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House Education Committee advances multiple education bills, including seizure training, special-ed funding and CTE curriculum grants
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Summary
The committee passed a package of bills covering a state seal of biliteracy, school medication policies, expanded special-education contingency funding, CTE curriculum grants, teacher recruitment funding and required seizure‑response training for school personnel.
The House Education Committee on Monday advanced a slate of education bills addressing student health, curriculum modernization and special-education funding.
Major actions
- House Bill 18 77 (seal of biliteracy): Adopted an amendment requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Education to establish criteria and a toolkit for awarding a state seal of biliteracy and to report annually starting Oct. 31, 2027. Sponsor Representative D'Orsay said only about 550 students have the seal statewide despite roughly 160,000 high‑school seniors, and argued the credential supports workforce retention. The amendment and bill passed (ayes 26, nays 0).
- House Bill 21 17 (school medication and epinephrine delivery systems): The bill would allow school entities and nonpublic schools to store short‑acting asthma medications and permit trained employees to administer prescribed inhalers; licensed health-care practitioners may administer nebulizers and inhalers more broadly. Representative Clyne opposed parts of the bill that base access on "responsible behavior." The bill passed (ayes 22, nays 4).
- House Bill 2307 (special education contingency fund): Representative Kincaid proposed increasing the contingency fund appropriation from 1% to 2% of the special education fund, distributing increases relative to district costs and limiting contingency support to two school years per student. Members noted the program aims to address districts facing extraordinary per‑student costs. The bill passed (ayes 26, nays 0).
- House Bill 24 25 (CTE curriculum modernization grants): The bill creates a grant program for career and technical education centers, districts and intermediate units to modernize curricula with digital or printed platforms; no dollar figure was specified. The committee advanced the bill (ayes 26, nays 0).
- House Bill 24 36 (talent recruitment account funding): Representative Tiburcio proposed redirecting standard certification fees to fund a talent recruitment account created in 2022 but not yet funded. The bill passed (ayes 26, nays 0).
- House Bill 10 45 (epilepsy training for school personnel): Amended to change the effective school year and increase the training-completion interval; sponsor Representative Kazim said roughly 130,000 Pennsylvanians live with epilepsy and proposed triennial training for all school nurses and professional employees who have direct contact with students. Several members raised concerns about layering additional mandatory trainings and the bill passed on a close roll call (ayes 14, nays 12).
Votes at a glance (selected)
- HB 18 77 (seal of biliteracy): Passed, ayes 26–0 - HB 21 17 (medication storage/administration): Passed, ayes 22–4 - HB 2307 (special ed contingency fund): Passed, ayes 26–0 - HB 24 25 (CTE curriculum grants): Passed, ayes 26–0 - HB 24 36 (talent recruitment account): Passed, ayes 26–0 - HB 10 45 (epilepsy training, as amended): Passed, ayes 14–nays 12 - HB 18 14 / SB 10 14 (mobile devices, as amended): Passed in committee, ayes 15–nays 11 (per roll calls on amendment and companion bill)
What members pressed for next
Members asked for clarification on implementation details, including reporting requirements for the seal of biliteracy, whether inhalers would be stock supplies or prescription-based, how the increased contingency fund would be allocated across districts, the absence of specific appropriations for CTE grants, and how to prioritize or limit mandated trainings for teachers.
The committee scheduled an informational hearing on May 5 and adjourned.
