Pennsylvania Schools: Meet Act 18, 55, & 71 Requirements with Confidence

Understanding Pennsylvania’s Safety Mandates & Challenges

Pennsylvania has enacted three critical laws—Act 18, Act 55, and Act 71—to enhance school safety, behavioral threat assessment, and student mental health support:

• Act 18: Requires all school entities to establish threat assessment teams to identify and mitigate potential threats. However, without a mandated framework, schools may struggle with consistency and compliance.
• Act 55: Mandates behavioral health awareness and trauma-informed training for educators, ensuring that school staff can recognize and respond to student mental health concerns.
• Act 71: Focuses on suicide prevention, requiring schools to provide age-appropriate education, intervention programs, and crisis response training to support at-risk students.

The Risk of Non-Compliance: Liability & Legal Exposure

Pennsylvania schools must comply with state-mandated intervention, threat assessment, and suicide prevention requirements. Without a structured process and proper documentation, districts face serious risks: 

• Legal Liability – Schools are accountable if intervention protocols aren’t followed or documented, leaving them vulnerable in audits and lawsuits.
• Funding Loss – Non-compliance with state requirements could put schools at risk of losing funding.
• Reputational Damage – Failure to act on a reported threat can lead to lawsuits, negative media attention, and loss of public trust.
• Gaps in Safe2Say & SAP Data – Without a unified system to track and act on reports, critical student risks may go unnoticed, increasing liability. 

Navigate360’s ecosystem approach helps you streamline compliance, reduce liability, and ensure no at-risk student falls through the cracks.

The Solution: Simplified Compliance with Integrated Solutions & Training

Your schools need integrated safety and prevention solutions that help you streamline threat assessment, intervention tracking, and documentation—ensuring you stay compliant while protecting students, staff, and district funding.

Seamless Compliance with Pennsylvania’s Threat Assessment Mandates

Navigate360 Behavioral Case Manager fully integrates with nationally recognized models like CSTAG and NTAC, as well as state-specific frameworks like the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) model. This allows districts to use their preferred threat assessment model while ensuring Act 18 compliance.

• Tracks interventions and documents decisions to create a clear, auditable footprint of student safety actions.
• Prevents lost data by digitally integrating records across multidisciplinary teams.
• Ensures compliance in audits, investigations, and legal proceedings—reducing liability risks.

Training from Experts to Support Act 55 & Act 71 Requirements

Pennsylvania mandates behavioral health awareness, trauma-informed practices, and suicide prevention training—but many schools struggle to ensure consistent, research-backed education for staff. How Navigate360 helps:

• Suicide Awareness & Prevention Training – Equips educators to identify warning signs, intervene early, and support at-risk students.
• Behavioral Threat Assessment Training – Provides CSTAG- and NTAC-aligned training for multidisciplinary teams.
• Expert-Led Online & In-Person Learning – Ensures staff training is accessible, comprehensive, and aligned with best practices.

Visibility into Student Well-Being Through Safe2Say & SAP Integration

Schools receive critical tips, often related to youth suicide, through Safe2Say and mental health concerns through Pennsylvania’s Student Assistance Program (SAP), yet many struggle to connect these insights to broader intervention strategies—leading to missed warning signs and at-risk students falling through the cracks. How Navigate360 helps:

• Centralized Platform – Case Manager can integrate Safe2Say tips, SAP forms, and threat/suicide assessments into one system.
• Prevents Critical Gaps – Provides real-time visibility into a student’s risk factors, ensuring timely intervention.
• Ensures Accountability – Gives multidisciplinary teams a complete picture of student well-being, improving outcomes.

Liability Protection Through Defensible Documentation

A failure to document compliance, track interventions, or act on reported threats can result in serious legal and financial consequences for schools. Without clear records, districts face increased liability, funding risks, and reputational damage. How Navigate360 helps:

• Time-Stamped, Legally Defensible Records – Ensures every step is documented and provable in audits or legal challenges.
• Automated Compliance Tracking – Standardizes intervention processes across the district to ensure policy adherence.
• Seamless Record-Keeping – Prevents lost documentation as students transition between schools and grade levels.

Why Pennsylvania Schools Choose Navigate360

Compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We help schools with:
Seamless Compliance – Meet Pennsylvania’s intervention and reporting mandates with confidence.

• Liability Protection – Ensure every step is documented and legally defensible.
• Expert-Led Training & Threat Assessment Tools – Developed to align with Pennsylvania’s mandated safety protocols.
• Preventing Legal & Reputational Risks – Tracks every intervention to ensure follow-through.
• A Long-term Partner in School Safety – Our team of dedicated school safety professionals will work alongside you every step of the way, from implementation to ongoing support, ensuring your district’s success.