Lower Merion School District: Act 66 Information

Press release from Lower Merion School District:

2021-07-08

Act 66, signed by Governor Wolf last week, permits parents or guardians of students enrolled in LMSD during the 2020-21 school year to retain their student in the grade in which they were enrolled for an additional school year, due to COVID-19 learning disruptions. Also, students whose special education services would have ended due to reaching the age of 21 may have the option to extend those services for the 2021-22 school year.

Parents/guardians who wish to exercise the option to retain a student, will need to take the following steps before the July 15, 2021, deadline in the law.

1.Complete the Act 66 of 2021 Student Grade Level Retainment Notification Form for the 2021-22 school year. Click here to access the form.

2.Submit the form to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Alexis McGloin at mcgloia@lmsd.org or bring the completed form to the front desk of the District Administration Offices (301 E. Montgomery Ave., Ardmore) on or before July 15, 2021.

o If a student under the age of 18 plans to repeat a grade, a parent or guardian must submit the form to the school.

o If a student 18 years of age or older plans to repeat a grade, the student must submit the form on their own behalf.

o Both the parent/guardian and the student must complete this form if a student with a disability was enrolled during the 2020-21 school year, turned 21 during the time periods listed above, and intends to return to school for the 2021-22 school year.

If a parent/guardian or student chooses this option, the student will repeat the same grade level with the same course roster as they had in the 2020-2021 school year. The grades from the 2020-2021 school year for the student will not be included as part of their transcript. Parents/guardians will not be able to opt out of this choice once the 2021-2022 school year starts. Electing to repeat the 2020-2021 school year does not guarantee placement with the same teachers as in the 2020-2021 school year.

While Act 66 permits this choice for all families, please be advised that retention is not always the best choice for a student. If you would like to discuss your student's individual circumstances, please contact your child's school principal from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This press release was produced by Lower Merion School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.