Act 126 of 2012 (“Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Training”) amended the Public School Code of 1949 to mandate that all school entities and independent contractors of school entities provide their employees who have direct contact with children with a minimum of three hours of training every five years on child abuse recognition and reporting.  The law went into effect on January 2, 2013. 

Training must address, but not be limited to, the following topics:

• Recognition of the signs of abuse and sexual misconduct and reporting requirements for suspected abuse and sexual misconduct in this commonwealth.
• Provisions of the Act of December 12, 1973 (P.L.397, No.141), known as the “Educator Discipline Act,” including mandatory reporting requirements.
• The school entity’s policies related to reporting of suspected abuse and sexual misconduct.
• Maintenance of professional and appropriate relationships with students. 

The Professional Standards and Practices Commission (“PSPC”) has worked with PLS 3rd Learning to develop an online training that will satisfy, in part, the mandatory training requirements set forth in Act 126.  The three-hour online course entitled, “Professional Ethics and the Educator Discipline Act”, consists of four modules which are designed respectively to: (1) provide an overview of the laws and regulations that govern the standards of conduct for educators in Pennsylvania and the legal processes for addressing misconduct by educators, including the types of conduct that can trigger discipline under the Educator Discipline Act and the consequences for engaging in misconduct; (2) discuss the student-teacher relationship, including strategies for setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries and the educator’s responsibilities as a role model; (3) examine the concept of educator sexual misconduct, including the legal definition of sexual misconduct, the warning signs of sexual misconduct, offender and victim profiles, the reasons sexual misconduct occurs and prevention strategies; and (4) address the legal and ethical responsibilities to report educator misconduct, including an overview of mandatory reporting requirements under the Educator Discipline Act, how to make a report, protections for those who report and the consequences for failing to report.   

The course is available on the Department of Education’s SAS Portal.  There is no charge for the course.  Participants who do not have a SAS account must first register for one by visiting http://pdesas.org/.  To register for the course, participants must log into the SAS PD center http://pdc.pdesas.org/ and then click on “Course Catalog/Registration” under the menu button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.  The course is listed under the “Non-Facilitated” tab.  When registering for the course, participants will choose a track specific to their role (i.e. teacher, chief school administrator or staff member).  All participants will receive a certificate of completion.  Educators holding Pennsylvania certification will receive Act 48 credit.  A brief assessment will be given at the end of the course.  All content must be viewed prior to taking the assessment and receiving a certificate. 

Additional materials and resources related to professional ethics and professional discipline are available on the PSPC’s website: www.pspc.education.pa.gov.  PSPC staff is also available to provide free workshops for teachers, administrators and staff, as well as students enrolled in teacher preparation programs. 

For questions or to schedule a free workshop, please contact: Shane F. Crosby, Executive Director and Legal Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Professional Standards and Practices Commission, Phone: 717.787.6576; Email: shcrosby@pa.gov.