All school employees in Pennsylvania will receive three hours of safety and security training every year, at no charge to their schools, through a new training program grant approved on March 30th by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) School Safety and Security Committee.

“Every parent in America knows the fear of sending their children to school and worrying whether they might not come home at the end of the day,” said PCCD Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. “The horrors of Sandy Hook, of Uvalde, of Nashville, of Roxborough High School, of Westinghouse Academy and countless other communities are what keep parents up at night. We cannot harden our hearts to the violence that is plaguing our schools and our communities.

“Every kid deserves to be safe and feel safe, whether they’re in the classroom, on the playing field, waiting for the bus or walking home from school. Once launched, this new training program will empower and educate teachers, administrators, counselors, librarians, cafeteria workers and more on topics like situational awareness, suicide, bullying, substance abuse and emergency training drills. This is a critical investment in our kids’ safety and security.”

Established in 2018 by Article XIII-B of the Pennsylvania Public School Code, the School Safety and Security Committee is tasked with several responsibilities, including:
-Administering funding allocated for School Safety and Security Grants and related programs;
-Developing criteria and standards for conducting school safety and security assessments;
-Issuing surveys to measure school safety and security preparedness and gauge availability of mental health services and supports within schools;
-Establishing training requirements for school resource officers, school police officers, and school security guards; and
-Developing model plans, guidelines, and resources focused on trauma-informed approaches in schools and K-12 threat assessment.

The Committee committed $4.8 million in state funding to support the development and launch of a new School Safety and Security Training program for school employees and School Safety and Security Coordinators, pursuant to Act 55 of 2022. The school employee training will include an hour-long focus training on emergency training drills, including fire, natural disaster, active shooter, hostage situations and bomb threats, and the identification or recognition of student behavior that may indicate a threat the safety of that student, other students, school employees, other individuals, schools or the community. The school safety coordinator training will include these topics as well as more in-depth training on emergency preparedness, physical security assessments and securing facilities, and coordination and communication with law enforcement and emergency personnel. More information on these trainings will be released in the next few months and will be announced when available.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget would invest $100 million in new School Safety and Security Grants (including funding for statewide training), as well as $105 million in state funding for the Violence Intervention and Prevention Grants program administered by the Committee. The Shapiro-Davis budget plan also would invest $100 million this year in student mental health, so schools can draw down the funding they need and use it to fund mental health care for kids.