O’Mara proposal to require parental notification of bullying passes General Assembly
Legislators also approve budget that helps schools, services, communities
Southeast Delegation July 12, 2026 | 4:05 PM
HARRISBURG, July 12 — A proposal championed by state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, to require parental notification of bullying in schools is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature after passing the General Assembly today.
O’Mara’s proposal was included in a larger piece of legislation on school governance, House Bill 1505, which was approved by both chambers along with bills related to the state budget.
The measure would require schools to establish a procedure for investigating all alleged bullying and cyberbullying incidents and to immediately notify parents and legal guardians of any student involved after a bullying incident has been confirmed.
O’Mara said the measure is needed to help protect children and address the youth mental health crisis. Because many children are not comfortable discussing these incidents, many parents are unaware that their child is involved in a bullying incident until it’s too late.
“I led the fight for this measure in the House because we need a statewide standard for parental notification,” O’Mara said. “Some schools already do this, but not all. Now we can be sure that parents in every corner of the commonwealth must be made aware of incidents that allow them to help their kids before it’s too late.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports suicide is the second-leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14. Children who experience or perpetuate bullying are found to have an increased risk of suicidality.
The legislation also expands employee training to include suicide prevention and cyberbullying and requires schools to report AI-involved digital offenses and forgery to the state Department of Education.
O’Mara also supported the budget plan approved by both chambers and sent to the governor’s desk today, saying it helps schools and other services without raising taxes and without tapping into the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Besides schools, the budget invests more in childcare and the childcare workforce, grants and scholarships for college students, mental health services, programs to combat food insecurity, programs for veterans, and violence prevention measures.
“Thanks to my budget vote, every school district in the 165th Legislative District is getting more money to teach our kids and protect our taxpayers,” O’Mara said. “Besides helping schools, this budget delivers affordability, safe communities, and economic development opportunities to our improve our quality of life and keep people, businesses and jobs in Pennsylvania.”
###