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For Immediate
Release
12/3/09
 
Education Committee Chair Joins State Officials
to Renew the Call
for School Safety Measures in Pennsylvania's Classrooms
HARRISBURG – Reiterating
his call for safer classrooms in the Commonwealth and underscoring the
significance of his legislative package, Senator Jeffrey E. Piccola (R-15),
Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, joined today Pennsylvania Department
of Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak, State Board of Education Chairman
Joseph Torsella, and Representative James Roebuck, Jr. (D-188) to emphasize the
need for a comprehensive approach to addressing school safety.
During a press conference,
Piccola commended both Secretary Zahorchak and Chairman Torsella for outlining
their efforts and goals to more effectively and efficiently combat violence in
Pennsylvania's schools and pledged to work with them to ensure a zero tolerance
policy is established. "I applaud the attention and leadership of the Chairman
and Secretary on an issue which I too am passionate about and have been working
to bring to the forefront of everyone's agenda for the past several legislative
sessions," he said.
Piccola also highlighted
the importance of Senate Bills 55 and 56 – legislation he has authored that
would revise the state's school violence reporting system and enforce tougher
school hiring policies – and called upon the General Assembly to move on his
proposals. "Reforming Pennsylvania's Safe Schools Law is necessary to ensuring
crimes committed on school properties are regularly and more accurately reported
to the law enforcement community and those individuals with serious criminal
records are prevented from teaching our children. It's time my colleagues
recognize the crucial merits behind these commonsense proposals which will go a
long way to improving school safety in our Commonwealth," added Piccola.
The origin of Piccola's
bills lies in the work of a Dauphin County Grand Jury which uncovered crimes and
incidents of violence in recent years at the Steelton-Highspire School
District. These crimes often did not get reported to the state. Schools are
currently required by Act 26 of 1995 to file annual reports of violence with the
Department of Education. Additionally, the Grand Jury reported on a school
employee who had an extensive criminal record yet continued employment despite
the school board's knowledge of his history.
Recognizing the findings
made by the Grand Jury and its recommendations to address the loopholes existing
in the law, Piccola unveiled his legislation to provide the necessary changes to
Pennsylvania's school violence reporting system and establish more stringent
hiring policies in the state's schools. His legislation also incorporates a
number of recommendations contained in Auditor General Jack Wagner's special
performance audit of the Office of Safe Schools.
"My legislation will
improve communication and the flow of information by requiring districts to
create formal procedures outlining when and how police are to be notified when a
crime occurs on school property. Additionally, this proposal will improve
accountability in violence reporting by personally holding school administrators
responsible for failing to report or falsifying their records," Piccola said.
"The activities inside our schools must be transparent and improved reporting
with the endorsement of law enforcement authorities will ensure this public
trust."
Piccola's bills were the subject of a public hearing before the Senate
Education Committee earlier this year and the full Senate then passed both
measures in June. Senate Bills 55 and 56 currently await action by the
Education Committee in the House of Representatives.
Contact:
Colleen Greer
(717) 787-6801
Additional Information:
Education
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