West York board discusses new Act 44 requirement to notify families and staff when students possess weapons

Superintendent and administrators told the West York Area School District board that changes under Act 44 will require broader notifications when a student is found with a weapon. The new communication rule goes into effect Jan. 6 and requires both staff working with the student and families in the building (or campus) to be notified.

Administrators said the notices will be distributed through channels parents are used to receiving, such as district email or the final-site distribution platform rather than the voice message used for closures. "We're gonna be notifying our staff because, again, this is gonna have... a special... different communication that needs to go to staff, then we'll need to go to the communities," an administrator said.

Directors raised concerns about how specific the district must be about the weapon type and suggested tiered messaging so parents know whether a notification is informational versus indicating a threat requiring police involvement. One director asked whether parents must confirm receipt; administration replied, "No. We don't... they don't have to confirm that they received the message." Board members recommended preparing a general proactive template and consulting the district solicitor (Saxton and Stump) to ensure compliance and to limit unintended alarm.

Administrators said they would include information about Act 44 in the district's 'First Friday' communication and that the initial notice will be reviewed by the solicitor; translation options were confirmed for Spanish and other languages via the district's messaging platform.

The board did not vote on specific notification text or policy at the meeting; administration will draft templates and bring updates to the board for review.