A school bus parked in Upper Burrell Township in Westmoreland County on January 16, 2026. (Photo by John Beale for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
Emily Scolnick is a 2026 Dow Jones News Fund intern at Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
When Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 budget into law On Sunday evening, he also introduced a slew of fresh initiatives included in the state’s latest school code aimed at improving student safety and well-being.
The budget allocates more than $900 million for public schools, including $565 million in fresh funding matching school districts, which remains a priority for Democratic state lawmakers as they work to ensure a more equitable school funding system in the state. It also directs $100 million to mental health and school safety resources.
But other programs will create fresh policies on cyberbullying, limit the dissemination of student health statistics and support educate students about social media skills and the prevalence of eating disorders.
“The overwhelming theme of this education code was the protection of students, both their physical safety and their mental health and well-being,” said Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh), who chairs the House Education Committee.
The Code calls on schools to provide education about the mental, physical and psychological effects of social media, as well as provide students and teachers with programs to develop social media skills as part of broader efforts to protect children in the digital age.
It also requires each school to establish or amend policies specifying disciplinary actions for cyberbullying, including notifying parents and guardians immediately after an incident is reported and identified. School administrators are also required to annually report incidents of bullying or cyberbullying – including the number of incidents involving artificial intelligence.
“We’ve done a lot of work on student safety and security, and we’re really proud of that work,” Schweyer said.
Other fresh policies in this year’s school code focus more on students’ physical health. The Commonwealth now requires schools to work with the state Department of Health to offer eating disorder awareness education to students in sixth through 12th grades each year, making the materials available to families.
The initiative stems from a bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Allegheny), who first introduced legislation calling for the creation of Eating Disorders Task Force in January 2025. A year and a half later, this year’s budget ensures the creation of the commission becomes a reality and calls for its first meeting within two months. Health and education departments will need to update awareness of eating disorders
Another measure introduced in 2025 by Rep. Danielle Friel Otten (D-Chester) called for eliminating body mass index screening among students, citing privacy concerns and excessive stigmatization of BMI. While this year’s budget doesn’t completely eliminate screenings, it does allow parents and guardians to request waivers for their students and instructs school nurses to keep students’ health statistics private unless they specifically request it.
This year’s budget continues to fund free breakfasts for students across Pennsylvania, allocates $3 million to ensure students have access to menstrual hygiene products, and calls for mandatory recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The latter has been a priority for Shapiro since his February budget speech.
“Common sense tells us that children need more time to play, socialize and interact with each other,” he said at a budget signing ceremony this weekend.
Schweyer also highlighted school code provisions regarding school site surveys and school mapping, emphasizing the importance of ensuring students’ physical safety.
By the end of 2027, the state Department of Education will collect data from each district on the number of facilities it occupies and the purpose and capacity of each facility. Schweyer said the information would be used to “verify the age and suitability of our schools.”
Mapping schools will allow first responders to know the purpose and location of each room in a school facility in an emergency, Schweyer said.
“If there is a specific case that requires first aid, they have somewhere to go and where to go,” he added.
