Significant Changes Made to Pennsylvania Public School Code

By Michele Mintz

A collection of new laws signed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro during this year’s budget process make important amendments to the Public School Code affecting?all school entities.

Among them is Act 55 of 2024, which amended the Public School Code to include several important changes regarding school security funding and security. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, a school entity is required to have at least one full-time security personnel who has completed the required training on duty during the school day. A school entity may apply for a waiver from this requirement with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency School Safety and Security Committee.

To defray the costs of funding of school security personnel, a restricted account will be established to reimburse school entities up to $50,000 for these costs. Beginning on July 1, 2025, the School Safety and Security Committee must establish a process for school entities to apply for reimbursement.

Act 55 also requires the school safety and coordinator to report to the school entity’s Board of School Directors on current school security at an executive session. The report must include the number of school security personnel, the school building at which each is assigned and the training each received. This report must be made by June 30, 2025 and then by June 30 each year thereafter.

For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Act 55 designates $100 million of the School Safety and Security Grant Program fund for school safety and mental health grants and $20.7 million for targeted school safety grants. In addition, it expands the program to include the cost of school security guards.

The Act also amended the Public School Code to include a new section regarding advertising and sponsorships. The newly added Section 134, prohibits any paid media advertisement by a public school entity that refers to the cost of tuition, technology, transportation or other expenses, from?describing them as free. Instead, the ad must indicate that the costs are covered by taxpayer dollars. ?

Here are some other important amendments to the Public School Code to be aware of that were enacted during the budget process:?

• Additional changes made under Act 55 include:

-The qualifications to become a certified public-school teacher in Pennsylvania are amended to include those who are “Authorized to work in the United States.”

-The annual budget for the Student Teacher Stipend Program, administered by the Pennsylvania High Education Assistance Agency, is doubled to $20 million.

-Allows PDE to issue an intern certification to an individual with a bachelor’s degree and two years of full-time, wage-earning experience in occupational therapy. Previously, only individuals with four years of experience could receive the certification.

-Sets June 30, 2025 as the expiration date for the requirement to have a satisfactory achievement level on an assessment of basic skills prior to entry into a baccalaureate teacher preparation program. The basic skills test was waived for three years beginning in 2022.

-Modifies the existing fair funding formula for basic education funding by incorporating three-year averages of formula factors for poverty, concentrated poverty, median household income and number of households.

• Requires school districts to submit their per-pupil tuition rates and the data used to calculate them to PDE by November 1, 2024 and every year thereafter, using the PDE-363 form.
• Act 25 of 2024 requires each school entity to conduct a moment of silence on September 11 during the school day for students and faculty to observe the anniversary of 9/11/2001 and remember those who were wounded or lost their lives.
• In addition, Act 25 requires the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to identify a model curriculum for instruction on the significance of 9/11/2001 by June 17, 2025. It must include the historical context of terrorism, the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, American response and recovery to the terrorist attacks and global challenges and consequences in the post-9/11 world. PDE must make accessible the curriculum materials and other available resources on its website.
• Act 82 of 2024 amends the Public School Code to provide students who are children of a member of the National Guard or Reserve the same rights as students who are children of an active-duty military family.

For detailed information on other recent changes to the School Code, see these alerts from?members of the firm’s Education Department.

• Amendments to PA School Code Affect Residency Disputes
• PA Creates $100 Million Fund for Cellphone Lockup Programs in Schools

For more information on these and other education law issues, contact Michele Mintz at [email protected] or any other member of the firm’s Education