Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionGeneral FAQs
The law provides the following definitions:
"Abuse" – Conduct that falls under the purview and reporting requirements of 23 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to child protective services) and is directed toward or against a child or student, regardless of the age of the child or student.
"Sexual misconduct" – Any act, including, but not limited to, any verbal, nonverbal, written or electronic communication or physical activity, directed toward or with a child or student that is designed to establish a romantic or sexual relationship with the child or student. Such acts include, but are not limited to:
- Sexual or romantic invitation.
- Dating or soliciting dates.
- Engaging in sexualized or romantic dialog.
- Making sexually suggestive comments.
- Self-disclosure or physical exposure of a sexual, romantic or erotic nature.
- Any sexual, indecent, romantic or erotic contact with the child or student.
The mandated training addresses child abuse recognition and reporting and, at a
minimum, must include training on the following specific topics:
- Recognition of the signs of abuse, which is defined as conduct that falls within the purview and reporting requirements under the Child Protective Services Law;
- Recognition of the signs of sexual misconduct, as defined in this Act;
- Reporting requirements for suspected abuse and sexual misconduct in the Commonwealth, including those set forth in the Child Protective Services Act and the Educator Discipline Act;
- Provisions of the Educator Discipline Act (24 P.S. §2070.1a
et
seq.), including mandatory reporting requirements;
- School entity's policies related to reporting of suspected abuse and sexual misconduct; and
- Maintenance of professional and appropriate relationships with students.
The training may be provided face to face, on-line or via distance communication systems, however, all of the topics listed above must be addressed in the training. Thus, providing a three-hour training on just one or more of the topics listed above
will not satisfy the clear language of the statute. The emphasis should be placed on covering the mandated topics as a minimum, which may or may not involve more than three hours.
While school entities and independent contractors have discretion in determining the type, timing and modality of training, if the school entity wishes to provide its professional educator staff with Act 48 continuing education credits then the training must be approved by the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Human Services. Inquiries about approved training program providers should be directed to Joseph Loccisano at jloccisano@pa.gov. Please note that school's entities and independent contractors are not limited to providing approved programs and, as stated above, retain the discretion to design, configure and/or secure appropriate training for its covered employees so long as it meets the content and duration requirements set forth in the Act. However, school entities that elect to create their own training or to offer outside training programs that have not been approved by the Department must ensure that the training accurately represents all information required under Act 126 in order to avoid misinformation and potential liability.
All employees of an independent contractor of a school entity and a school entity, which is defined as a public school, charter school, cyber charter school, private school, nonpublic school, intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school, who have direct contact with children. Direct contact with children is defined as “the possibility of care, supervision, guidance or control of children or routine interaction with children." While the law does not distinguish between categories of employees, the school entity or independent contractor may elect to tailor the training of the mandated topics to the specific audience. The training, however, must include each topic described above.
While Act 126 is silent with respect to student teachers and volunteers, it is recommended that these individuals be provided the opportunity to participate in any training provided by the school entity or independent contractor of a school entity. As student teachers and volunteers are treated similar to employees in other sections of the Public School Code of 1949, school entities may wish to consult with their solicitors when determining whether to extend the training to individuals who may not fit squarely within the employee classification. It should be noted under the current CPSL law, volunteers are not considered mandated reporters.
The following adults are considered mandated reporters and are required to report suspected child abuse if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a victim of child abuse:
- A person licensed or certified to practice in any health-related field under the jurisdiction of the Department of State.
- A medical examiner, coroner or funeral director.
- An employee of a health care facility or provider licensed by the Department of Health, who is engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment of individuals.
- A school employee.
- An employee of a child-care service who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- A clergyman, priest, rabbi, minister, Christian Science practitioner, religious healer or spiritual leader of any regularly established church or other religious organization.
- An employee of a social services agency who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- A peace officer or law enforcement official.
- An individual paid or unpaid, who, on the basis of the individual's role as an integral part of a regularly scheduled program, activity or service, is a person responsible for the child's welfare or has direct contact with children.
- An emergency medical services provider certified by the Department of Health.
- An employee of a public library who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- An individual supervised or managed by a person listed above, who has direct contact with children in the course of employment.
- An independent contractor who has direct contact with children.
- An attorney affiliated with an agency, institution, organization or other entity, including a school or regularly established religious organization that is responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or control of children.
- A foster parent.
- An adult family member who is a person responsible for the child's welfare and provides services to a child in a family living home, community home for individuals with an intellectual disability or host home for children which are subject to supervision or licensure by the department under Articles IX and X of the Public Welfare Code.
Act 126 requires school entities to train all individuals who have direct contact with students. The act defines school entities as a public school, charter school, cyber charter school, private school, nonpublic school, intermediate unit or area vocational-technical school.
Therefore, colleges and universities are not required to offer training to their employees/contractors under Act 126.
Every employee of a school entity and its independent contractors who have direct contact with children must complete a minimum of three hours of training every five years. The emphasis should not be on the number of hours of training (other than satisfying the minimum three hours). While the law only mandates training within a five-year period, it is recommended that school entities and independent contractors provide training for their current employees as soon as reasonably possible during the first five year training cycle. It is also recommended that each school entity and independent contractor develop a training protocol to outline how current employees and prospective employees will be trained.
Training that has been provided by school entities and independent contractors that would satisfy section 1205.6 in whole or in part since July 1, 2012, may be counted towards fulfilling the training mandate notwithstanding that the official effective date of Act 126 is January 2, 2013.
The school entity and independent contractors of school entities are responsible for all training compliance issues.
While the law does not specify any recordkeeping or reporting requirements, it is recommended that each school entity and independent contractor develop an accounting system for the training that is provided to each employee so that it can demonstrate compliance with the law.
It is recommended that all school entities develop and/or review existing policies to ensure that there are written protocols on detecting and reporting abuse and sexual misconduct.
If a school entity employs a contracted worker during the summer months or afternoons/early evenings (i.e. a part-time painter) when students are not formally attending school but might be participating in other activities, does such an employee fall under the training requirements of Act 126?
Yes, but only if these individuals have direct contact with children.
No, since they are not contracted by the school entity. However, since they may have direct contact with students, it is recommended that they receive at a minimum the Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting training component, along with a review of the local school entity's related policies.
Information concerning child abuse and neglect and the CSPL can be found at the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare/Office of Children, Youth and Families as well as the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance.
Information about educator discipline, appropriate student-teacher relationships, the Educator Discipline Act and the Professional Standards and Practices Commission, which is the independent agency charged with adjudicating educator misconduct cases, can be found at Professional Standards and Practices Commission.
FAQs related to Continuing Education Credit
To receive Act 48 credit hours, the Act 126 training provider must be approved by PDE, in consultation with DHS. All school entities with approved professional education plans can upload hours into the PERMS system via roster as they do already for other Act 48 training.
The school entity needs to submit, via email, a detailed outline of its proposed course to include any/ Power Point presentations, the script that accompanies each slide of the Power Point and other course content materials to PDE's Office of Safe Schools. The list of requirements for course submission is listed on this website. The approval process is conducted jointly through PDE and DHS.
School entities and their independent contractors can access a current list of approved training course providers by looking on PDE's Standard Aligned System (SAS) site or the Office of Safe Schools website on the Department's website. On the SAS site, school entities can compare course offerings, costs (if any) and course delivery method. Please note: due to recent changes to the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) and the Educator Discipline Act (EDA), all previously approved Act 126 providers eligible to provide Act 48 credit are in the process of reviewing, revising and resubmitting their curriculums to PDE to be re-certified to provide Act 126 training. Resubmitted curriculums will address the changes to both the CPSL and EDA.
Act 31 of 2014, which takes effect December 31, 2014, requires all child care facility applicants to complete child abuse training as pre-requisite to applying to operate a child care facility. The Department of Human Services (formerly DPW) and the Department of State has approved Mandated Reporter Training courses to meet mandated reporting (Act 31) licensing requirements.
After completing the course, a "Certificate of Completion" is available for you to print. A copy of the certificate must be submitted to the regional office with the application packet. Applications will be considered incomplete without the certificate of training.
For further details, refer to the Child Care Licensing Program.