Julio 21, 2022
McKeesport, Julio 21,2022 – State Sen. Jim Brewster’s efforts to protect Pennsylvania schools have paid off with a $200 million increase in funds for safety and security and mental health in the 2022-23 PA State Budget.
“This new School Code contains a historic financial commitment to school safety as well as focused regulation to make sure every school achieves baseline requirements,” Brewster said.
Since its 2018 creation, Brewster has been a member of Pennsylvania’s School Safety and Security Committee facilitated by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and an advocate for hardening schools while at the same time addressing core causes by making mental health assessment more prevalent and counseling more available.
In 2019 Brewster sent a letter to the committee asking it to establish baseline standards of safety for every school in the Commonwealth. Specifically, he encouraged the committee members to establish physical baselines, including items such as door locks and cameras; mental health baselines, including school counselors and psychologists; and environmental baselines, including air quality monitors as well as lead and mold abatement.
The latest School Code changes the requirement for active shooter training from every 5 years to yearly training, an important piece of school safety.
“Everyone in the building should be trained on how to protect themselves in the event of an active shooter,” Brewster said. “This updated requirement in the School Code is a necessary improvement to keep our schools safe.”
After years of partnership and hard work by the School Safety and Security Committee, the PCCD, the General Assembly, and the Governor, the recently passed state budget contains historic new investments of $100 million for school safety infrastructure and another $100 million for school mental health grants.
The money, Brewster said, is only part of the progress. Pennsylvania’s School Code now requires the schools to conduct surveys to see if standards for mental health services are being evaluated and baselines are being met. This survey must be completed by Agosto 31.
Just as important, the new School Code provides incentives for training new school mental health counselors through a School-Based Mental Health Internship Grant Program through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). The program is intended to encourage careers as school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.
PHEAA will be required to keep track of grant applicants and awardees to assess the effort of bringing more mental health professionals to careers in schools.
16 de junio de 2022
Harrisburg - 15 de junio de 2022 - El senador Jim Brewster anunció hoy que es el principal copatrocinador de la legislación destinada a mejorar la salud mental de los estudiantes. Este proyecto de ley busca poner más programas de atención de salud mental en las escuelas y profesionales en las aulas.
El senador Brewster y el senador Williams copatrocinan el proyecto de ley SB 1285, que centrará la mayoría de las subvenciones otorgadas a través del programa de Seguridad y Protección Escolar de la Comisión de Delincuencia y Crimen de Pensilvania para el año escolar 2022-23 en solicitudes de financiamiento para proyectos que apoyan la salud conductual y mental de los estudiantes.
"Como miembro del Comité de Seguridad y Seguridad Escolar de Pensilvania, he sido un destacado defensor de más recursos para los servicios de salud mental en nuestras escuelas", dijo Brewster. "Esta legislación dirigirá la mayor parte de la financiación para 2022-2023 a los distritos escolares para la programación adicional de salud mental y conductual".
Esta legislación sigue el modelo de una medida similar que la Asamblea General adoptó en 2020, cuando centró temporalmente estas subvenciones en la respuesta a la pandemia de COVID-19.
"Incluso antes de la pandemia, los estudiantes nos han estado diciendo que hay una creciente crisis de salud mental juvenil", dijo el senador Williams. " Los informes Safe2Say nos hacen saber que el acoso, el suicidio y las autolesiones son tres de los mayores problemas a los que se enfrentan nuestros estudiantes en este momento, y es hora de que la Asamblea General tome medidas para abordarlos. Hemos hablado de cómo la pandemia ha causado una crisis de salud mental en nuestros estudiantes durante más de dos años, ya es hora de que empecemos a tomar medidas para financiar los servicios que pueden proporcionar asistencia inmediata a esos estudiantes."
4 de febrero de 2020
Spending plan invests in school safety, pushes charter school funding reform
Harrisburg – Febrero 4, 2020 – State Sen. Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland) today said that Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed 2020-21 state budget plan is a solid spending framework that emphasizes charter school funding reforms and investments in school safety.
Gov. Tom Wolf presented his $36 billion General Fund spending plan to a joint session of the General Assembly this morning at the state Capitol.
Brewster, who has been a leading advocate of charter school funding reform and school safety initiatives — including mental health counselors, remediation of safety hazards and better security at schools — said he was pleased that these areas were a focus of the governor’s budget.
The governor’s plan does not include a call for broad-based tax increases. The charter school reforms would generate an estimated $280 million in savings for school districts and taxpayers.
A continuación figura la declaración de Brewster:
“The governor’s proposed budget does not include a call for additional taxes, which is a win for all taxpayers. The plan does include investments and important initiatives that I’ve been strongly backing for years. The charter school funding reforms will yield in excess of $280 million and there is funding included for school safety that can be used to pay for more counselors in schools.
“I look forward to working with the governor and all members of the General Assembly, on both sides of the aisle, to ensure that we enact a solid spending plan that meets the needs of our citizens, without the need to raise taxes.”
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