Category: News

OSEP Releases a DCL and Revised Guidance on SpEd Noncompliance (July 26, 2023)

On July 24, 2023 Valerie Williams, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) disseminated  updated policy guidance and a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) which are aimed at helping states with timely identification and correction of a school district’s noncompliance with early intervention services for infants and toddlers and K-12 special education services. The policy guidance document, titled Guidance on State General Supervision Responsibilities under Parts B and C of the IDEA, is intended to help protect the rights of children with disabilities and their families under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and to facilitate consistent implementation of IDEA among states. In essence, this general supervision guidance document will address requirements related to:
• State general supervision responsibilities;
• Identification and correction of noncompliance;
• The IDEA State performance plan and annual performance report;
• State annual determinations; and
• State enforcement through determinations and other methods

Click to access the updated policy guidance.

Click to access the Dear Colleague Letter.

USDE Strengthens Guidance to Improve Equal Educational Opportunity for Children with Disabilities (July 24, 2023)

On July 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released updated policy guidance, which takes immediate effect, to ensure and strengthen the rights and protections guaranteed to children with disabilities and their families under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

To View the updated policy guidance from OSEP, click here.

Applications for New Grant Funding to Help Paraeducators Earn Special Ed. Teaching Credentials, Put More Special Ed. Teachers in Classrooms Due August 11th (July 22, 2023)

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that $1.5 million in grant funding is available to establish or expand opportunities for practicing paraeducators in Pennsylvania schools to become special education teachers at no cost while actively learning and working in their school. PA Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin sees the grants as a way to “create a robust pipeline of high-quality educators is by allowing paraprofessionals to earn credentials while they’re already working in the classroom [and can] transition seamlessly from paraprofessional to educator.”

The grants will create new special education career pathways for paraeducators; increase the number of practicing paraeducators earning certifications, and/or postsecondary credits/degrees; and increase the number of practicing paraeducators pursuing PK-12 special education teacher certification through enrollment in a PDE-approved special education PK-12 certification program.

Intermediate units (IU) that partner with at least one community college located in Pennsylvania and at least one local education agency (school district, approved private school, career technical education center, charter school, cyber charter school, or chartered school for the deaf or blind) may apply for the grant.

IU grant recipients must design and deliver a program to ensure paraeducators within their IU region can participate in networking with other paraeducators, receive academic support, attend courses at no cost, and obtain advanced Credentials of Competency for Special Education Paraeducators in Pennsylvania and/or associate of arts degrees. They must also partner with at least one community college to design and deliver a program to ensure completion of all required program competencies within a two-year period, provide instruction through a combination of in-person and virtual options to meet the needs of paraeducators working full-time, and establish or expand credit for completion of program competencies fulfilled on-the-job. Finally, grant recipients must partner with one or more schools in the IU region to provide paraeducators with mentoring by experienced special educators during the school year and provide scheduling flexibility to allow time for coursework during the school day. 

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM on Friday, August 11, 2023. Applicants may request up to $50,000, and funding for each successful grant application will be available until December 2025.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please visit PDE’s website.

As Budget Impasse Continues, PA Office of the Budget Provides Q&A Document (July 22, 2023)

What is a budget impasse? Answer: By June 30 of each year, the Commonwealth must approve a budget that sets funding levels for the following fiscal year (FY), which begins on July 1. If a budget has not been approved, the Commonwealth is prohibited from making many payments. This period, known as a budget impasse, continues until a budget is approved.

As the budget impasse in Harrisburg due to a disagreement over private school vouchers continuies, it appears that there is no relief in sight until the General Assembly returns in September. So, in response to these circumstances, the PA Office of the Budget is providing a Q&A document to help Pennsylvanians better understand what entails when there is an impasse.

To get answers to questions regarding the impasse, go to: https://www.governor.pa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Public-Info-Budget-Impasse-QA-FYE-6-30-24.pdf

New Eligibility Guidelines For Free And Reduced School Meals Announced for SY 23-24 (July 15, 2023)

On June 28, 2023, the PA Department of Education (PDE) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released federal income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals and free milk for July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. 

Schools, and other institutions and facilities, use the guidelines to determine eligibility for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program, the Special Milk Program for Children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program. 

“Free and reduced-price meals ensure at-risk students have access to nutritious food, enabling them to focus in the classroom and learn, grow, and achieve,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “We know that food insecurity impacts communities across the Commonwealth and beyond, and the Department of Education encourages all eligible households to apply for this benefit.”

To apply, households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) need only include the SNAP or TANF case number on their application. Households enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or Medicaid may qualify for free or reduced-price school meals based on income and should complete a Household Meal Benefit Application. Other households can find more information on the commonwealth’s COMPASS website.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and 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, 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]

Annual income eligibility guidelines that became effective July 1, 2023 are in effect until further notice and can be accessed by clicking here.