June 28, 2019


PSBA Special Legislative Report:
Budget, School Code reconsidered, bills to the governor, school safety package
 
Work on the budget has been finalized and the House of Representatives is now adjourned until Tuesday, Sept. 17; the Senate is in recess until Monday, Sept. 23.
 
Now in the hands of Gov. Wolf, the 2019-20 state budget was completed before the June 30 deadline. The $34 billion spending plan inserted into House Bill 790 is a spending increase of $596 million, or 1.8%, over the current year's budget. Key appropriations for education include a $160 million increase for the basic education subsidy, $50 million more for special education, $10 million increase for career and technical education and $60 million for school safety and security grants. See PSBA's special report for details.
 
Now passed -- Omnibus School Code amendments under House Bill 1615 (Rep. Turzai, R-Allegheny) were unexpectedly defeated on the House floor on Thursday evening (June 27) with a vote of 121-77. However, on Friday morning the House reconsidered the bill and it was passed with a vote of 160-39.  See this PSBA report for details on the School Code amendments.
 
In addition to House Bill 790 and House Bill 1615, these bills are also headed to the governor's desk.  They are:
 
PlanCon reform -- Senate Bill 700 (Sen. Browne, R-Lehigh) modernizes the state approval process for reimbursement for school construction and renovation projects (known as PlanCon).
The bill incorporates the recommendations of the State Public School Building Construction and Reconstruction Advisory Committee to simplify the administrative process, recognize high-performance building standards, create a program for smaller maintenance projects that includes a special set-aside for school safety needs, and establishes a new reimbursement formula.
 
Flexible instruction days -- Senate Bill 440 (Sen. Phillips-Hill, R-York) allows schools to use Flexible Instructional Days (FIDs) in the instance of a cancellation to fulfill instructional requirements in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Interested schools would apply with the PA Department of Education (PDE); approved applications would be valid for three years, when the school would need to reapply. School districts may use up to five flexible instructional days per school year.
 
Act 5 PSERS/SERS technical cleanup -- Senate Bill 724 (Sen. Corman, R- Centre) amends the Public School Employees' Retirement Code and the State Employees' Retirement Code to make technical corrections to certain sections added or amended by Act 5 of 2017, and codifies various current policies and procedures. The bill also adds provisions for nonparticipating employer withdrawal liability under PSERS.
 
Farm-to-School program -- House Bill 1514 (Rep. Hershey, R-Juniata) revises and re-establishes the existing Healthy Farms Healthy Schools program into the PA Farm-to-School Program, to provide grants for improving childhood nutrition education and increasing exposure to agriculture for children in grades Pre-K through 5.
 
School safety and security package -- Senate Bill 621 (Sen. Regan, R- Cumberland) and Senate Bill 144 (Sen. Martin, R-Lancaster) See section below for details
 

School safety and security package (Senate Bill 621, Senate Bill 144)
 
School security personnel: Senate Bill 621 makes numerous changes to the School Code concerning school security personnel, which includes school police officers, school resource officers (SROs) and school security guards.

Concerning school police officers, the bill:
  • Amends the definition of school police officer to include an independent contractor or individual provided through a third-party vendor.
  • Requires a judge to grant a school police officer authority to carry firearms at the request of a school entity or nonpublic school if the officer satisfies training requirements.
  • Clarifies training requirements as follows: A school police officer must successfully complete the Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training or have graduated from the State Police Academy and have been employed as a state trooper and separated in good standing. School police officers must complete the Basic School Resource Officer Course of Instruction or an equivalent program approved by the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).
  • Adds a school bus going to or from school activities to the list of areas a school police officer can enforce order.
  • Clarifies that school entities and nonpublic schools are included in authority to enter into cooperative police service agreements.
  • Specifies that a school entity or nonpublic school may contract with an independent contractor or third-party vendor to provide a school police officer. An independent contractor is defined as an individual, including a retired federal agent or retired state, municipal or military police officer, retired sheriff/deputy sheriff, whose responsibility and work hours are established in a written contract with a school entity or nonpublic school.
  • Removes the ability of school police officers to exercise the same authority as municipal police officers.
Concerning school resource officers (SROs), the bill:
  • Allows nonpublic schools to have SROs.
  • Allows active certified sheriffs and deputy sheriffs to serve as SROs.
  • Sets training requirements as follows: SROs must complete the Basic School Resource Officer Course of Instruction offered by the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) or an equivalent approved by PCCD prior to starting duties. Those currently employed as SROs will have six months from the effective date of this requirement to complete the training.
Concerning school security guards, the bill:
  • Allows nonpublic schools to have school security guards.
  • Allows independent contractors to serve as school security guards.
  • Clarifies that a school security guard is an individual assigned for routine safety and security duties and is not a school police officer with authority to issue citations or detain individuals.
  • Allows a school entity or nonpublic school to contract with an independent contractor or third-party vendor to provide school security guard services.
  • Sets training requirements as follows: School security guards must complete the Basic School Resource Officer Course of Instruction offered by NASRO or an equivalent approved by PCCD. Those currently serving as security guards have six months to complete the training from the effective date of this requirement.
  • Clarifies that a school entity or nonpublic school may employ or contract with an independent contractor or a third-party vendor for an armed security guard if the individual meets a variety of law enforcement and weapons training requirements. If provided in the written contract, an independent contractor shall be treated as an employee of a local agency.
Additional requirements for the PCCD include:
  • In conjunction with PDE and the State Police, periodically reassess the training requirements for all school security personnel, including the Basic School Resource Officer Course of Instruction offered by NASRO.
  • Establish criteria for certifying third party vendors to provide school security services, including posting a listing of all approved third-party vendors.
  • Submit an annual report to the General Assembly on school security.
Trauma-informed education/threat assessments/grants and more: Senate Bill 144
The legislation makes various changes to Act 44 of 2018 as well as sets new provisions.
 
Trauma informed education: The bill establishes requirements for schools to recognize the signs and impact of trauma in students and to provide support.
  • Training:
    • School board director training -- Requires a minimum of one hour of training on trauma-informed approaches for both newly elected school board directors (from four to five hours) and for reelected directors (from two to three hours) Similar requirements are set for charter school trustees.
    • Professional development -- Requires the professional education plan of each school entity to include at least one hour of training in trauma-informed approaches.
    • School leaders - The PA School Leadership Standards must include information on trauma-informed approaches
Safety and security training changes: The current list of training topics that schools must provide their employees is amended to add trauma-informed approaches, and recognition of student behavior that may indicate a threat to the safety of others. In addition, language clarifies that districts can provide training on one or more of the topics on the list based on their needs; training is not required on every topic.   
 
School safety and security coordinators: The coordinators duties are amended to reflect trauma-informed approaches.
 
PCCD School Safety and Security Committee: Four additional members are added to the state committee, including a school director, a principal, a school nurse and someone from a state-related institution of higher education. Regarding its survey of school safety, it allows the committee to release aggregate data at its discretion, and requires the survey be administered at a minimum of every two years. Further, the committee is required to develop a model trauma-informed approach plan to be used by a school entity applying for a school safety and security grant. The legislation includes details on what the plan should include
 
School safety grants: Several changes have been made to the existing program.
  • Grants will now be awarded by March 1 rather than October 31.
  • The committee will conduct training for applicants outlining the grant priorities and completion of applications.
  • School entities are permitted to apply for a grant in a subsequent year for the same purpose and amount as awarded in a prior year. The minimum grant award is increased from $25,000 according to the following schedule:
    • For a school district with an average daily membership (ADM) greater than 3,900, a minimum award of $45,000.
    • For a school district with an ADM greater than 2,100, but less than or equal to 3,900, a minimum award of $40,000.
    • For a school district with an ADM greater than 1,200, but less than or equal to 2,100, a minimum award of $35,000.
    • For a school district with an ADM less than or equal to 1,200, a minimum award of $30,000.
  • Grants awarded to a cyber charter school are limited to the safety and security needs of students at facilities where tutoring, testing, supplemental programs and services or instruction for students with disabilities occur.
  • The committee may use its discretion to use information from the survey to prioritize the allocation of grants.
  • The state auditor general shall not perform audits related to school safety and security assessments, survey instruments and grant applications. 
PSP risk assessment teams: Increases the number of teams from three to six that must be established by the PA State Police (PSP) to conduct risk and vulnerability assessments for schools free of charge. The PSP must make an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly on the activity of these teams.

Safe2Say Something: Changes are made concerning how records from the Safe2Say Something program may be accessed through a judicial proceeding. Other changes specify that the annual report of the program will breakdown reports by intermediate units using only aggregate data.
 
Threat assessment teams: Requires each school entity to establish at least one threat assessment team for the assessment of and intervention with students whose behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community, or others. The bill establishes membership qualifications, training, and reporting requirements for the threat assessment teams. The duties of the threat assessment team may be assigned to an existing team established by the school entity, which may be the student assistance program.
 
The article also establishes notification and referral requirements and procedures when a team makes a preliminary determination that a student's behavior may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, school facilities, the community or others. In order to carry out its duties, the threat assessment team must be given access to certain student data that is usually kept confidential, to the extent such access is permissible under federal law.
 
Local juvenile probation departments and other county agencies are required to consult with the threat assessment team in order to help the team carry out its duties, to the extent such agencies can do so in compliance with various state and federal laws.
 
The School Safety and Security Committee must develop threat assessment guidelines, training and information materials to assist threat assessment teams with their training and operations.
 
Confidentiality, transference and removal of health records: Allows school entities to disclose information from records to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
 
Duties of department: The Department must encourage the integration of trauma-informed approaches into the program curriculum and the professional development curriculum of personnel of the eligible provider who have regular contact with children.
 
School safety programs for nonpublic schools: Requires intermediate units to provide requesting nonpublic schools with school security programs that fall within the categories of programs approved for public school safety grants. The IU will apply for the grants at the request of any nonpublic schools within its borders. The Office of Safe Schools is allocated $3.2 million for these grants to IUs.
 
State Board of Education: Requires the Board to adopt policies encouraging the inclusion of trauma-informed approaches in professional education curriculum in teacher preparation programs. Adds education and training in trauma-informed approaches to the topics for board's councils of basic and higher education to consider.
 
Keystone Telepresence Education grants: Establishes the Keystone Telepresence Education Grant program, which will give the state's 29 intermediate units access to a maximum of $300,000 in funds to purchase telepresence equipment to support homebound students facing serious medical conditions.