HARRISBURG – Parents would know when a weapon is discovered at a school or school-sponsored event under a bill approved by the PA Senate Education Committee. Senate Bill 971 would require schools and school entities to notify parents and guardians within 24 hours about an incident involving the possession of a weapon on school property. It allows for targeted notifications when appropriate. If a weapon is found for example at a school dance or on the bus of a sports team, the alert may be sent to parents and guardians of students at the dance or on the team. The notification may be limited to parents and guardians of those students associated with the school building, school-sponsored activity or transportation where the incident with the weapon happened. It also would require the school to notify teachers, administrators, and employees who work at or are associated with the school building, activity or travel where the weapon-related incident took place. The bill would prohibit the notification to parents, guardians, and school employees from containing personally identifiable information about the student who brought the weapon. The bill moves to the full PA Senate.
