Act 55 of 2022 mandated school safety-related training for all Pennsylvania public school employees. Section 1310-B of the PA Public School Code requires that all school entities provide employees with two hours of mandatory training on any combination of one or more of the following topics, based on the needs of the school entity and aligned with training standards (linked above) adopted by the School Safety and Security Committee (SSSC):
- Situational awareness.
- Trauma-informed approaches.
- Behavioral health awareness.
- Suicide and bullying awareness.
- Substance use awareness.
In addition, school entities must provide employees with one hour of annual training that addresses emergency training drills (including fire, natural disaster, active shooter, hostage situation and bomb threat) AND identification or recognition of student behavior that may indicate a threat to the safety of the student, other students, school employees, other individuals, school facilities or the community.
NOTE: All training may be provided through virtual/distance/online learning methods except for those for emergency training drills, which must be conducted in-person.
Click
here to find the School Safety and Security Training Standards for School Employees
Click
here to go to our K-12 School Safety and Security Training and Technical Assistance Page.
Act 55 of 2022 requires all School Safety and Security Coordinators (hereinafter “Coordinator”) to complete up to seven hours of training within one year of their appointment as the Coordinator. The training must include the following topics:
- Situational awareness
- Physical assessments and Physical security
- Emergency preparedness
- Coordination and communication with law enforcement and emergency personnel
- Emergency procedures and training drills, including, fire, natural disaster, active shooter, hostage situation and bomb threats
- Trauma-informed approaches
- Behavioral health awareness
- Suicide and bullying awareness
- Substance use awareness
- Leadership
- Appropriate staffing
On September 28, 2022, as required by Act 55 of 2022, the School Safety and Security Committee adopted new training criteria for School Safety and Security Coordinators.
School administrators appointed as School Safety and Security Coordinators must complete mandated training that meet these criteria within one year from the time that the initial training that meets the criteria is offered.
The first training that meets the criteria is scheduled for February 2, 2024. Coordinators appointed before February 2, 2024 must complete the training by February 2, 2025. Coordinators appointed after February 2, 2024 have one year from their appointment date to complete the training.
Click
here to find the training criteria for School Safety and Security Coordinators.
Click
here to search for and register for Coordinator training.
School Entities:
School Entities who wish to search for "PCCD-Recognized" training providers may click here and select "Training Provider Registry" to find the list of self-certifying training providers.
Training Providers:
Click
here to go to our K-12 School Safety and Security Training and Technical Assistance Page and select "Training Provider Registry" to self-certify that your training meets Act 55 Standards.
PCCD issued an update to the field in September 2023 providing an update on Act 55 training on school safety topics for school employees and School Safety and Security Coordinators. You can view that communication
here.