The Family Resource Group
Fall Happenings
We hope you and your child are continuing to enjoy school. There has been a change in educationaI services from the PA Department of Education. Please see the information below and attend the webinar if it applies to your child. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time. To be sure that you continue to receive all future updates, or information, directly to your email address, sign up on the Family Resource Group mailing list.
Erin Campion
Family Resource Group Editor
Pennsylvania Department of Education Press Release
To: Parent, Guardian, or Student
From: Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education
Re: Change in Age of Eligibility for Free and Appropriate Public Education
Date: August 30, 2023
Enclosed is a copy of a recent notification to your child’s school regarding a Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) policy change that may impact you or your child. Under the new policy, students who are eligible under federal IDEA may access a Free and Appropriate Public Education until their 22nd birthday. This means if a student would have traditionally exited from high school during or after the school term in which they turned 21 years of age, they now may remain in school until their 22nd birthday. This includes students that exited during or after the 2022-2023 school term.
If your child meets this criteria and would like to return to your school district and access educational services until their 22nd birthday, you will need to re-enroll in your resident school district. To re-enroll your student, you should contact the school that the student will attend in the 2023-2024 school term as soon as possible and request re-enrollment. It may be helpful to provide the school with a copy of this letter.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your school district. If you require additional assistance from PDE, please send your request to RA-PDESPECIALED@pa.gov.
Sincerely,
Carole L. Clancy, Ed. D.
Director, Bureau of Special Education
Virtual Webinar: Get Your Questions Answered
PA Dept of Education Extends FAPE to 22nd Birthday.
On SEPTEMBER 28TH 6:00 PM, join Carole L. Clancy, Ed.D. Director of the Bureau of Special Education. Under new PA Department of Education policy, students who receive special education services may access their free, appropriate public education until their 22nd birthday.
The PEAL Center, along with the Arc of PA, HUNE and Mission Empower, will host Bureau of Special Director Carole Clancy to explain more about the new policy. She will answer questions about the new policy and how it may affect your child with disabilities.
We ask that you keep questions general and not share information about your child’s specific situation. PEAL does offer individual assistance and can give individual support separate of the webinar.
If you'd like to submit questions for Dr. Clancy, please submit them to info@pealcenter.org
For more information before the webinar check out the Frequently Asked Questions.
PDE is contacting all student and families who may be eligible to return to school until their 22nd birthdays with this letter. PDE also issued this notice to all LEAs, IUs, and Charter Schools, as well as this guidance.
The New Communication Plan
There is a newly revised Communication Plan that is part of the IEP process for students who are deaf/hard of hearing. The Communication Plan should be completed before the IEP document is started so that the information in the Communication Plan can be used to help guide what is decided in the the IEP for goals, present levels, etc. Families and youth are an important part of giving information for the Communication Plan. If you want more information or have questions about the Communication Plan for your child, feel free to reach out to Erin Campion (ecampion@pattan.net).
There is also an annotated version of the Communication Plan that has hints and descriptions of what should be added or considered with each question. Be sure that it is the first part of your child's IEP meeting and that you are part of the process!
Student-Led IEP Process (SLIEP)
As you and your child have IEP meetings, you may want to consider moving to a student-led IEP process. It can be beneficial for all members of the IEP team: the family, the youth, and the school staff for the student to become more active in the process and work toward beginning to lead parts of the IEP meeting. With a student-led IEP process, your child can use this as an opportunity for to practice skills, build transition abilities, and grow in their self-advocacy. There is a new SLIEP Resource Hub that has tools, videos, ideas of where to start, resources, and connections for family members, the student, and the school. If you would like more information or help to start with the student-led IEP process, feel free to contact sliep@pattanpgh.net.
There are also flyers that can directly take you to:
Family Key Topic: Including Deafblindness in the IEP
Including Deafblindness in the IEP provides information families share with educators and administrators, about practices for identifying, assessing, and educating children who are deafblind.
Creating A Legacy
On October 27 at 12:00 pm, come and listen to Brandon Corlett and Tracy Zihmer answer common questions and provide clarity around special needs planning. RVSP here.
Hearing Loss Expo is back in 2023!
OCTOBER 11-12 | Penn Harris Hotel, Harrisburg, PA
Pennsylvania's Hearing Loss Expo is the place to be! Plan on visiting this one-of-a-kind expo. There is no other place to see technology in action, learn about services and attend informative sessions. Everything is about people who are deaf, DeafBlind or hard of hearing. Stay tuned for more info!
717.783.4912V/TTY
717.831.1928/484.866.9929 VP
PaPBS Network and MTSS Implementers' Forum:
Nov 1-3, 2023
Join in person at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center or virtually to look at steps and supports that can help your child improve academic, behavior, and social-emotional outcomes with this joint conference. There are many things that can help students learn, focus, and participate in the classroom, come hear from experts and network with others.
HELIX: High Expectations for Low Incidence Disabilities
Nov 15-17, 2023 for DHH, BVI, & DB
Join us to celebrate high expectations for students with low incidence disabilities and to support school staff and families who are working hard to make those expectations a reality in our current school environments. This annual statewide conference offers an opportunity to learn and engage with presenters who are recognized in the field, as well as colleagues from across the state, highlighting effective instructional strategies and interventions designed specifically for students with low incidence disabilities.
The 2023 HELIX Conference will be offered in a hybrid format - in person at the Lancaster Convention Center or online through Zoom. Each time slot will offer sessions from our PaTTAN Initiatives of Assistive Technology and AAC, Blind-Visual Impairment, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, Significant Cognitive Disabilities, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Families to the MAX Statewide Parent Network.
The mission of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services.