Bill > SB470

This bill amends the Public School Code to expand opportunities for high school students to receive firefighter and emergency service training. It allows school entities and nonpublic schools to offer credit-earning courses in firefighter and emergency medical technician training for students 16 and older. The bill establishes the Secondary Education Fire Training Pilot Program, which aims to increase the number of volunteer firefighters by creating partnerships between higher education institutions and schools. Under this program, the State Fire Commissioner will select three institutions of higher education (one from each region of Pennsylvania) to provide fire instruction to high school students. The bill also creates a Fire Training Fund to accept monetary donations from various sources to support the program. Each participating institution will receive at least $150,000, and the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee will conduct a survey to assess the program's effectiveness in increasing volunteer firefighter numbers. The pilot program will run for four years, with the goal of addressing the ongoing challenge of recruiting volunteer firefighters by providing early training and exposure to emergency services careers for high school students.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/bill_history.cfm?syear=2025&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=470