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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:

  1. Recognition of the signs of sexual misconduct, as defined in Act 126;
  2. Reporting requirements for suspected sexual misconduct set forth in the Educator Discipline Act;
  3. Provisions of the Educator Discipline Act, including mandatory reporting requirements; and
  4. 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.