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Quakertown committee weighs Act 44 notification rule; officials worry about inadvertent public alarm and reporting inflation
Summary
The committee reviewed Act 44-driven AR language requiring school-community notification within 24 hours when a weapon is found. Officials said increased notifications could raise benign incident counts and risk public panic; staff said the district tracks categorization internally and will monitor year-end reporting.
Doctor Hoffman told the policy committee that Act 44 and PSBA template language require districts to notify the school community within 24 hours when a weapon is discovered on school property, unless circumstances require otherwise.
"Notification of incidents involving possession of a weapon must be made within 24 hours of the incident occurring," Doctor Hoffman said, and described planned notification methods (mass email, text directing recipients to email, parent portal notices) while advising caution about using the district website or social media as default channels.
Committee members worried that routine or incidental items — for example, a student who brings a pocketknife used for a camping trip or an X‑Acto blade left in a backpack for an art assignment — could generate mass notices and cause unnecessary alarm. One attendee asked who reviews the compiled annual 'safe schools' reports and whether increased report counts could lead to greater oversight or funding consequences.
Doctor Hoffman responded that the district already compiles a safe schools report annually (prepared with Pam Fathergill), that the report is sometimes tied to safety and security grant reporting, and that districts can internally categorize incidents. He acknowledged the rule may increase the number of communications but said he preferred erring on the side of notifying rather than failing to inform parents about serious incidents.
Committee members asked staff to monitor the effect of the new notification practice and to consider internal categorization so that year-end reporting can distinguish incidental from intentional incidents.
