School Safety and Security Overview

Article XIII-B (School Safety and Security) of the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949 created the School Safety and Security Committee (SSSC) within PCCD.  The SSSC was tasked with developing the criteria school entities are to use in performing school safety and security assessments, issuing a survey to school entities to measure school safety and security preparedness, and administering grants.  Amendments  Act 18 of 2019, Act 67 of 2019, and Act 30 of 2020 included the development of a model trauma-informed approach plan; model trainings for threat assessment teams; set training requirements for school resource officers (SROs), school police officers (SPOs) and school security guards; and created a grant program for school entities to address COVID-19.

For more information about the amendments of Act 55 of 2022 and the FY22-23 School Mental Health & Safety and Security Grants, please see the *NEW* Mental Health & Security and School Safety and Security links under the Grants Information section below.

*NEW* On September 28, 2022, the SSSC approved training standards for School Safety and Security Training for all school employees and the training criteria for School Safety and Security Coordinators.  Please see the Training Information section below for more detailed information.

The SSSC also approved the release of aggregate data pertaining to the Survey of School Mental Health Services.  A presentation summarizing the survey findings can be found here:

School Mental Health Survey Aggregate Data and Findings (September 2022)(PDF)

If you have any questions, please submit them to RA-CD-SSSC@pa.gov.