Act 126 Training
Act 126 of 2012 ("Child Abuse
Recognition and Reporting Training") amended the Public School Code of 1949 to
mandate that all school entities and
independent contractors of school
entities provide their employees who have direct contact with children
with a minimum of three hours of training every five years on child abuse and sexual misconduct recognition and reporting.
The law went into effect on January 2, 2013.
The Commission has developed a free three-hour online course entitled "Professional
Ethics and the Educator Discipline Act". The course consists of
four modules, which participants can complete at their own pace. Completion of the course partially satisfies
the mandatory training requirements of Act 126 as follows:
-
Recognition
of the signs of sexual misconduct, as defined in Act 126;
- Reporting
requirements for suspected sexual misconduct set forth in the Educator
Discipline Act;
- Provisions
of the Educator Discipline Act, including mandatory reporting requirements; and
- Maintenance
of Professional and Appropriate Relationships with Students.
Participants will
still need to receive training addressing child abuse recognition and reporting
under the Child Protective Services Law and their school entity's policies related to reporting of suspected abuse and
sexual misconduct.
The
course is available on the Department of Education's SAS Portal. Participants who do not have a SAS account must first register for
one by visiting PDE SAS. To
register for and view the course, participants must log into the SAS PDE Center. A brief assessment will be given at the end of the course. All participants will receive a certificate of
completion. Educators holding
Pennsylvania certification will receive Act 48 credit. All content must be viewed prior to taking
the assessment and receiving a certificate.
Click the link below for more detailed instructions.
Individuals who are not
interested in receiving a certificate of completion or Act 48 credit can view
the course here: Act 126 Demo. This version of the course allows participants
to skip through slides and may be particularly useful for teachers in
preparation programs who want to use all or some of the course content to complement classroom instruction for preservice
teachers. Individuals who want to receive
a certificate and Act 48 credit MUST
log into the SAS PD Center and obtain a passing score on the assessment.
More information about the requirements of Act 126
Act 126 Training Registration Instructions (PDF)