PA Transition Tidbits

PA Legislators Set Precedence for Inclusion of Disabled People’s History, Culture & Contributions in the Curriculum

PENNSYLVANIA, July 8, 2022

"Disabled people across the state of Pennsylvania are celebrating a historic piece of legislation that will bring disabled people's history, contributions, experience and culture into the K-12 Curriculum.

The Disability Inclusive Curriculum was included in the education code and was overwhelmingly passed by the House and Senate on Friday and is on the Governor's desk for signing.

The legislation sets up a 3 year pilot in schools to test out the curriculum followed by a statewide rollout once approved by the state and disabled people. It promises that the curriculum will be created by organizations at least 50% controlled by disabled people.

Pennsylvania will be the first state to introduce disability into the curriculum in this comprehensive way.

Alan Holdsworth, Director of Disability Equality in Education (DEE) could only dream of this day when in 2017 he began the work of advocating for the creation of curriculum that would be inclusive of disability. He says, “This is landmark legislation and DEE cannot wait to work with the Department of Education in creating and testing a disability led curriculum.” Disability Equality in Education stands ready with their web site of lessons and other resources which were vetted by disabled people that teachers are freely accessing.

Lisa Aquilla said ”I want to thank my State Representative Joe Hohenstein and his colleague Representative Jason Ortitay for their wonderful support. I was only a pebble in the water and I made a ripple to start the process but it's collectively that we will make a wave. Thank you for recognizing and valuing the voices of our Community and Coalition as the important key that turns this tide.”

Not only were we so pleased that the Disability Inclusive Curriculum Legislation was included in the Education Code last week, the fact that the Department of Education is committed to selecting curriculum that has been "offered by organizations with 50% or greater disabled leadership" speaks volumes.

The fact that the House Education Committee, Congress and the Department of Education recognize the importance of this work being developed with people with disabilities as partners is what the mantra "Nothing About Us Without Us" centers on.

Kathy Brill from PA TASH, a key member of the Coalition on Disability Inclusive Curriculum (CODIC), said ”it takes a village to do this. We built up a strong statewide coalition to get the word out about this legislation and we did it. We won! All children learning about disability will create a more tolerant and equitable society”.

Sharon Pennock, one of the organizers of CODIC, said “This is such an exciting day! Disabled people will no longer be invisible in children's education. Thank you to all who made this possible.”

Nikhil Kishore, a rising Junior in High School and member of the coalition who co-authored an article earlier this year about the importance of the missing component from his experience as a disabled student, a disability inclusive curriculum, said, 'To me the passage of this legislation means that more children will be exposed to the subject of disabilities and this will help build for a better world in which all are equal regardless of their identity.'"

To view the complete wording of the legislation: Disability Inclusive Curriculum Legislation as passed in House Bill 1642

Contact Information:

Alan Holdsworth, 267-608-0913, adaptdan@gmail.com

Sharon Pennock, 215-601 0200, DisabilityInclusiveCurriculum@gmail.com

Lisa Aquila, 215-288-7587, lisaaquila29@gmail.com

Have you checked your IEPs to ensure that the course of study listed reflects what your students will be taking for the 22-23 school year? If not, this is a great time to make sure you review and update as needed to keep this update, particularly if your school district will be going through cyclical monitoring.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Bureau of Special Education is requesting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Approved Private Schools (APS) interested in using the Transition Discoveries framework and Quality Indicators survey to create evidence-based systems that improve competitive integrated employment outcomes for transition-aged youth with disabilities.

Through the use of the Transition Discoveries framework, school communities will co-design opportunities for youth, families, and stakeholders to build on their knowledge, skills, and relationships to prepare youth for life after high school. By utilizing the framework, school communities are empowered to identify transition practices and design new approaches that help youth with disabilities better reach their goals.

The purpose of the Transition Discoveries: Designing Pathways to Competitive Integrated Employment grant is to:

1. Build a team to create and support engagement in the collection, review, and analysis of survey data to develop a customized approach to the transition planning process to improve inclusive transition services and supports for students with disabilities.
2. Empower youth, families, educators, and community members to serve as meaningful partners in the design and delivery of transition planning and systemic implementation of transition services.
3. Utilize available resources and supports to improve and increase cross agency collaboration.

LEAs and APSs, including career and technical centers, charters schools, cyber charter schools, intermediate units, and school districts, are eligible to apply. Grant monies will be awarded to applicants with a full complement of Transition Change Agent Team members and who have evaluated and described their readiness to successfully implement Transition Discoveries and all required activities.

Funding of up to $45,000 over the two-year grant period will be available for each successful applicant from the date of the award through August 15, 2024.

This two-year grant opportunity will require LEA or APS Implementation Teams to:

• Form a Transition Change Agent Team.
• Utilize Transition Discoveries tools and protocols to collect data from youth, families, and community partners.
• Identify up to four priorities from the Transition Discoveries Quality Indicators data.
• Participate in asynchronous and synchronous professional development.
• Develop and implement a community action plan.

The application is posted on the Secondary Transition webpage of the PaTTAN website.

Applications must be received by Monday, September 12, 2022, at 3:00 PM.

PaTTAN educational consultants will provide an informational webinar regarding the grant application process on Friday, August 5, 2022, at 10:00 AM. Register for the webinar on the PaTTAN site.

The webinar will be recorded and posted on the PaTTAN website.

For questions regarding the Transition Discoveries: Designing Pathways to Competitive Integrated Employment grant contact your reginal intermediate unit transition TAC or PaTTAN consultant.

Are you a person with a disability,
looking for a career opportunity or internship?

This Virtual Career Fair is FREE for career seekers with disabilities to attend.

Experienced professionals, recent college graduates and college students with disabilities meet online with employers across the nation to discuss competitive career opportunities!

Candidates are invited to interact with employers via chat.

Connect with employers looking to hire people with disabilities

Access opportunities within a wide range of careers.

• National employer participation across many industry sectors
• Public and private sector opportunities​

Interview with ease

Participate from the comfort of your home, dorm room or favorite cafe!

• Multi-tasking chats about careers and internships
• End-to-end accessible technology platform

Career Fairs with Less Hassle

Save time and money.

• No business suit or travel required
• No printed out resumes necessary

Virtual Career Fair Date: August 3, 2022

REGISTER HERE

Learn More at www.careerco.com

Did you know that NCAPPS has hosted over 30 webinars to date? You can find links to past webinar recordings, slides, English and Spanish transcripts, plain language summaries, and Q&A documents on their Webinars page. The recordings can also be found on our YouTube channel.

Revisit their 2022 webinars using the links below:

• Person-Centered Decision Making in Healthcare and Care at End of Life
• Understanding and Addressing Unmet Needs in HCBS Through the Lens of Person-Centered Practices
• Person-Centered Healthcare Delivery: Centering Patient Experience in Accessing Care from Home
• Pathways to Person-Centered Decision-Making and Alternatives to Guardianship

The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C) provides information, tools, and supports to assist multiple stakeholders to provide effective services and instruction for students and out-of-school youth with disabilities.

Check out their Training Resource Library.

If you're new to transition, be sure to check out Transition 101!

Through a partnership between Doors to Wellbeing, Youth MOVE PA, and PMHCA we are offering this training for FREE to Youth in Pennsylvania. This includes Youth and Young Adults ages 29 and younger.

Course Description:
Peer Generation: Youth Empowerment s a youth led and youth developed curriculum that offers an experiential introduction to youth peer support. The training focuses on strategies for resiliency and offers pathways for individuals to get in touch with their unique and authentic selves. Participants will experience an environment that is culturally grounded and focuses on practical ways to be inclusive toward the diversity of all communities and experiences. Individuals will be better equipped to practice peer support in real life situations that could be easily implemented. Personal sharing and mutual learning are at the core of this curriculum.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will gain an understanding of youth resiliency.
Participants will become educated in personalized self-care
strategies.
Participants will increase cultural awareness.


Course Dates:

Wednesday August 3rd
Friday August 5th
Wednesday August 10th
Friday August 12th
Wednesday August 17th
Friday August 19th


All sessions are scheduled from 12:00- 3:00 PM

REGISTER USING THIS LINK

Registration now Available!

In Person Attendees: The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center

Virtual Option Available!

Register Here!

FOR YOUTH ONLY!

They Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network (PYLN) will host a dance party, with DJ and Photo Booth on 8/10/2022 at Transition Conference.

See the flyer for more info!

Don't forget to check the events calendar to stay up to date on all of the great events happening in PA and nationally related to secondary transition!

The Pennsylvania Community on Transition is a group of various stakeholders from across Pennsylvania who work collaboratively to ensure appropriate transition outcomes for Pennsylvania youth and young adults.

The Pennsylvania Community on Transition is a state leadership team consisting of representative from: the State Departments of Education, Health, Labor and Industry, and Human Services; Various Serving Agencies, Young Adults, Parent Organizations, Advocates, Higher Education, and Employers.

The shared vision and common goals of the Pennsylvania Community on Transition is achieved when all PA youth and young adults with disabilities:

• Successfully transition to the role of productive and participating adult citizens
• Are empowered to recognize their talents, strengths, and voice
• Have equal access to resources that will promote their full participation in the communities of their choice.

Email: pasecondarytransition@gmail.com
Website: https://www.pasecondarytransition.com/
Phone: 4128266878
Twitter: @hmangiskuntz