State of Pennsylvania H.B. 301: Education Grants for De-escalation Training

ARTICLE XIII-A
Section 1302-A
Student Supports

(b) The Department of Education shall have the power and duty to implement the provisions set forth in Section 13-1306-B below.

Section 13-1306-B
School Safety and Security Grant Program

(j) Specific purposes [for the use of grant awards]

The committee shall provide grants to school entities for programs that address school mental health and safety and security, including:

(2) Conflict resolution or dispute management;

CPI Alignment

Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc. (CPI) believes in providing staff with safe and effective strategies for recognizing potential crisis situations and for developing de-escalation, empathic listening, limit setting, and debriefing skills. These skills are imperative in effective conflict resolution and dispute management, helping to create a safer school climate and more effective classrooms.

(3) School-wide positive behavior support;

CPI Alignment

CPI training programs can be utilized as tier one supports, and as individualized tier three supports. CPI’s evidence-based approach to limit setting supports decision-making opportunities for an individual in crisis that can help de-escalate behaviors.

(6) Risk assessment, safety-related, violence prevention curricula;

CPI Alignment

CPI training programs focus on prevention by recognizing the early warning signs of potential crisis situations and equipping staff with nonverbal and verbal de-escalation skills. The program teaches staff about the signs of aggression, how to handle them, and how to read a situation for indicators of violence.

CPI teaches staff to constantly engage in risk assessment throughout the crisis. This assessment is focused on evaluating the risks and likelihood of specific behaviors and weighing them against the potential risks of intervention.

(10) Development and implementation of research-based violence prevention programs that address risk factors to reduce incidents of problem behaviors among students;

CPI Alignment

CPI’s trauma-informed, person-centered training helps staff learn what to look for, how to assess student disruptions, and how to successfully prevent or manage crisis situations. CPI’s training provides a full range of prevention techniques on verbal de-escalation and physical disengagement skills to defuse any incidents that staff cannot successfully prevent.

(17) Staff training programs in the use of positive behavior supports, de-escalation techniques, and appropriate responses to student behavior that may require immediate intervention.

CPI Alignment

CPI training programs focus on prevention by recognizing the early warning signs of potential crisis situations and equipping staff with nonverbal and verbal de-escalation skills. This includes the Crisis Development Model^SM which describes recognizable behavior levels that an escalating person might go through during a crisis. It also describes corresponding staff attitudes and approaches to de-escalate behaviors.

(21) Trauma-informed approaches to education, including:

(ii)(A) Programs providing trauma-informed approaches to education the curriculum, including training of school employees, school directors and behavioral health professionals to develop safe, stable and nurturing learning environments that prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma.

CPI Alignment

CPI programs are designed to build the knowledge and skills needed to recognize, prevent, and manage crisis behaviors using person-centered, trauma-informed responses. Through the program, staff will begin to establish a common philosophy and framework for the school’s culture of Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security^SM.

(27) Training and related materials for school employees or students that are evidence based and focus on identifying the signs and signals of anxiety, depression, suicide or self-harm in students.

CPI Alignment

CPI is the world’s leading provider of evidence-based de-escalation training. CPI programs equip staff with crisis intervention and de-escalation skills that reduce challenging behavior and help prevent future incidents.

Staff are trained to watch for Precipitating Factors, including trauma, that can impact student behavior.

Additionally, CPI offers a specialty topic program in mental health allowing qualified Certified Instructors to tailor their trainings to include an effective framework for preventing, de-escalating, and safely responding to crisis behavior through the lens of mental health.

(h)(10) For FY 2023-24, the committee shall commit funds relating to school safety and security and school mental health to school entities that receive a grand award under this section no later than March 31, 2024.

(h)(11) For FY 2024-25 and thereafter, the committee shall commit funds no later than December 31 of each calendar year in which funds are available.

(g)(1) Each school entity may make application [for funds] annually.

(f) Minimum allocation:

(1) District with daily average membership greater than 3,900 shall receive a minimum grant of $45,000;

(2)Greater than 2,100 but less than or equal to 3,900 shall receive minimum of $40,000;

(3) Greater than 1,200 but less than or equal to 2,100 shall receive a minimum of $35,000;

(4) Less than or equal to 1,200 shall receive a minimum of $30,000.