HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania legislators have passed a bill that would increase transparency for school incidents involving weapons, sending the measure to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature.

Senate Bill 246, sponsored by Republican Sen. Jarrett Coleman of District 16 and Democratic Sen. Christine Tartaglione of District 2, would amend the state’s Public School Code to require schools to notify parents, guardians and employees when a weapon is brought onto school property or to a school-sponsored activity.

The bill was presented to the governor on Wednesday. If signed into law, the new requirements would take effect 60 days later.

Under current state law, school districts are only required to report incidents involving weapon possession to the Department of Education if a student is expelled for the offense. Supporters of SB 246 argued that this provides too little information to the community.

"There should be a much higher level of transparency around weapons brought to schools," Coleman wrote in a memo co-signed by Tartaglione. The goal, they wrote, is to ensure that parents, guardians, and school employees are “informed in a timely manner of any incidents with the potential to affect their children and the safety of the school.”

The measure was passed by the Senate last week after House amendments were accepted.

The proposed changes would require public school entities, including school districts and charter schools, as well as nonpublic and private schools, to provide written or electronic notification within 24 hours of incidents involving the possession of a weapon that violates state law or local school policy.

The bill also includes notification for a student's second and subsequent violation of a school's bullying policy, incidents of harassment, those that involve serious bodily injury, and incidents of intentional and significant damage to school property where the repair cost is more than $1,000.

In incidents involving a weapon or significant property damage, schools may limit the notification to the parents and staff of the specific building where the incident occurred. However, if that building shares a campus with others, notification must be sent to all buildings on that shared campus.

The bill includes provisions to protect student privacy. Notifications sent to the broader school community may not contain personally identifiable information about a student, adhering to federal privacy law.

The parent or guardian of a student found in possession of a weapon must be notified, and a school employee to whom a student in weapon possession is assigned must be notified of the student’s identity and relevant records.

The legislation also clarifies that it does not replace a school's existing responsibility to report incidents to local law enforcement or to follow procedures in its emergency preparedness plan.