Aging out in PA

[Lisa Lightner]

Just 6 weeks ago, I was interviewed about this class action lawsuit by the Inquirer, regarding aging out of school at 21 or 22. Last night, I received an update from the Public Interest Law Center.

Hi Lisa,

Exciting news! Our lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s IDEA age out policy has settled.

As part of the settlement, PDE has changed its policy to allow eligible students to receive a FAPE until their 22nd birthdays. The policy also applies to students who aged out at the end of the 2022-23 school year under the old policy. Depending on the circumstances, these students may now be eligible to re-enroll until their 22nd birthdays.

As part of the settlement agreement, PDE is contacting all student and families who may be eligible to return to school until their 22nd birthdays with this letter (attached). PDE also issued this notice (attached) to all LEAs, IUs, and Charter Schools, as well as this guidance.

Please spread the word about this to your networks ASAP! This is time sensitive with the start of the school year almost here! If a student wants to re-enroll, they should contact their LEA. If they encounter issues, PDE has provided the following email to contact: RA-PDESPECIALED@pa.gov.

Thanks again for your help raising awareness about this issue!

Policy Change: https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/IDEABFAQ.aspx..

Letter: https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Special%20Education/IDEIA-IDEA/Age%20of%20Eligibility%20Policy%20Notification%20Letter.pdf..

Original article: https://www.inquirer.com/news/age-out-policy-special-education-dept-of-education-lower-merion-20230712.html..