The Department of Education shall provide guidelines and technical assistance to assist school districts and nonpublic schools in implementing the provisions of this act.
Pennsylvania School Discipline Laws & Regulations: State Model Policies and Implementation Support
Pennsylvania School Discipline Laws & Regulations: State Model Policies and Implementation Support
Category: Prevention, Behavioral Interventions, and Supports
Subcategory: State Model Policies and Implementation Support
State: Pennsylvania
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LAWS
24 P.S. § 13-1309-A. Technical assistance.
24 P.S. § 13-1311-B. Trauma-informed approach.
No later than August 31, 2019, the committee shall develop a model trauma-informed approach plan that shall be used by a school entity applying for a grant under section 1306-B(j)(21). The plan must include the following:
(1) Designation of at least one individual who:
(i) is assigned to the school;
(ii) oversees the implementation of the plan, integrating the coordination of services and professional development into the school entity's comprehensive plan; and
(iii) serves as a member of a school's student assistance program.
(2) Coordination of services among:
(i) the student and the student's family;
(ii) the school; and
(iii) county-based services, community care organizations, public health entities, nonprofit youth service providers, community-based organizations, organizations that provide before or after-school care and other similar groups that are located in the community.
(3) Indication of how coordinated services are provided based on a trauma-informed approach with an understanding, recognition and responsiveness to the effects of trauma on education, absenteeism and school completion, including the secondary impact of trauma on school employees.
(4) Utilization of evidence-based or evidence-informed approaches that are tailored to the community to ensure that data is collected and the effectiveness of the trauma-informed approaches are determined.
(5) Professional development and support for school staff which fosters a culture in the school entity and community that is informed about how to understand, recognize and respond to trauma and address the impact of trauma on students as a secondary impact on school employees.
24 P.S. § 15-1503-E. Department duties and powers.
The department shall:
(1) Establish criteria and guidelines for the establishment and implementation of programs that are consistent with this article. These guidelines shall also include methods of evaluating the programs and curricula.
(2) Provide resources and technical assistance to boards of directors of school districts regarding the establishment and implementation of successful programs, upon the request of the board of directors of the school district.
(3) Identify and analyze effective programs and practices and related professional development for professional educators and provide such information to a school district upon request of the board of directors of the school district.
(4) Collect and disseminate among school districts information regarding programs and practices and potential support sources, including character education programs that have been successfully established and implemented in other states.
(5) Provide resources and technical assistance to boards of school directors of school districts that support the professional development of professional educators in the establishment and implementation of the program.
(6) Collect and disseminate among school districts information regarding effective professional education for professional educators regarding the establishment and implementation of the program.
(7) Seek, apply for and accept grants or contributions of funds from any public or private source, including the acceptance of Federal funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the purposes of this article.
(8) To the extent that funds are available, establish and award grants under the grant program to assist school districts in establishing and implementing programs.
(9) Maintain a list of school districts that have established and implemented the program pursuant to this article.
(10) Prepare and submit an annual report to the Education Committee of the Senate and the Education Committee of the House of Representatives regarding the administration and operation of programs and grants awarded under the grant program. The report shall include:
(i) A summary of the guidelines and criteria established by the department and the establishment and operation of the grant program.
(ii) A listing of the sources of funding sought by the department for use in the grant program.
(iii) A listing of the number of school districts that established and implemented programs.
(iv) A description of each school district's program and the integration into the curriculum.
(v) A description of measures utilized by school districts to provide parent, professional educator and community involvement.
24 P.S. § 15-1526. Youth suicide awareness and prevention.
(a) Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, each school entity shall:
(1) Adopt an age-appropriate youth suicide awareness and prevention policy consistent with subsection (c), inform each school entity employe and the parent or legal guardian of each student enrolled in the school entity of such policy and post such policy on the school entity's publicly accessible Internet website. The policy adopted by a school entity under this paragraph may be based upon the model policy developed by the department under subsection (b)(1).
(2) Include in the professional development plan submitted by the school entity to the secretary for approval pursuant to section 1205.1 four (4) hours of training in youth suicide awareness and prevention every five (5) years for professional educators in school buildings serving students in grades six through twelve. Training under this paragraph may be used to satisfy a professional educator's continuing professional education requirement under section 1205.2. A school entity may use the materials made available by the department under subsection (b)(2) to conduct such training.
(b) The department shall:
(1) In consultation with a youth suicide prevention organization operating in this Commonwealth, develop a model youth suicide awareness and prevention policy which shall be consistent with subsection (c).
(2) Compile, develop and post on its publicly accessible Internet website the following, which may include materials already publicly available:
(i) Recommended guidelines and educational materials for the training required under subsection (a)(2).
(ii) Recommended resources and age-appropriate educational materials on youth suicide awareness and prevention.
(3) Develop a model youth suicide awareness and prevention curriculum and make such curriculum available to all school entities and, upon request, to nonpublic schools. A school entity may incorporate such curriculum into its existing instructional program pursuant to the school entity's youth suicide awareness and prevention policy.
(c) The model policy developed by the department under subsection (b)(1) and any policy adopted by a school entity under subsection (a)(1) shall include the following:
(1) A statement on youth suicide awareness and prevention.
(2) Protocols for administering youth suicide awareness and prevention education to staff and students.
(3) Methods of prevention, including procedures for early identification and referral of students at risk of suicide.
(4) Methods of intervention, including procedures that address an emotional or mental health safety plan for students identified as being at increased risk of suicide.
(5) Methods of responding to a student or staff suicide or suicide attempt.
(6) Reporting procedures.
(7) Recommended resources on youth suicide awareness and prevention programs, including current contact information for such programs.
(d) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Education of the Commonwealth.
"Nonpublic school." A nonprofit school, other than a school entity, wherein a resident of this Commonwealth may legally fulfill the compulsory school attendance requirements of this act and which meets the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352, 78 Stat. 241).
"Professional educator." As defined in section 1205.2(o).
"School entity." A school district, joint school district, charter school, regional charter school, cyber charter school, intermediate unit or area career and technical school.
"Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
24 P.S. § 15-1553. Dating violence education.
(a) The department, through its Office for Safe Schools, and in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall:
(1) Develop, within six (6) months of the effective date of this section, a model dating violence policy to assist school districts in developing policies for dating violence reporting and response.
(2) Consult with at least one (1) domestic violence center and at least one (1) rape crisis center in developing the model dating violence policy.
(b)(1) Each school district may establish a specific policy to address incidents of dating violence involving students at school.
(2) The policy may include, but need not be limited to: a statement that dating violence will not be tolerated; violence reporting procedures; discipline procedures for students that commit violence at school; and contact information for and resources available through domestic violence programs and rape crisis programs.
(3) A school district that establishes the policy shall:
(i) Publish the policy in any school district policy or handbook that specifies the comprehensive rules, procedures and standards of conduct for students at school.
(ii) Make the policy available on its publicly available Internet website.
(iii) Provide parents and guardians with a copy of the policy.
(4) The State Board of Education shall conduct a study of the benefits and detriments of mandatory dating violence education and shall submit a report of its recommendations to the chairman and minority chairman of the Education Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives within three (3) years of the effective date of this section.
(c)(1) A school district may provide dating violence training to guidance counselors, nurses and mental health staff at the high school level. Upon the recommendation of the district superintendent, other staff may be included or may attend the training on a voluntary basis. The school district may also provide dating violence training to parents.
(2) The dating violence training may include, but need not be limited to: basic principles of dating violence; warning signs of dating violence; the school district's dating violence policy; appropriate responses to incidents of dating violence at school; and services and resources available through domestic violence programs and rape crisis programs.
(d)(1) A school district may incorporate dating violence education that is age appropriate into the annual health curriculum framework for students in grades nine (9) through twelve (12). In developing such a policy, the school district shall consult with at least one (1) domestic violence program or rape crisis program that serves the region where the school district is located.
(2) Dating violence education may include, but need not be limited to: defining dating violence and recognizing dating violence warning signs; characteristics of healthy relationships; information regarding peer support and the role friends and peers have in addressing dating violence; and contact information for and the services and resources available through domestic violence centers and rape crisis centers, including detailed information concerning safety planning, availability and enforcement of protection from abuse orders and the availability of other services and assistance for students and their families.
(3) The department, through its Office for Safe Schools, in consultation with at least one (1) domestic violence center and at least one (1) rape crisis center, shall provide school districts with grade-appropriate educational materials regarding dating violence and healthy relationships for the purpose of assisting school districts in preparing an instructional program on dating violence. The department may use educational materials that are already publicly available for this purpose.
(4) A parent or legal guardian of a student who is under eighteen (18) years of age, within a reasonable period of time after the request is made, shall be permitted to examine the dating violence education program instructional materials at the school in which the student is enrolled.
(5) At the request of a parent or guardian, a student shall be excused from all or parts of the dating violence education program. The principal shall notify all parents or guardians of their ability to withdraw their children from instruction in the program by returning a signed opt-out form.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing a person from seeking judicial relief from dating violence under any other law or as establishing or modifying any civil liability.
(f) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
"At school." The term shall have the meaning given to school property as defined in section 1301-A.
"Dating partner." A person, regardless of gender, involved in an intimate relationship with another person, primarily characterized by the expectation of affectionate involvement, whether casual, serious or long term.
"Dating violence." Behavior where one person uses threats of, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse to control the person's dating partner.
"Department." The Department of Education of the Commonwealth.
"Domestic violence center." The term shall have the meaning given in section 2333 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175), known as "The Administrative Code of 1929."
"Domestic violence program." The term shall have the meaning given in section 2333 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175), known as "The Administrative Code of 1929."
"Rape crisis center." The term shall have the meaning given in section 2333 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175), known as "The Administrative Code of 1929."
"Rape crisis program." The term shall have the meaning given in section 2333 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175), known as "The Administrative Code of 1929."
REGULATIONS
22 Pa. Code § 10.11. Memorandum of understanding.
(a) Each chief school administrator shall execute and update, on a biennial basis, a memorandum of understanding with each local police department having jurisdiction over school property of the school entity.
(b) A memorandum of understanding between a school entity and a local police department, including its development and implementation, must meet the requirements of section 1303-A(c) of the Safe Schools Act (24 P. S. § 13-1303-.A(c)).
(c) In developing a memorandum of understanding to execute with a local police department, a school entity shall consult and consider the model memorandum of understanding promulgated by the Board in Appendix A (relating to model memorandum of understanding).
(d) On a biennial basis, a school entity shall file with the Department's Office for Safe Schools a memorandum of understanding with each local police department having jurisdiction over property of the school entity. As part of its filing with the Department, a school entity shall identify substantive differences between the memorandum of understanding adopted by the school entity and the model memorandum of understanding and provide a statement of reasons for the differences.
(e) The Board, on a biennial basis, will review and, as necessary, revise its model memorandum of understanding in Appendix A. As part of its biennial review, the Board will consider the memoranda of understanding filed by school entities with the Department's Office for Safe Schools and statements explaining school entities' reasons for adopting memoranda of understanding having substantive differences with the model memorandum of understanding.