Former PA Secretary of Education Dr. Pedro Rivera re-joined the State Board of Education, assuming the position of Chair of the Council of Higher Education. He was warmly welcomed by State Board Chair Karen Farmer White and those in attendance.

At its meeting, the Council of Basic Education discussed and approved the final omitted technical amendments and correction of any typos to Chapters #11 (Student Attendance) and 12 (Students and Student Services) of PA Code Title 22 C.S.A. – Education, recommending its passage to the State Board for approval. The State Board thus approved those omits during its subsequent meeting.

The Council of Basic Ed. also announced that, as is required, Chapter 4 standards will be advertised in the PA Bulletin on July 16th for review.

Acting PA Ed. Sec. Eric Hagarty expressed his sincere thanks to Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly regarding the passage of a budget with historical increases in education including, but not limited to, a $525M increased in basic education funding through the fair funding formula; a $100M increase in Special Ed.; a $100M increase in school safety; and a $100M increase in student mental health.

PDE Executive Deputy Sec. Dr. David Volkman announced that the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan is on track to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in September 2022. The State Board was also informed that previous ESSA pandemic-related waivers regarding accountability are no longer in place for 2021-22 school year reporting.

The State Board also approved its 2023 calendar, which will be posted on the PDE website.