Under a new law, Pennsylvania will add an option for an additional year of special education eligibility for students who would otherwise age-out this summer and permit parents of all students the option to repeat the grade they were in during the 2020-21 school year. The law provides a July 15, 2021 deadline for parents to make a decision on both options.
Senate Bill 664 was passed by both the House and Senate and is expected to be signed into law soon by Gov. Tom Wolf.
For special education students, the Bill provides that students who turned 21 during the 2020-21 school year or the summer of 2021 and were enrolled in school during the 2020-21 school year have the option to continue to be enrolled in school for the 2021-22 school, even though these students would typically have aged-out of special education services over the summer of 2021. The Bill provides that PDE will develop a form for parents to sign to opt-in for this additional year of eligibility and that the opt-in must occur by July 15, 2021. During the 2021-22 school year, the district must implement the most recent IEP.
For all students, the Bill provides that they may repeat the grade they were in for the 2020-21 school year, even if they have met the requirements to be promoted. The law extends this option to the parents of students under 18 or to the student if over 18. The Bill does not create any limits on this and leaves this call solely to the parent or student. PDE will develop a form that will be used for those who elect to do so, which must be completed no later than July 15, 2021.
During the course of the repeated year, students will have the ability to participate in extracurricular activities and sports, but this does not expand eligibility for participation in sports. Current PIAA rules limit the total number of seasons a student can participate in a sport, so students in middle school and high school who participated in school sports this year and opt-in for the additional year will likely not be able to participate in the sport during the repeated year or will need to pick another year between now and senior year to skip participation in the sport.
Schools should begin the process of preparing for students who make take advantage of these provisions. Plans should address the logistics of staff and building assignments to accommodate surges in grade levels depending on how many students opt-in. Special education planning should be coordinated with outside agencies and placements that service those students who were scheduled to age-out to determine if they can continue to provide services to those students should they opt-in.
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