The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of School Climate and Well-Being coordinates school safety and security programs, collects the annual school violence statistics, coordinates antiviolence efforts, and develops policies and strategies to combat school violence.

The office supports and provides technical assistance, professional development programs, and security-related activities to support school safety in the following areas: crisis intervention, school police training, violence prevention, social/emotional wellness, and safety. Pennsylvania Department of Education - Office of School Climate and Well-Being .

The resources highlighted below reflect relevance to classroom teachers. Please note that each topic includes numerous related resources.

Act 126
Bullying Prevention
Pennsylvania Career Ready Skills
Equity and Inclusion
Mental Health
School Climate
SEL Best Practices
Family/Community Engagement

Act 126 General Information
- Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Act (Act 126) opens in new window
- ACT 126 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Opens up a PDF file in a new tab
Act 126 Course Providers
- Act 126 Approved Course List opens in new window
- Items Required for Course Approval Opens up a PDF file in a new tab

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office for Safe Schools bullying prevention webpage contains resources for parents, educators, and professionals serving children and youth in school and out-of-school settings.
Bullying Prevention opens in new window
Bullying Prevention Toolkit opens in new window
Best Practices in Bullying Prevention and Intervention opens in new window
Bullying and Harassment of Students with Disabilities opens in new window

The Pennsylvania Career Ready Skills (PA CRS) are social emotional learning progressions that support the development of student competence. By design, the PA CRS reflect priorities to ensure youth are career ready and prepared to meet the demands of the 21st century workforce. The PA CRS are grouped into three domains.
Pennsylvania Career Ready Skills opens in new window

A healthy and safe environment can help students thrive, and every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression should be provided the opportunity to learn – free from discrimination, fear, or harassment.
Self-Awareness: School/District, Classroom, and Individual Resources opens in new window
Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging opens in new window

Mental health in childhood includes reaching developmental and emotional milestones, as well as learning healthy social skills and how to cope when there are problems. Mental health disorders in children and adolescents are described as serious changes in the way children typically learn, behave, or handle their emotions, causing distress and problems getting through the day. It is estimated that approximately 30% of school aged children will experience a behavioral, mental, or developmental condition in any given year.
Mental Health opens in new window
Act 71- Suicide, Prevention, and Exploitation Awareness opens in new window
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Best Practices Resources opens in new window
Trauma opens in new window
Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators opens in new window
Grief and Loss opens in new window

School climate refers to the quality and character of school life, and is based on patterns of student, parent, and staff experiences and perceptions of school life. It also reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures, according to the National School Climate Center. These pages provide resources that were compiled to assist schools with improving school climate, and are organized to be in alignment with a team-driven process that addresses climate as a component of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), or overall school improvement.
School Climate opens in new window
- National School Climate Center
- General Resources
- School Climate Improvement Process
- Five-stage Improvement Process

These pages provide a resource guide of best practices in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs, curricula, and supplemental materials. What’s included is not exhaustive of available resources, nor does inclusion indicate endorsement by PDE. Information is provided to give school teams a starting point for addressing and implementing an SEL program in their schools.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Best Practices Resources opens in new window
- Curriculum
- Program and/or Supplement
- School Wide Programs

As an educational community seeks to examine its strengths and weaknesses as they pertain to equity throughout, it is critical to involve the family and the local community. The student body is representative and a part of the surrounding community, and thus their families and communities have direct interest in the practices of their children's school.
Family/Community Engagement opens in new window

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