PRINTER'S NO. 4314
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2748
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY D. COSTA, READSHAW, J. McNEILL, WARD, KINSEY AND
ROEBUCK, OCTOBER 22, 2018
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, OCTOBER 22, 2018
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in terms and courses of study,
providing for emergency response drills.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 1517.1. Emergency Response Drills.--(a) Each school
entity shall administer mandatory emergency response drills for
the students of the school entity. The following apply:
(1) Within ninety (90) days of the commencement of the
school year which occurs after the effective date of this
subsection and within ninety (90) days of the commencement of
each school year thereafter, an emergency response drill shall
be conducted within classrooms of a school entity each school
year.
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(2) Each emergency response drill shall be conducted while
the school entity is in session and students are present.
(3) The school entity shall adopt policies for emergency
response drills within the school entity.
(b) During an emergency response drill, students in a school
entity shall be instructed on and shall receive practice in all
of the following:
(1) Recognizing the signs of an emergency situation, such as
a medical emergency.
(2) Locating the classroom phone.
(3) Utilizing the emergency contact list, which shall be
posted in a visible location in each classroom and include
numbers for school officials.
(4) Utilizing a procedure and script for calling contacts on
the emergency contact list.
(5) Describing their location and the nature of the
emergency.
(c) Each chief school administrator or a designee shall
oversee the instruction and training of students and school
employees in the procedures to be followed in the emergency
response drill.
(d) Each chief school administrator shall provide notice of
an emergency response drill in advance to the parents and legal
guardians of the students attending the class for which the
emergency response drill is scheduled.
(e) Each chief school administrator shall take all necessary
steps to ensure that the provisions of this section are
faithfully carried out in the school entity over which the chief
school administrator has charge.
(f) On or before April 10 of each year, each chief school
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administrator shall certify to the Department of Education that
the emergency response drills required under this section have
been conducted in accordance with this section.
(g) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Chief school administrator" shall mean any of the following:
(1) The superintendent of a school district.
(2) The superintendent of an area vocational-technical
school.
(3) The executive director of an intermediate unit.
(4) The chief executive officer of a charter school or
regional charter school.
"Emergency response drill" shall mean a planned exercise,
other than a fire drill, natural disaster drill or school
security drill, designed to practice procedures in response to
an emergency situation that does not require evacuation.
"Medical emergency" shall mean an emergency situation that is
experienced by a classroom instructor who has become
unresponsive or by a student when the classroom instructor is
not present. The term includes, but is not limited to, any of
the following:
(1) Chest pain accompanied by sweating, nausea, vomiting or
shortness of breath.
(2) Choking.
(3) Fainting.
(4) A seizure.
(5) An injury such as severe bleeding or a broken or
dislocated bone.
(6) The sudden inability to walk, speak or move a portion of
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the body.
(7) Shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing.
"School entity" shall mean any of the following:
(1) An area vocational-technical school.
(2) A school district.
(3) An intermediate unit.
(4) A charter school.
(5) A regional charter school.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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