Bills affecting your community in Pennsylvania (2026 session)

In preliminary provisions, providing for standardized testing study; in grounds and buildings, repealing provisions relating to lead testing and providing for lead testing; providing for school facilities; in certification of teachers, further providing for special education certificate grade spans and age levels and duties of department, for program of continuing professional and paraprofessional education, for continuing professional education for school or system leaders and for Pennsylvania school leadership standards, repealing provisions relating to permit for classroom monitors and providing for permit for classroom monitors; in pupils and attendance, further providing for attendance policy at charter, regional charter and cyber charter schools, providing for school district enrollee wellness checks and further providing for procedure when child is truant and for procedure upon filing of citation; in student supports, further providing for policy relating to bullying; in school safety and security, further providing for definitions, for School Safety and Security Grant Program, for school safety and security coordinator and for school safety and security training, providing for school safety and mental health grants for 2026-2027 school year, further providing for school safety and security coordinator training and for reporting and memorandum of understanding and providing for school mapping services; in school health services, further providing for health services and for reports and providing for eating disorder awareness and education; in terms and courses of study, providing for use of funds for implementing later school start times, further providing for flexible instructional days and for physical education, providing for recess periods, further providing for economic education and personal financial literacy programs and providing for social media literacy education; in early learning programs, further providing for definitions and for duties of approved providers; in high schools, further providing for attendance in other districts; in charter schools, further providing for enrollment, for cyber charter school requirements and prohibitions, for enrollment and notification and for enrollee wellness checks; in disability inclusive curriculum, further providing for pilot program; in career and technical education, providing for temporary waiver; in community colleges, further providing for financial program and reimbursement of payments; in Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, further providing for individuals eligible for admission; in the State System of Higher Education, further providing for definitions and for Grow Pennsylvania Tuition Waiver Program; in institutions of higher education, further providing for definitions and for agency duties, providing for institution duties and further providing for report; in Ready-to-Succeed Scholarship, further providing for agency; in funding for public libraries, providing for State aid for fiscal year 2026-2027; in reimbursements by Commonwealth and between school districts, further providing for student-weighted basic education funding beginning with 2023-2024 school year and for extraordinary special education program expenses, providing for temporary assistance program and further providing for assistance to school districts declared to be in financial recovery status or identified for financial watch status and for Ready-to-Learn Block Grant; and, in construction and renovation of buildings by school entities, further providing for applicability.

Providing for shelter animal adoption tax credit; and establishing the Shelter Animal Adoption Tax Credit Program.

Providing for in-State tuition for undocumented individuals.

Further providing for title of the act, for findings and declaration of policy, for right to freedom from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation, for definitions, for unlawful discriminatory practices and for prohibition of certain real estate practices; providing for protection of religious exercise; and further providing for powers and duties of the commission, for educational program and for construction and exclusiveness of remedy.

Further providing for the title of the act, for findings and declaration of policy, for right to freedom from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation, for definitions, for unlawful discriminatory practices and for prohibition of certain real estate practices; providing for protection of religious exercise; and further providing for powers and duties of the commission and for construction and exclusiveness of remedy.

Providing for Commonwealth support for a Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Staff Member Loan Forgiveness Program and an Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor Loan Forgiveness Program; and imposing duties on the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.

In emergency COVID-19 response, providing for extension of use of certain funds; in Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program, further providing for Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program; in cigarette sales and licensing, further providing for definitions and providing for allowable mode of operations for licensed cigarette stamping agents; in joint underwriting association, further providing for fund transfers; providing for food processing residuals; in financially distressed municipalities, further providing for financial recovery; in oil and gas wells, further providing for Oil and Gas Lease Fund and providing for deep wells and Utica Shale permits and for well plugging; providing for manufacturing and investment tax credit, for Innovate in PA 2.0 Tax Credit and for design build best value; in human services, further providing for medical assistance payments for institutional care, for resident care and related costs and for LIFE Program and providing for transition to chip-enabled access cards, for Medical Assistance Reentry Program, for Children's Trust Fund and for medical assistance pharmacy services; in additional keystone opportunity expansion zones, providing for additional zone for shipbuilding and for additional zones; providing for residential revitalization keystone opportunity zones and for violent incident clearance and technological investigative methods; in special funds, further providing for funding and for Pennsylvania Convention Center; in additional special funds and restricted accounts, providing for Veterans' Trust Fund Board and further providing for establishment of special fund and account, for use of fund and for distributions from Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund; in additional special funds and restricted accounts, further providing for deposits and providing for Professional Licensure Augmentation Account; in general budget implementation, further providing for Executive Offices, for Department of Agriculture, for Department of Corrections, for Department of Labor and Industry and for Department of Transportation, providing for Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and further providing for Commonwealth Financing Authority, for Federal and Commonwealth use of forest land, for Multimodal Transportation Fund, for School Safety and Security Fund, for State Gaming Fund, for State Employees' Retirement System Restricted Account and for Public School Employees' Retirement System Restricted Account; in retirement, providing for 2026 special ad hoc municipal police and firefighter postretirement adjustment, for supplemental annuities for public school employees commencing 2026, for supplemental annuities for State employees commencing 2026 and for payment of supplemental annuity and special ad hoc postretirement adjustment; in electricity load forecast accountability, providing for energy and water reporting and for advanced transmission technologies; in 2025-2026 budget implementation, further providing for Department of Agriculture, for Department of Human Services and for Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency; providing for 2026-2027 budget implementation and for 2026-2027 restrictions on appropriations for funds and accounts; in fiscal supplements to statutory programs, providing for amusement tax clarification, for situs for local sales tax for cities of the first class, for situs for local sales tax for counties of the second class, for net income and for housing; abrogating a regulation; making repeals; providing for suspension of pension actuarial notes; and making editorial changes.

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, further providing for Special Education Funding Commission and for minimum number of days or hours; in duties and powers of boards of school directors, providing for admission fees for school-sponsored activities; in intermediate units, further providing for staff; in certification of teachers, further providing for certificates qualifying persons to teach and for instructional certificate grade spans and age levels and duties of department, providing for instructional certificate grade spans and age levels and for State certificate fee reduction, further providing for standard employment application, for career and technical instructional certificate, for program of continuing professional and paraprofessional education and for postbaccalaureate certification, providing for assessment of basic skills, further providing for professional educator discipline fee and providing for career and technical administrative director certification flexibility; in pupils and attendance, further providing for attendance policy at charter, regional charter and cyber charter schools, for procedure when child is truant, for procedure by school when child habitually truant, for procedure upon filing of citation, for penalties for violating compulsory school attendance requirements and for study of truancy procedure, providing for department supports to prevent truancy and further providing for reports to Superintendent of Public Instruction and for exceptional children and education and training; in student supports, further providing for definitions; in school safety and security, further providing for definitions, for School Safety and Security Committee, for school safety and security assessment providers, for School Safety and Security Grant Program, for school safety and security coordinator and for school safety and security training, providing for school safety and mental health grants for 2025-2026 school year and further providing for reporting and memorandum of understanding; in school security, further providing for training, for school resource officers, for school security guards and for duties of commission; in Safe2Say Program, further providing for intent, for definitions, for Safe2Say Program and for annual report; in threat assessment, further providing for definitions, for threat assessment teams and for threat assessment guidelines, training and information materials; in Drug and Alcohol Recovery High School Program, further providing for scope of program and selection of students and for enrollment of students; in evidence-based reading instruction, further providing for definitions and providing for school entity duties related to evidence-based reading instruction, for school entity duties related to reading screening, for reading deficiency identification and parental notification, for reading intervention plans, for grant program, for funding, for reporting, for accountability and for construction; in high schools, further providing for attendance in other districts and providing for Free Application for Federal Student Aid; in interscholastic athletics accountability, further providing for council recommendations and standards; in charter schools, further providing for funding for cyber charter schools, for enrollment and notification and for enrollee wellness checks; in career and technical education, further providing for capital reserve fund for approved purchases of equipment and facility maintenance, for career and technical education equipment grants, for Cosmetology Training through Career and Technical Center Pilot Program and for Barber Training through Career and Technical Center Pilot Program; providing for Nursing Shortage Assistance Program; in community colleges, further providing for financial program and reimbursement of payments; in the State System of Higher Education, further providing for definitions and for Grow Pennsylvania Merit Scholarship Program; in educational tax credits, further providing for limitations; in higher education accountability and transparency, further providing for exit counseling; in miscellaneous provisions relating to institutions of higher education, repealing provisions relating to State-related university performance-based funding model, further providing for prohibition on scholarship displacement at public institutions of higher education and providing for cooperation and for State scholarship renewals; in institutions of higher education, further providing for powers and duties of State Board of Higher Education, for definitions, for Performance-based Funding Council and for public institution of higher education reporting, providing for State-related University Performance Fund, for performance-based funding formula and for public accountability and further providing for agency duties, for grant priority and for report; in Ready-to-Succeed Scholarship, further providing for agency; in funding for public libraries, providing for State aid for fiscal year 2025-2026; in reimbursements by Commonwealth and between school districts, further providing for student-weighted basic education funding beginning with 2023-2024 school year, for extraordinary special education program expenses, for assistance to school districts declared to be in financial recovery status or identified for financial watch status and for Ready-to-Learn Block Grant; in construction and renovation of buildings by school entities, further providing for applicability; abrogating regulations; and making an editorial change.

Providing for the use of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identifier in all Commonwealth agency or entity blanks, forms, documents and applications; and imposing penalties.

Providing for sport activities in public institutions of higher education and public school entities to be expressly designated male, female or coed; and creating causes of action for harm suffered by designation.

In assessments of persons and property, providing for senior property tax freeze.

Providing for sport activities in public institutions of higher education and public school entities to be expressly designated male, female or coed; and creating causes of action for harms suffered by designation.

Further providing for definitions, for minimum wages and for exemptions.

In senior citizens property tax and rent rebate assistance, further providing for filing and payment of claim.

Establishing the Mental Health Professional Student Loan Forgiveness Program; imposing powers and duties on the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency; and making an appropriation.

Providing for classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and for parental notification of student health care services; and establishing cause of action for violation.

In sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking education, prevention and respo nse at institutions of higher education and private licensed schools, further providing for scope of article, for definitions, for education program and for follow-up and providing for staff training and for enforcement and penalties; in postsecondary institution sexual harassment and sexual violence policy and online reporting system, further providing for definitions, for policy for postsecondary institution sexual harassment and sexual violence and for online reporting system, providing for sexual misconduct climate surveys, establishing the Task Force on Postsecondary Sexual Misconduct and providing for confidential resource advisors, for waivers for student victims, for data reporting requirements and for enforcement and penalties; and making editorial changes.

Providing for nondiscrimination in adoption and foster care family agencies; and promulgating regulations.

In health care, further providing for definitions, for legislative findings and intent, for compliance, for conflicting advance health care directives, for life insurance, for health care instruments optional, for pregnancy and for liability, providing for prohibited conduct and damages, for judicial relief, for implementation, savings provision and transitional provision and for uniformity of application and construction, repealing provisions relating to living wills, providing for health care decisions and advance health care directives, repealing provisions relating to short title of subchapter, providing for advance mental health care directive, further providing for execution, for requirements and options, for when health care power of attorney operative, for appointment of health care agents, for authority of health care agent, for countermand, for amendment, for revocation, for relation of health care agent to court-appointed guardian and other agents, for decisions by health care representative, for duties of attending physician and health care provider, for effect on other State law, for validity and for form, providing for effect of copy and certified physical copy, repealing provisions relating to example and providing for example; repealing provisions relating to mental health care; and making an editorial change.

In crimes against unborn child, further providing for the offense of murder of unborn child; in arson, criminal mischief and other property destruction, further providing for the offense of arson and related offenses; in judicial boards and commissions, further providing for adoption of guidelines for sentencing; in posttrial matters, further providing for jurisdiction and proceedings; in sentencing, providing for sentence for general murder of the second degree, further providing for sentences for second and subsequent offenses and for life imprisonment for homicide, repealing provisions relating to transfer of inmates in need of medical treatment and providing for modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for reasons of illness; in general administration, providing for earned vocational training and education credit; in Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, further providing for parole power, for short sentence parole, for parole procedure and for victim statements, testimony and participation in hearing; and, in powers and duties, further providing for consideration of criminal convictions.