Pennsylvania Active Shooter Training Legislation to Improve Safety

Pennsylvania legislators are continuously improving laws to help better school safety for districts across the state. While Pennsylvania active shooter legislation continues to evolve, our team at ALICE Training strongly encourages you to review some of the most recent Pennsylvania state requirements regarding active shooter preparedness. 

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Service Code

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Service Code requires every school district to conduct fire drills at least once a month. Within 90 days of the start of the school year, each school must conduct a security drill in place of the regularly scheduled fire drill.

School Security Drills 

Following the first security drill of the year, schools may conduct two additional security drills per school year in place of two fire drills. A “school security drill” refers to a planned exercise other than fire or natural disaster drills designed to practice procedures for responding to an emergency situation that may include, but is not limited to, an act of terrorism, an armed intruder situation, or another violent threat. 

Safe Schools Act of 1995

Read the full bill here. 

Empowering Schools to Create Safe Learning Environments

The Safe Schools Act of 1995 (Act 26) was updated and amended in 1997 (Act 30). The amendment mandates “annual reporting of any and all incidents of violence, weapons, alcohol, drugs and tobacco possession to the Department of Education.” The new legislation also states that local education agencies are now required to develop a Memorandum of Understanding with local law enforcement and to provide additional procedural safeguards to increase school safety.

Act 18 of 2019

Read the full legislation here.

New Training Requirements for Pennsylvania Schools

Act 18 of 2019 included an amended list of training topics that schools are required to provide their employees. The list was updated to include “trauma-informed approaches and recognition of student behavior that may indicate a threat to the safety of others.” The act also clarifies that districts can customize and provide training based on their needs and that training is not required on every topic. 

Threat Assessment Teams

Act 18 of 2019 also requires each school to establish at least one threat assessment team to assess and intervene when a student’s behavior may indicate a potential threat to the safety of others. The bill outlines threat assessment team membership qualifications, training, and reporting requirements. Note that threat assessment team duties can be assigned to an existing team already established by the school.

Act 18 includes notification and referral requirements, as well as procedures for instances when a team determines that a student’s behavior is indicative of a threat to the safety of others. It’s required that the threat assessment team be given access to otherwise confidential student data in order to carry out their duties. 

Local juvenile probation departments and county agencies are required, by law, to consult the threat assessment team on matters that will assist the team in carrying out their duties. Threat assessment guidelines, training, and information materials must be developed by the School Safety and Security Committee. These materials will aid in the threat assessment team’s ability to train and operate successfully.