IUP awarded funding to accelerate special education certifications
IUP was awarded $99,330 as part of a $1 million aid package from Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration.
"Pennsylvania's educator workforce shortage will take flexibility, innovation and creativity to solve," acting state Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe said in a release, "and initiatives like the Accelerated Special Educator Certification Program demonstrate how thinking outside the box can produce critical and much-needed results for the commonwealth."
The accelerated offering makes grants available to college and universities with approved pre-K through 12th grade special education certification programs to partner with one school district, at least, career and technical centers, private school, charter and cyber charter schools, as well as intermediate units.
Those partnerships are then used to provide students with summer field experiences, coaching and mentoring during the school year, and deliver a post-baccalaureate program for pre-K through 12th grade special education teacher certification within 18 months.
There are 142 news special educators set to enter classrooms across the state, according to PDE, and hundreds more who will take advantage of this opportunity.
For more information, visit www.pa.gov/agencies/education.
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The Brief Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania's state treasurer, announced Monday that she would seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2026. Garrity has hinted at a run for months and has stepped up criticisms of Shapiro in that time. In a video released Monday, she referred to herself as a 'strong ally' of President Trump. HARRISBURG, Pa. - Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania's two-term elected state treasurer, said Monday that she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro 's reelection bid, setting up what could be a contest between a low-profile officeholder and a potential White House contender in 2028. What we know Garrity has hinted at a run for months and stepped up her criticism of Shapiro. In campaign fundraising appeals, she accused Shapiro of being soft on law and order and hostile to her "pro-worker, pro-energy, pro-America agenda." 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He's grown into a national figure after he made Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' shortlist for vice presidential running mates last year and is viewed as a potential White House contender for the party in 2028. For Republicans, there is more on the line than knocking off Shapiro. They also want a credible candidate at the top of their ticket as they try to bring out enough voters to defend their congressional seats and their majority in the U.S. House. Shapiro is a former state House member, county commissioner and attorney general who has a base of support in his home in Philadelphia's heavily populated suburbs. Garrity, 61, is from rural northern Pennsylvania and came to politics late in life. A trained accountant, Garrity was a longtime executive for a powdered metals supplier in northern Pennsylvania. She was also an Army reservist who retired as a colonel and served in Iraq, where she ran the detention center at Camp Bucca as part of the 800th Military Police Brigade. Since her 2020 upset victory of the incumbent Democratic treasurer, Garrity has been an avid campaigner, speaking at numerous Trump rallies. In 2022, she was perhaps the GOP's most visible surrogate for Mastriano. Shapiro won his 2022 contest by almost 15 percentage points, an election cycle Republicans would rather forget. By all accounts, Shapiro and Garrity have had a professional working relationship and avoided partisan squabbling over official matters. Shapiro even gave Garrity a warm and personal introduction in January before she was sworn in to her second term as treasurer. During her time as treasurer, Pennsylvania has run up big surpluses, buoyed by federal COVID-19 aid and inflation-juiced tax collections. That temporarily took pressure off state finances. However, Pennsylvania is reverting to its status as a perennial deficit state, and Garrity has warned that Shapiro's continued stewardship will force tax increases onto residents. As treasurer, Garrity kept several top Democratic staffers on board, expanded the ways in which the department can return unclaimed property and increased the department's investments in Israel bonds. The Source This article contains information from Garrity's campaign website. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
