Category: News

Shapiro Administration Announces New Grant Funding To Help Paraeducators Earn Special Ed. Teaching Credentials, Put More Special Ed. Teachers In Classrooms (June 15, 2023)

On June 15, 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. Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin.

viewed it 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.

DHS Highlights Research Examining And Combating Stigma For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities, Autism (June 15, 2023)

On June 13, 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) released the latest issue of the Positive Approaches Journal which aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to help them live an everyday life. This edition focuses on examining the stigma that persists around mental health and disabilities, and highlighting methods to combat and correct it. It features research and articles on the following:

  • Data Discoveries: Data discoveries in this edition break down the perceptions and stigma of individuals who disclose their autism diagnosis in their workplace.
  • The Importance of Peer Support and Stigma Awareness: My Journey in Mental and Physical Health: This article details the real-life experience of a father whose daughter experienced instances of mental health stigma but was helped by peer supports.
  • Life Through My Lens: An Exploration of Self-Stigma: This article discusses the importance of addressing mental health stigma within oneself in order to address stigma in the world. The Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association has developed a class to help people in reducing self-stigma and understanding what it means to feel good about themselves.
  • Overcoming Stigma Through Education and Capacity Building in Communities: This article talks about the role that social stigma plays in the lives of those with disabilities and offers a case study in how to build collaborative supports within communities to ensure that people with disabilities can lead everyday lives.
  • Mental Health Stigma Across Ethnic Minority Identities: This article addresses different mental health stigmas surrounding ethnic and racial identity, and how it can impact mental health care.
  • Lessons from the Community: The Critical Importance of Lived Experience When Designing Trauma Recovery Programs: This article reviews the importance of community engagement when designing clinical interventions and supports. This research highlights the need for enhanced trauma recovery and resilience building for the neurodivergent community following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The journal is a collaboration of DHS’ Office of Developmental Programs and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and collects resources, observations, and advancements in mental and behavioral health in order to better serve the people of Pennsylvania.

Read this edition of the Positive Approaches Journal.

For more information visit www.dhs.pa.gov.

Homeland Security Provides Toolkit for Schools to Improve Bystander Reporting and Increase Safety (June 13, 2023)

In May 2023, the U.S. Department’s Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) published a toolkit with strategies to help schools. Titled Improving School Safety Bystander Reporting: A Toolkit for Strengthening K-12 Reporting Programs, the toolkit aims to provide schools with actionable, practical, and cost-efficient steps toward preventing harm or acts of violence and focuses on five strategies for schools to employ. They are:
1. Encourage bystanders to report concerns for the wellness and safety of themselves or others.
2. Make reporting accessible and safe for the reporting community.
3. Follow-up on reports and be transparent about the actions taken in response to reported concerns.
4. Make reporting a part of daily school life.
5. Create a positive climate where reporting valued and respected.

According to the toolkit, the willingness of bystanders to come forward with concerns for the wellness and safety of themselves or others is a key component of student health and violence prevention efforts in kindergarten through 12th grade (K12) schools. The CISA-USSS K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit is designed to help community leaders create tailored, customized approaches to encourage reporting that meet the needs of their unique communities.

To access the toolkit, click here.

USDE and DOJ Joint DCL: Discrimination in School Discipline Still a ‘Significant Concern’ (June 13, 2023)

On Friday, June 9, 2023, the US Departments of Education (USDE) and Justice (DOJ) released a joint Dear Colleague Letter titled Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline. The DCL directed the country’s schools to make sure that their discipline policies and practices do not discriminate against students “based on race, color or national origin.”

According to the DCL, discrimination in schools based on race, color, and national origin in student discipline was, and continues to be, a significant concern, and is in violation of Title VI.

The departments also warned that they will “vigorously enforce Federal laws to eliminate unlawful discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in student discipline.”

To view the joint DCL, click here.

BSE Reminds LEAs of Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities (June 12, 2023)

On June 12, 2023 PDE Bureau of Special Education (BSE) Director Carole L. Clancy, Director Disseminated a PENN*LINK titled Survey of Parents of Students with Disabilities. The memo 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 (USDE) 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.  The LEAs in this year’s sample are listed below. Parents receiving the survey were 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, staff should encourage them to participate in the survey process.

At this point, LEAs do not need to take any specific action. However, if an LEA wishes to alert families to watch out for the surveys, this may serve to facilitate and encourage participation. Questions regarding the PENN*LINK may be addressed to Barbara Mozina, Special Education Adviser, at [email protected].