organizations are reimbursed for meals served to children who live in areas in which at least 50 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program. 

Participating organizations must be year-round, not-for-profit entities, which include schools, local, municipal or county governments, libraries, churches, fire and police stations, residential summer camps, and national youth sports programs. Organizations approved to sponsor the Summer Food Service Program are responsible for managing the meal service sites that provide the meals to children. Organizations serving rural areas may be approved to provide non-congregate meals, such as grab-and-go meals or delivered meals, to children in qualifying areas.

Most participating organizations may be reimbursed for up to two meals a day: lunch or dinner, and breakfast or a snack. Those serving primarily migrant children may be reimbursed for up to three meals a day. Camps may serve up to three meals a day, but they are reimbursed only for meals served to children eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program.

The Summer Food Service Program, which began in 1976, is a federally funded child nutrition program designed to reach those who are age 18 or younger in economically disadvantaged areas. People over 18 who are mentally or physically handicapped and participate in public or nonprofit private programs established for individuals with disabilities are also able to receive free meals at the Summer Food Service Program sites.

For more information on becoming a participating organization or a meal site for the Summer Food Service Program, visit PDE’s website, call 800.331.0129, or email [email protected].

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

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 file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or email: [email protected]

View the press release by clicking here.

$600M in USDE Cuts Target Teacher Training Grants (February 26, 2025)

A February 17, 2025 U.S. Department of Education (USDE) $600 million cut in “divisive” teacher training grants will do great harm to partnerships that support the teacher pipeline. Despite teacher shortages across the country, the cost-cutting measures led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will significantly hamper efforts to staff schools. Two of the most common federal grant programs impacted so far are the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant, targeting funds to institutions and nonprofits that were using training materials on topics such as critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion. The department added that “many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race.”

DOGE has reported this week that the USDE is leading among other federal agencies for the most savings in total funding cuts.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.