Most students owed pandemic services haven’t received them as 80% of funds remain unspent

Top agenda items

• District owes students with disabilities more than 600,000 hours of pandemic-era missed services
• 2026-2027 calendar makes post-Thanksgiving Monday a school day
• Summer “Learn and Earn” applications open

80% of COVID compensatory service funds remain unspent

Most Pittsburgh Public Schools students who are owed educational support services they could not access during the pandemic have not received them and some families may not know the services are available, despite outreach via the district’s website, Facebook, mail, and email.

When schools shut down in 2020 and students were educated using worksheets the teachers sent home, students with disabilities missed evaluations and services they were legally entitled to receive. To address that loss, districts are required to provide “COVID Compensatory Services” (CCS), additional services to make up for missed educational supports.

CCS applies to students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans, both of which are federal protections that guarantee students with disabilities access to a free appropriate public education. The plans ensure students are educated, even if they need accommodations such as specialized instruction, speech or physical therapy, extra time to complete classwork or tests, or behavior plans.

In the agenda review questions and responses document attached to the agenda, district staff detailed that students were evaluated during the 2022-2023 school year to determine how many compensatory hours they are owed, and the district maintains a spreadsheet to track those hours. The district has tallied it owes students more than 600,000 hours of missed services, an average of about 300 hours per child with special needs. However, not all families were aware that these evaluations took place or that additional services were available.

According to the same response document, the  district plans this spring to make robocalls to families of students who have used less than 15% of their allotted CCS hours.

Board directors Eva Diodati and Yael Silk were unsure if families are made aware of the compensatory services they are owed during required annual renewal meetings for 504 and IEP plans.

The board is set to approve several summer programs intended to provide compensatory services this week, including:

• Summer camp at ASCEND Indoor Climbing
• Speech therapy through East End Therapy Services, LLC
• Online tutoring with Huntington Learning Center
• Summer camp at Kamin Science Center
• A “Remarkable Readiness and Employment” Summer Forum with Ruths Way, Inc.
• Adaptive music summer camp with You Be You, Inc.

Calendar questions answered

Students won’t have the Monday after Thanksgiving off this year if the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors votes to approve the district’s proposed 2026-2027 calendar. That day was traditionally the first day of firearms deer hunting season, but it was changed by the state this year to the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

District Family, Youth, and Community Engagement Manager Mercedes Williams said spring break will span a full week, including Good Friday, after a draft appeared to show a 4-day break.

Board Director Yael Silk said she has been asked by parents how they can weigh in on the process.

Williams said a calendar committee composed of district administration members, parents, teachers, and a social worker drew up the draft calendar, based on the prior year calendar. The committee then presented the draft calendar to the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) for a vote before checking it with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers to ensure that is complied with the collective bargaining agreement. This past year, the district also surveyed parents about the calendar.

Summer “Learn and Earn” applications open

Board Director Devon Taliaferro said applications for Summer Learn and Earn are now open. Director Dwayne Barker added that students who previously enrolled in a Learn and Earn program will only need to verify their address and parent income in order to sign up.

Director Eva Diodati, who has worked as a Teen Library Services associate at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for several years, said students looking for assistance filling out Learn and Earn applications can turn to their local library for assistance. They said librarians have been trained to assist and are able to help students and families complete applications for the program.

Taliaferro said interested families should apply soon, as positions fill up quickly.

More information, including applications for the program and information about obtaining a work permit can be found online at https://www.partner4work.org/learn-earn/how-apply.