Category: News

U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Releases New Resources on Protecting Students with Disabilities in K12 and Higher Education (June 20, 2024)

Today, June 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released three new resources with information for students, parents and families, and schools addressing the civil rights of students with sickle cell disease, epilepsy, and cancer. OCR issued these resources during a month that marks both World Sickle Cell Day and National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week.

The resources inform students with disabilities, and their families and schools, about relevant legal rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities by institutions that accept federal financial assistance, which includes almost all public schools and public and private institutions of higher education. These new resources, which are applicable to all levels of education, explain when these medical conditions trigger protections under Section 504, what kind of modifications an educational institution may need to take to avoid unlawful discrimination, and what an institution may need to do to remedy past discrimination.

OCR is also responsible for enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 90% of people with sickle cell disease in the United States are Black; Black Americans are more likely than White and Hispanic Americans to have active epilepsy (e.g., having one or more seizures in the past year and/or taking medication to control it); and, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, Black Americans have higher rates of getting and dying from many kinds of cancer. OCR enforces all the laws in its jurisdiction when they apply to cases OCR investigates.

“These new resources will give all students experiencing sickle cell disease, epilepsy, or cancer, as well as their families and schools, important tools to understand when and how they are protected by federal disability rights laws,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon.

The new resources regarding sickle cell disease, epilepsy, and cancer are available on the OCR website by clicking here.

SY 23-24 Sees Increase in School Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams (June 14, 2024)

As reported by K-12 Dive, according to data recently released by the National Center for Education Statistics during the 2023-24 school year about 85% of schools maintained a behavioral threat assessment team to identify students at potential risk for violent or harmful behavior toward themselves or others, which is up from 82% of schools during the 2022-23 school year. The Midwest reported the lowest level of behavioral threat assessment teams in the 2023-24 school year, at 81%, and schools in the South had the highest at 88%. Of the schools with such teams, 71% had identified students at potential risk to themselves, and 49% had identified students at potential risk to others, according to the survey data collected in April.

Several experts and organizations, including the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), recommend schools have threat assessment teams to help prevent school violence or student self-harm. Nine states required school threat assessment teams as of January 2024, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Experts also recommended several best practices, including having a special education professional on the team and training team members to understand there is no certain profile of a student who can cause harm.

For more from K-12, click here.

Governor Shapiro Hosts Roundtable Discussion on MH with Students and Faculty (June 14, 2024)

On June 11, 2024 Governor Shapiro met with students and counselors at Iroquois Jr./Sr. High School to hear firsthand about their mental health challenges and shared how his 2024-25 budget’s proposed investments would provide $100 million to improve mental health services for students and staff in K-12 schools, and a $20 million increase this year in base county funding for community-based mental health services.

In his first budget, Governor Shapiro made historic investments in our public schools, students, and teachers, and empowered parents to put their children in the best position to succeed by delivering the largest increase in K-12 basic education funding in Pennsylvania history, delivering universal free breakfast for 1.7 million students, and securing $100 million for student mental health.

The Governor’s 2024-25 budget proposal builds on his historic first budget by delivering $1.1 billion in additional basic education funding for public schools, as well as additional funding including:
-$300 million in sustainable funding for environmental repair projects in school buildings.
-Continuing an annual $100 million in mental health funding for K-12 schools to support students and staff.
-A continuing $50 million annual investment in school safety and security improvements.
-A $50 million increase for special education funding to ensure school districts have the basic resources necessary to provide special education services to students with disabilities and special needs.

The Governor’s proposed budget would also increase county funding for community-based mental health services by an additional $20 million this year and calls for additional funds in successive years, reaching an overall increase of $60 million per year increase by 2025-26.

For the 2023-24 school year, the Iroquois School District was awarded a $113,895 Mental Health Award grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to provide school-based mental health and behavioral health supports, including counselors and resources for students. In fact, in Erie County alone, a 2023 Pennsylvania Youth survey showed that 41.5 percent of students reported feeling sad or depressed most days in the past year, a number higher than the Commonwealth’s average.

For more information on mental health services available to all Pennsylvanians, click here.

For more information on the Governor’s proposed budget, visit shapirobudget.pa.gov.   

PACSSA Sends Endorsement of the Pennsylvania School Counseling Services Act to General Assembly (June 10, 2024)

The newly-formed Pennsylvania Coalition of Student Services Associations (PACSSA) will be sending a resolution to members of the PA General Assembly in support of House Bill 1665 and its companion bill Senate Bill 33. The resolution states that, “PACSSA strongly supports legislation aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of school counselors in Pennsylvania.  We understand the critical role that school counseling services play in fostering healthy student development, supportive school environments, addressing student mental health needs, and promoting success for all students within our educational systems.”

It goes on to say, “The Pennsylvania School Counseling Services Act (HB 1665 and SB 33) represents a significant step forward in prioritizing the well-being and success of Pennsylvania’s students.  We urge you to support this critical legislation and join us in advocating for its swift passage and implementation.”

PACSSA and PAPSA urge all educators to support this important proposed legislation since, pupil/student services is critical in ensuring the academic success and overall well-being of all students.

HB 1665 has been in the House Education Committee since April 4, 2024. SB 33 was referred to the Senate Education Committee on June 7, 2024.

To access the resolution, click here.
Access HB 1665 here.
Access SB 33 here.

“Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities” BSE Memo is Sent to LEAs (June 9, 2024)

A recent PennLink memo from PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy titled Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities states that Pennsylvania’s State Performance Plan requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) include collecting and reporting data on the involvement of families in special education programs. Specifically, states must report annually to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the public on State Performance Plan Indicator 8 which is the: “percent of parents with a child receiving special education services who report that schools facilitated parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.”

Like many other states, Pennsylvania is collecting this data through a large-scale survey. Pennsylvania reports results of the survey to OSEP in its State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report. This report is posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) websites. Reporting on local educational agency (LEA) performance is done through the Special Education Data Reports on the PennData website.

To ensure that parents from every LEA in the commonwealth are included in the survey, PDE developed a sampling plan that was approved by OSEP. Under this sampling, each year PDE collects data from a representative sample of parents in approximately one-fifth of the LEAs in the Commonwealth. In addition, not all parents will receive the survey as it is a sample within each LEA. LEAs in this year’s sample will have parents receiving the survey selected from PA Special Education Data using a stratified random sample of school age students in each LEA. Surveys will be mailed directly to the parents from Leader Services in the next few weeks.

The survey being used was developed by the National Center for Special Education Accountability Monitoring under a grant awarded to that center by OSEP. The survey can be viewed at Leader Services-Parent Survey. Additional information about the survey can be found on the PaTTAN website at PA Indicator 8 Information.

A letter that accompanies the survey assures parents that their responses will be confidential. Parents may direct questions about the survey to the Special Education Consult Line at 800-879-2301. Should parents contact LEA personnel about the survey, we ask that LEA staff encourage them to participate in the survey process.

At this point, LEAs do not need to take any specific action. However, if LEAs wish to alert families to watch out for the surveys, it may serve to facilitate and encourage participation.

Questions regarding this PENN*LINK and requests for translation of the survey into any language other than English and Spanish, may be addressed to Barbara Mozina, Special Education Adviser, at [email protected].