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HARRISBURG (June 6, 2018) – Dolores McCracken, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, today issued the following statement after the state Senate approved Senate Bill 1142, the proposed “Safe2Say” act aimed at preventing acts of school violence before they occur.
“Pennsylvania’s teachers and education support professionals strongly believe prevention and early intervention is a very important part of preventing tragedies like the recent school shootings in Texas and Florida.
“This legislation would create an enormously valuable resource for Pennsylvania’s schools, and we commend state senators for passing it today.
“The ‘Safe2Say’ program would provide a safe and anonymous way for parents, school staff, students, and community members to report dangerous or criminal acts, threats, or instances of bullying, and make sure that law enforcement and school officials get that information so they can act on it.
“Following the Parkland tragedy, nearly 1,000 educators shared their suggestions with PSEA on how to keep our schools safe. One theme which was repeated over and over was the need to prevent tragedies before they happen, and not just respond after a tragedy occurs. In fact, several PSEA members specifically recommended establishing an anonymous reporting system like ‘Safe2Say.’
“I was pleased to share these suggestions with Gov. Tom Wolf and with lawmakers. We all want the same thing – to make sure that our schools and students are safe from the kinds of horrible tragedies that we’ve seen in too many schools in our country.
“This bill is a good step toward preventing them from happening here.”
McCracken is a paraprofessional in the Council Rock School District. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents approximately 181,000 future, active and retired teachers and school employees, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.
Read about PSEA’s 2018 school safety report, Safe Havens of Learning, based on nearly 1,000 educators’ suggestions, at www.psea.org/schoolsafety.
