Category: News

Five State Boards Have Adopted New Policies Making Clear That Conversion Therapy on LGBTQ+ Minors is Harmful and Unprofessional (May 6, 2024)

As of May 2, 2024, five relevant State Boards have taken action to protect Pennsylvania youth, warning that licensees who engage in conversion therapy may be subject to administrative discipline. All five State Boards voted to adopt new policies condemning the discredited, pseudoscientific practice of conversion therapy in the Commonwealth. It was also announced that the state board of Nursing joined the Medicine, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors, Psychology and Osteopathic Medicine who all voted recently to adopt new Statements of Policy (SOP) that oppose the use of conversion therapy on minors in Pennsylvania.

The new policies notify licensees that all five Boards consider the use of conversion therapy to be unprofessional, harmful conduct that may subject any licensee engaging in it to administrative discipline.

Sometimes referred to as reparative therapy, sexuality counseling, or sexual orientation/gender identity change efforts, conversion therapy refers to any practice that seeks or purports to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Trevor Project – a national organization devoted to ending suicide among LGBTQ+ young people – along with the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the Pennsylvania Psychology Association told State Boards earlier this year that conversion therapy on minors remains an issue in the Commonwealth despite an August 2022 Executive Order from former Governor Tom Wolf protecting Pennsylvanians from the invalidated practice.

Among the numerous national and global health associations that strongly oppose conversion therapy due to its lack of scientific evidence and its heightened risk of causing harm to minors are the following:
American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists
American College of Physicians
American Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychological Association
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
National Association of Social Workers
Pan American Health Organization
World Medical Association
World Psychiatric Association

The new SOPs will be effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

Anyone can file a complaint against a licensed professional engaging in unprofessional or harmful conduct like conversion therapy via the Department of State website.

Shapiro Administration Recognizes Trauma And Mental Health Awareness Month (May 6, 2024)

The Shapiro Administration is encouraging Pennsylvanians to focus on their mental health as leaders from multiple agencies marked May as Trauma and Mental Health Awareness Month. Pennsylvania is focused on expanding access to trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches so we can better respond to the needs of Commonwealth residents who have had adverse childhood or other serious, traumatic experiences to prevent and heal trauma.

In the 2023-24 budget, Governor Josh Shapiro secured $100 million for student mental health services and $20 million for county mental health support. The 2024-25 budget proposal matches those investments and takes it a step further by investing:
-$100 million in mental health funding for K-12 schools, building upon one-time federal funds and ensuring schools have the continued resources to provide mental health services to students and staff; 
-Increasing funding for community-based mental health services by an additional $20 million this year and calling for additional funds in successive years, reaching an overall increase of $60 million per year by 2025-26;  
-$10 million for 988 crisis hotline operations to enhance Pennsylvania’s crisis intervention services, and 
-$5 million for establishing and maintaining walk-in mental health crisis stabilization centers.

Prolonged exposure to adversity, stress, and trauma – particularly in early childhood – can cause lasting harm and contribute to some of the most pressing social and health challenges. 

HEAL PA, the Commonwealth’s statewide trauma coalition works as a multisectoral and multidisciplinary vehicle for trauma prevention and intervention in Pennsylvania. Together with partners from DHS’ Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), the PA Behavioral Health Council, and PDE’s Office of Safe Schools, a series of events were organized and made available to the public at no cost. Activities included guided Yoga on the steps of the Capitol building by Y6 Yoga of Collegeville and Exton PA and an art exhibit entitled I’m Fine, initiated by co-curators Carrie Breschi and Maureen Joyce, that displayed images of ceramic masks made by residents throughout the Commonwealth to represent how we often minimize our mental health struggles. 

Additionally, as part of the #WeHealUS campaign, Pennsylvania is coming together with every state in the U.S. for a unified, consistent, and impactful movement around trauma-informed services and mental health intervention.

For more information about HEAL PA, visit www.healpa.org.

PAPSA Award Winners Announced at 45th Annual Conference (May 6, 2024)

On April 11, 2024, PAPSA named two recipients of this year’s PAPSA Distinguished Service Awards. They are:

Tom Burnheimer (right) receives the PAPSA Distinguished Service Award from Dr. Frank M. Bruno.

Tom Burnheimer is a retired pupil services administrator for the West Shore School District. He is a former PAPSA president, who is one of the most respected professionals in our field. He is York County Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in foster or residential care and served on the county Child & Adolescent Service System (CASSP) Advisory Board as Urban school representative to the PASA Advisory Committee. While at West Shore, in partnership with community-based organizations, the WSSD became the first district in the area to provide mental health screenings using a web-based assessment tool. In conjunction with that initiative, West Shore was one of the first in south-central PA to offer school based mental health services to students tapping into private insurance, medical assistance and local funds to pay for them. He is currently doing consultant work in the field.

Dr. Adam Oldham receives the PAPSA Distinguished Service Award from PAPSA President Matt Ammons (left) and Executive Director Dr. Douglas Arnold (right).

Dr. Adam Oldham is a dynamo in the field of pupil services and the founder of the PA Coalition of Student Services Associations (PACSSA). He was the 2017 Pennsylvania SADD Advisor of the Year and is five-time nominee for the PA School Counselor of the Year Award. He has served on the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association (PSCA) Board of Directors from 2016-2024 and has led PSCA Government Relations since 2020.  He also serves as the President of the School Counselor Section of the Pennsylvania State Educators Association (PSEA) Department of Pupil Services. He is currently a school counselor in the Big Spring School District and a member of PAPSA.

PACSSA Delivers Resolution to PA General Assembly (May 5, 2024)

On May 1, 2024, on behalf of the PA Coalition of Student Services Associations (PACSSA), Dr. Adam Oldham delivered the following resolution to the PA General Assembly:

RESOLUTION of the PENNSYLVANIA COALITION of STUDENT SERVICES ASSOCIATIONS
Whereas Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, on February 7, 2023, found that our current system
for funding public schools is unconstitutional, failing to fulfill the Pennsylvania constitution’s
promise of a “thorough and efficient system of public education” — responding to a lawsuit
filed by six school districts, the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference, the Pennsylvania
Association of Rural and Small Schools, and parents; and
Whereas the court found that education is a “fundamental right;” and
Whereas the court found that school districts “which struggle to raise enough revenue through local
taxes to cover the needs of their students lack the inputs that are essential elements of a
thorough and efficient system of public education – adequate funding; courses, curricula, and
other programs that prepare students to be college and career ready; sufficient, qualified, and
effective staff; safe and adequate facilities; and modern, quality instrumentalities of learning;”
and
Whereas the court found “that money does matter, and economically-disadvantaged students and
historically underperforming students can overcome challenges if they have access to the right
resources that wealthier districts are financially able to provide;” and
Whereas the Basic Education Funding Commission, a panel of legislators and executive branch
designees, found that Pennsylvania school districts are collectively underfunded by $5.4 billion
and proposed that the state should provide $5.1 billion to close this gap in seven years, plus
an additional $956 million tax equity supplement over seven years for communities that have
faced the steepest local tax burdens; and
Whereas Governor Shapiro’s 2024-25 budget endorses the work of the commission and fulfills the
first year of the commission’s seven-year plan with a $1.1 billion increase in basic education
funding, with most of this funding targeted to public schools that have been shortchanged by
the current unconstitutional system in the small towns, suburbs, and cities where students
have been the most deeply underfunded; and
Whereas the Governor’s budget stands up for our students by putting forward the first step of a
transformative plan for the state to deliver on its responsibility to fully fund public schools in
Pennsylvania based on what children need to succeed, so that students all students,
regardless of zip code and community wealth, have meaningful opportunities; and
Whereas the court directed the General Assembly and the Governor to enact a plan to address the
constitutional deficiencies identified in its opinion, which would include all seven years of
funding called for by the Basic Education Funding Commission; and
Whereas all school districts will materially benefit from the Governor’s proposal and adoption of a
plan to provide for it to continue for seven years until the funding deficiencies identified by the
commission are overcome; and
Whereas every community should have enough funding to serve their students, regardless of wealth;
and
Whereas underfunding is a statewide problem in Pennsylvania public schools, and only statewide
action can reduce the deep disparities in educational resources that define our school funding
system; and
Whereas the use of year-to-year grants have been used to support student mental health, which in
the place of stable and predictable funding have encouraged the hiring of contracted staff and
services instead of school-employed, certified student services professionals, and
Whereas the time is now to take action, for our children and for Pennsylvania’s future; therefore be it
Resolved, that the PENNSYLVANIA COALITION of STUDENT SERVICES ASSOCIATIONS
(PACSSA) urges the General Assembly to adopt Governor Shapiro’s historic state budget
proposal and to pass legislation making the necessary multi-year commitment to address
Pennsylvania’s entire constitutional and moral obligation to fully and fairly fund public schools;
and
Further resolved, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the governor’s office, to the
Secretary of Education, and to Speaker Joanna McClinton, House Majority Leader Matthew
Bradford, and House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, as well as all members of the House of
Representatives, and to Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, Senate Majority Leader
Joe Pittman, and Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, as well as all members of the Senate.

To access the official resolution on the PAPSA website, click here.

PAPSA is a charter member of PACSSA.

BSE: SEDR Preview Open to LEAs through May 10th (May 4, 2024)

On May 3, 2024, Carole L. Clancy, Director of the PDE Bureau of Special Education, sent a PennLink message to all LEAs titled Local Educational Agency Special Education Data Reports Online Preview. The message states that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires states to report annually to the public on the performance of each Local Educational Agency (LEA) in the state on the targets established in the State Performance Plan. Annually, states are required to report LEA performance on the following State Performance Plan school-age indicators for students with disabilities: Graduation Rates; Dropout Rates; Participation and Performance on Statewide Assessments; Suspension Rates; Educational Environments; School-Facilitated Parent Involvement; Disproportionate Representation by Race/Ethnicity Receiving Special Education; Disproportionate Representation by Race/Ethnicity in Specific Disability Categories; Timelines for Initial Evaluation; Individualized Education Program Secondary Transition Goals and Services; and Post-School Outcomes.

To fulfill the State Performance Plan public reporting requirement for the 2022-23 school year, each LEA will have an online Special Education Data Report (SEDR) that shows local performance on the above indicators. In some instances, an LEA’s report will not have data for every indicator (e.g., the data comes from cyclical monitoring and the LEA was not monitored in 2022-23 or the data set is too small to be reliable) and a reason code will be on the report.

Prior to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) publishing these reports publicly, LEAs will have an opportunity to preview the website and their reports. The preview period will begin May 3, 2024 and end on May 10, 2024. To review your State Performance Plan SEDR, visit Preview of LEA SEDR and select your LEA from the drop-down list. The accompanying narrative explains how data are obtained and how to interpret the reports and can be found at PennData > Public Reporting > State Performance Plan Narrative (psu.edu).

If your LEA has questions or concerns about the data displayed, first consult your Intermediate Unit Data Manager to ensure that the data submitted to the state matches what your LEA provided. If questions remain following these internal reviews and verifications, contact Jodi Rissinger, Data Manager with PDE, via email at

[email protected] or Dan Ficca at [email protected]. When the SEDR Reports go live on the public site, they can be accessed by visiting the Special Education Data Reporting (formerly PennData) website at SEDR Report Dashboard (psu.edu) and selecting your LEA from the drop-down list. The most current State Performance Plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education is available for reference on the PDE website at www.education.pa.gov and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network website at www.pattan.net.