*MORE Breaking News for Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers!*
On July 11, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PDE”) published guidance on Act 55.
Act 55 was signed into law on July 8, 2022, permitting Pennsylvania students with disabilities who were enrolled and turned 21 during the 2021-22 school year (or in between the end of the 2021-22 school year and the beginning of the upcoming 2022-23 school year), to continue attend school and receive the services in their IEP during the 2022-23 school year.
Parents who want to take advantage of this important offering need to act fast. Here are some of the key takeaways from the guidance which can be found in full at:
- (1.) A Student Enrollment Notification Form is now available at:
This form must be completed and returned to the school entity that the student will attend for 2022-23 on or before August 1, 2022.
School entities may include a school district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school, charter school, regional charter school, cyber charter school, Approved Private School, and Chartered School for the Deaf and Blind.
We recommend that parents complete the form and send it via e-mail to the school entity with copy to the Local Education Agency (“LEA”) (the student’s school district, charter school, or cyber charter school responsible for the student’s education). Parents should confirm the school entity’s receipt of the form. For example, if a student attends an Approved Private School, the parent should send the form to the school as well as to the LEA who is responsible for the student.
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(2.) According to the guidance, parents or guardians who miss the deadline should contact their child’s school to discuss options for their child based on the school’s established policies and procedures. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the form is timely submitted on or before August 1, 2022, as there is no explicit guarantee if parents miss this deadline.
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(3.) If the student already received a diploma solely by virtue of aging out, the student MAY enroll for the 2022-23 school year.
- (4.) If the student’s most recent IEP included Extended School Year (“ESY”) services, then the student should receive ESY during summer 2023.
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The decision to enroll for 2022-23 is the parent’s/guardian’s and the student’s decision. While IEP team review may be beneficial, the decision to opt-in for the additional year does not require IEP team approval.
Have questions? We offer free initial consultations in our special education cases. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse & Ryan, P.C.
