What Is Act 55? Pennsylvania School Safety and Literacy Law

Pennsylvania Act 55 of 2022, signed into law on July 8, 2022, is an omnibus amendment to the Public School Code of 1949 that changed how public schools handle safety training, reading instruction, special education eligibility, and a narrow slice of graduation requirements.¹ It applies to every public school district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school, and charter school in the Commonwealth. The sections below walk through what the law actually requires.

Annual Safety Training for Every School Employee

The most operationally significant piece of Act 55 is a universal training mandate. Every school employee must now complete two hours of safety-related training each year, covering at least one of these topics: situational awareness, trauma-informed approaches, behavioral health awareness, suicide and bullying awareness, or substance use awareness.² The School Safety and Security Committee adopted the training standards on September 28, 2022.

The annual training also has to address emergency drills for fires, natural disasters, active-shooter scenarios, hostage situations, and bomb threats, along with recognizing student behavior that could signal a safety threat. The emergency drill portion must be delivered in person. The other topics can be delivered online.³

Safety and Security Coordinators

Within 30 days of the law’s effective date, every school entity’s chief administrator had to appoint a school administrator as the safety and security coordinator.³ Coordinators themselves must complete up to seven hours of training within one year of appointment, covering physical security assessments, emergency preparedness, coordination with law enforcement, leadership, and the same behavioral health and awareness topics required of general staff.⁴

Threat Assessment Teams

Act 55 turned certain threat assessment obligations into recurring ones. Schools and chief administrators must facilitate yearly group training for threat assessment teams and make sure the school community is reminded each year that a team exists and understands its purpose.⁵

Expanded Safety and Mental Health Grants

Act 55 scaled up the School Safety and Security Grant Program run by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. For the 2022–2023 school year, every school district received a $100,000 base safety grant plus an additional amount tied to average daily membership. Career and technical centers, intermediate units, and charter schools could each receive up to $70,000. A separate mental health grant used the same formula: $100,000 base for districts and up to $70,000 for other eligible entities.⁵

The law also broadened what mental health grant funding can pay for. Schools use these dollars for behavioral health screenings, on-campus mental health professionals, and early intervention. The School Safety and Security Committee was required to develop and distribute a survey measuring mental health services across eligible school entities by August 1, 2022, and schools had to complete it by the end of that month.⁵

The grant program continues on an annual cycle. For 2025–2026, the total statewide allocation is $100 million under the same formula-based, noncompetitive structure.⁶

Structured Literacy Training for Teachers

Act 55 introduced Pennsylvania’s first structured literacy training mandate for educators. Starting with the 2022–2023 school year, the Department of Education had to establish a professional development program in structured literacy that includes classroom demonstration, modeling, and coaching support.⁷

The requirement reaches professional employees holding instructional certificates in early childhood, elementary-middle level, Special Education PK–12, English as a second language, and reading specialist. The training counts toward existing continuing professional education requirements, so it does not add hours on top of what educators already owe.⁷

Beginning August 1, 2024, approved educator preparation programs must also provide structured literacy training to every candidate seeking certification in those same areas. New teachers entering classrooms arrive with the training already completed.⁷

Special Education Services Extended to Age 22

Before Act 55, Pennsylvania students with disabilities were entitled to special education services only through the end of the school year in which they turned 21. Act 55 extended eligibility so students can remain enrolled in their public school programs until their 22nd birthday.⁵

The change aligns Pennsylvania with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees a free appropriate public education through age 21. School districts must now provide the full range of individualized education program services through the extended eligibility window, giving older students more time to build vocational skills and prepare for adult life.

A New Mental Health Internship Grant

Act 55 created the School-Based Mental Health Internship Grant Program, administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency beginning with the 2022–2023 school year. The program supports individuals working in internships through educator preparation programs that lead to certification in school nursing, school psychology, school counseling, or school social work.⁵

What Act 55 Changed About Graduation

Pennsylvania’s five graduation pathways were created by Act 158 of 2018, not Act 55. Act 55 added a supplemental option and made targeted changes for students affected by the pandemic and those in career and technical education.⁵

Specifically, Act 55 created a two-score composite pathway. A student can demonstrate proficiency by earning a combined score of at least 2,939 on their two highest Keystone Exam scores, rather than needing qualifying scores on all three. The law also requires any industry-recognized credential a student earns to be included on their high school transcript, starting with the 2022–2023 school year.⁵

Act 55 added one more flexibility. A student who was enrolled during the 2021–2022 school year could immediately request a diploma from their current or prior school, or request a Keystone Diploma from the Department of Education retroactive to that school year. The provision was aimed at students whose education was disrupted by circumstances such as housing instability or foster care transitions.

Don’t Confuse It With Act 55 of 2024

Pennsylvania assigns act numbers sequentially within each legislative session, so “Act 55” resets every two years. Act 55 of 2024 is a different law. The 2024 version requires every school district to have at least one full-time school security officer on duty during the school day, starting with the 2024–2025 school year, unless the district receives a waiver from the School Safety and Security Committee.⁸ It also allocated funding for schools to purchase secure smartphone storage. If you’ve seen Act 55 cited in connection with cellphone policies or mandatory security officers, those come from the 2024 law, not the 2022 one covered here.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Act No. 55 of 2022
2
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Act 55 of 2022 Employee School Safety Training Standards – FAQs
3
Justia. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Act 55 (2022) – Public School Code of 1949 – Omnibus Amendments
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Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Act 55 School Safety and Security Training
5
Department of Education. Act 55 Summary
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Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. 2025-26 School Safety and Mental Health Grants Final Draft
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. Section 9 – Act of Jul 8, 2022, PL 620, No 55 Cl 24
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Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. 2024 School Security Personnel Guidance for School Districts