For Immediate Release
6/25/09

Safe Schools Package Sponsored by Piccola Is Approved by Senate

Ensuring Pennsylvania's Schools are Safe Havens for Learning

HARRISBURG – Senator Jeffrey E. Piccola, Chairman of the Education Committee, applauded the Senate today for approving a legislative bill package he has authored that would make significant and long overdue changes to Pennsylvania's Safe Schools Law by ensuring those with criminal records are banned from employment in the Commonwealth's schools and improving the relationship and reporting requirements between school districts and their local law enforcement.

The origin of Piccola's legislation – Senate Bill 55 and 56 – lies in the work of a Dauphin County Grand Jury which uncovered crimes and incidents of violence in 2005 at the Steelton-Highspire School District.  These crimes often did not get reported to the state.  Schools are currently required by the Safe Schools Law to file annual reports of violence with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  Additionally, the Grand Jury reported on a school employee who had a state record for theft-related offenses, a federal record for drug dealing, and repeated sexual encounters with students yet continued employment despite the school board's knowledge of his criminal history.

Recognizing the findings made by the Grand Jury and its recommendations to address the loopholes existing in Act 26 of 1995, Piccola unveiled legislation that would provide the necessary changes to Pennsylvania's school violence reporting system and establishing more stringent hiring policies in the state's schools.

"We cannot have people with criminal histories employed in our schools – people who are clearly a threat to the safety of students and others, not to mention a distraction to the learning process.  Likewise and just as important, are the obvious problems associated with our Commonwealth's school violence reporting system.  We must improve the Pennsylvania Department of Education's ability to more effectively administer the law to ensure our schools and local police take their duty seriously in protecting students and teachers from violence," said Piccola.

Specifically, Senate Bill 55 would establish a lifetime ban on working in schools for those who have been convicted of serious violent offenses, including sexual violence and crimes against children.  This measure also prohibits anyone convicted of any other felony crime from working in a school setting for at least ten years.

Senate Bill 56 requires the Department to create an Office for Safe Schools within the agency and be charged with overseeing its work, rather than outsourcing that function as is currently done.  But the bill also responds to Auditor General Jack Wagner's special performance report by requiring school entities to submit their violence report to their local police department to verify the school's report.  The audit noted that the Department was not verifying the violence statistics it received from schools and that it was failing to monitor school violence.

"Mandating greater cooperation between our law enforcement community and school professionals and strengthening the lifetime employment ban imposed against school employees convicted of serious offenses are the key components of my legislation that will go a long way to improving school safety.  I am hopeful my colleagues in the House of Representatives recognize the need to update a law almost fifteen years old now and move my commonsense proposals through the Legislature," added Piccola.

CONTACT:

Colleen Greer
(717) 787-6801

Additional Information:
Education

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