On September 23, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) unveiled a comprehensive toolkit to develop the information literacy skills of educators, students, and families to help the next generation of Pennsylvanians learn how to discern fact from fiction online.
As children find misinformation online and bring it into the classroom, educators are forced to confront it. According to Governor Shapiro, the first step is giving teachers and parents more tools in their toolbox to help teach kids how to think critically about what they find online. Thus, PDE has developed a toolkit for teachers and parents on digital literacy and critical thinking.
The toolkit, which is available to the public on PDE’s website, is designed to help Pennsylvania’s educators incorporate age-appropriate media literacy into their lesson plans and their conversations with students and offers resources about how to recognize biases, distinguish between credible information and misinformation, and create and share content responsibly. Through a collection of evidence-based resources, the toolkit encourages critical thinking, active participation in society, and contextual understanding of past and current events.
Resources in the toolkit are primarily geared toward educators, but there are also tools to help families and their children navigate the media landscape.
Click here to access the information literacy toolkit.
As schools consider limiting student cellphone and device use at school, disability rights advocates are warning administrators to consider the civil rights of students with disabilities who require assistive technology to access learning. In a statement earlier this month, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, a nonprofit that works to protect the legal rights of students with disabilities, said the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 give students the right to use assistive technology, auxiliary aids, and other accommodations as agreed upon in an IEP or Section 504 plan.
New research published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies has found a correlation between the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) faced by rising kindergartners and the severity of disruptive behaviors, anxiety and depression found in this population. Yet the correlation doesn’t hold for academic and social readiness, with those skills remaining on par with peers who had gone through fewer harmful events.
The correlation between a high number of ACEs and disruptive behaviors, add to previous research about the impact of early childhood trauma. The effects can be both short term for preschoolers and longer term for a child’s K-12 pathways and developmental well-being.
The findings point to a need for greater awareness of mental health issues and suicide prevention support for young children and their families, particularly those in vulnerable populations.
On September 19, 2024, NPR reported that, according to a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Black girls face more discipline and more severe punishments in public schools than girls from other racial backgrounds. The report, shared exclusively with NPR, took nearly a year-and-a-half to complete.
The findings offer a first of its kind snapshot of the disciplinary disparities that Black girls face in public schools across the U.S. — often for similar behaviors.
Over the course of the 85-page report, the GAO found that in K-12 public schools, Black girls had the highest rates of so-called “exclusionary discipline,” such as suspensions and expulsions. According to the report, Black girls accounted for 45% of out-of-school suspensions, 37% of in-school suspensions and 43% of expulsions for actions like “defiance, disrespect, and disruption.” Nationally, Black girls received such exclusionary discipline at rates 3 to 5.2 times those of white girls. The study also found that when they had a disability, discipline rates for Black girls grew even larger.
The GAO report is the first to examine underlying infraction data among discipline disparities and identify what contributes to them. It found that school poverty levels, the percentage of girls facing disabilities, the number of new teachers and the presence of a school resource officer were among the factors tied to increased discipline for girls.
The Restraint Information System Collection (RISC) is open for data entry for the first quarter (restraints occurring between July 1 – October 19, 2024, of the 2024-25 school year).
Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) are required to report RISC data quarterly during the 2024-25 school year. This includes reporting zero restraints during a quarter when restraints did not occur. Additionally, LEAs still are required to comply with 22 Pa. Code § 14.133(f) or 22 Pa. Code § 711.46(f) Positive Behavior Support related to training of personnel in specific procedures, methods, and techniques. However, 22 Pa. Code § 14.133(f) and 22 Pa. Code § 711.46(f) Positive Behavior Support do not require LEAs to acquire specific certification in the use of restraints and leaves this up to the LEAs and their specific training model. The training of personnel should provide varied intervention and strategies needed to address problem behaviors. The types of intervention chosen for a specific student or eligible young child shall be the least intrusive necessary. The use of restraints is considered a measure of last resort, only to be used after other less restrictive measures, including de-escalation techniques.
The Bureau of Special Education (BSE) continues to require LEAs to report the restraints that occurred in each quarter. This reporting process permits LEAs to report restraints in a timely manner which, in turn, allows LEAs to monitor patterns of episodic behaviors and address them accordingly.
The quarterly windows of reporting for the 2024-25 school year are as follows:
Quarter
Begin Date
End Date
Last Day to Report
Zero Window Opens
Zero Window Closes
1
07/01/2024
09/30/2024
10/18/2024
10/01/2024
10/18/2024
2
10/01/2024
12/31/2024
01/15/2025
01/01/2025
01/15/2025
3
01/01/2025
03/31/2025
04/14/2025
04/01/2025
04/14/2025
4
04/01/2025
06/30/2025
07/14/202
07/01/2025
07/14/2025
The RISC reporting design provides an “End Date” for LEAs to comply with their end of quarterly reporting. In addition, there is a two-week window date labeled “Last Day to Report” to allow LEAs to gather and report on those students that attend an out-of-district facility where they were placed in a restraint during that quarter. This two-week period is also a designated time for LEAs that had no restraints during the quarter to report zero in RISC. BSE will continue to send out reminder PDE Bulletins about this quarterly reporting requirement.
BSE will monitor the restraint information reported by LEAs. RISC requires each LEA to report the event that occurred prior to the incident, the incident, the unsafe behavior, and the de-escalation techniques used. The LEA must notify the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the use of a restraint and schedule an Individualized Education
Program (IEP) meeting within 10 school days of the use of the restraint in the educational program, unless the parent(s)/guardian(s), after written notice, agree(s) in writing to waive the IEP meeting. Restraints occurring during Extended School Year sessions should be reported within three weeks of the start of the school year.
In reviewing restraints submitted in RISC of school-age students with IEPs, the Special Education Advisers of BSE will continue to focus on LEA monitoring responsibilities, as well as:
Training of staff in de-escalation techniques;
Excessive time of restraint;
Excessive use of parent/guardian waivers;
Mechanical restraints;
Injuries;
Number of restraints;
10-day window (school days) to convene an IEP meeting after a restraint occurs;
Handcuffing of students, students tased, or students charged with a safe schools offense; and
Excessive law enforcement involved in restraints with staff not involved.
A RISC reporting webinar is posted on theRISC website. The RISC reporting webinar link is located below the login box of the Leader Services RISC sign-in page. This webinar explains the reporting and investigation process and how to use the RISC program. The webinar also shares how to update your LEA’s contact information. All parties involved with RISC are highly encouraged to view this webinar to learn how to report restraints, how to use the system, and to understand the regulatory responsibility of LEAs.
Additionally, BSE has recently updated the RISC Program Guidelines which are available for review on the RISC website.
Questions regarding RISC should be directed to the RISC Resource Account – [email protected].