PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 513
PRINTER'S NO. 974
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
460
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY BARTOLOTTA, MARTIN, ROBINSON, SCHWANK,
TARTAGLIONE, KANE, BREWSTER, REGAN, FARRY, COSTA, HUGHES,
DILLON, BROOKS AND VOGEL, MARCH 16, 2023
SENATOR PITTMAN, RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS
AMENDED, JUNE 26, 2023
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 preliminary provisions,
establishing the Child Reunification Program in the
Department of Education.
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 130. Child Reunification Program.--(a) The Child
Reunification Program is established in the department to assist
in locating and returning missing children by providing
identification kits as provided in this section.
(b) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, and each
school year thereafter, the department shall provide, to the
extent money is appropriated or otherwise available to the
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department for the purpose, a school entity with identification
kits to be distributed to the parents and legal guardians of
eligible children.
(c) The department and each school entity shall post a
notice on their publicly accessible Internet websites that
identification kits are available to eligible children, a
description of the purpose of the identification kits and
instructions for a parent or legal guardian of an eligible child
to opt out from receiving an identification kit for the eligible
child.
(d) No later than November 15, a school entity shall
distribute identification kits at no cost to the parents and
legal guardians of an eligible child of the school entity unless
the parent or legal guardian opts out of receiving an
identification kit.
(e) The school district of residence shall make
identification kits available under subsection (d) to parents
and legal guardians of eligible children enrolled in home
education programs under section 1327.1.
(f) A school entity shall record the number of
identification kits distributed each school year and shall
annually report to the department, in a manner prescribed by the
department, the number of identification kits distributed.
(g) A school entity may not retain information about the
parents and legal guardians who received identification kits
under the program.
(h) A parent or legal guardian who receives an
identification kit may submit the identification kit, along with
a physical description of the eligible child, to law enforcement
for the sole purpose, if the eligible child is missing, of
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locating and returning the eligible child to the parent or legal
guardian.
(i) Information recorded in an identification kit is not a
public record and is not accessible for inspection and
duplication in accordance with the act of February 14, 2008
(P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Right-to-Know Law."
(j) The department may require a school entity to return to
the department undistributed identification kits or may offset
the number of undistributed identification kits against the
number of identification kits delivered to the school entity in
the following school year.
(k) The department shall annually post a report of the total
number of identification kits distributed to school entities and
the number of identification kits distributed by each school
entity under the program on the department's publicly accessible
Internet website no later than December 31.
(l) 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:
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Eligible child." A child enrolled in the first grade.
"Identification kit." An inkless, in-home fingerprint and
DNA identification kit.
"Program." The Child Reunification Program established in
this section.
"School entity." A school district, charter school, regional
charter school, cyber charter school, intermediate unit and
nonpublic school.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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