The Jack Reid Law was enacted in New York in October 2025 to extend anti-bullying protections to students attending nonpublic schools, ensuring that all students have access to a safe learning environment regardless of where they attend school. The law is named in memory of Jack Reid, a seventeen-year-old student whose life was tragically cut short after enduring persistent bullying at a private school. In response, the Jack Reid Foundation was established to advance evidence-based bullying prevention policies and promote stronger protections for students. Building on the successful New York model, this legislation seeks to ensure that Pennsylvania students receive the same protections regardless of the type of school they attend.
 
Bullying remains a pervasive issue both inside and outside the classroom, and students who experience bullying are significantly more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and other adverse mental health outcomes than their peers. While the FY 2026-27 Budget included important updates to strengthen Pennsylvania's anti-bullying laws, those protections currently apply only to public school entities, including school districts, intermediate units, area career and technical schools, charter schools, cyber charter schools, and regional technical schools.
 
As a result, more than 250,000 students attending Pennsylvania's nonpublic schools do not receive the same statutory protection against bullying as students in public schools. A family's decision regarding where to educate their child is deeply personal, but every student—regardless of school setting—deserves equal protection from bullying.
 
My legislation would address this gap by extending anti-bullying protections to students enrolled in nonpublic schools across the Commonwealth. Specifically, nonpublic schools would be required to:
 

• adopt and periodically review their policies related to bullying, review the policy with school community;
• make the policy publicly accessible on the school’s internet website, if available, and in every classroom;
• post the policy prominently throughout the school buildings, promptly investigate alleged incidents of bullying;
• notify the students involved in alleged incidents of bullying, and;
• promptly notify the students and parents who were involved in the alleged bullying of the outcome of the investigation.

 
This legislation would not require nonpublic schools to report their bullying policies or incident data to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, nor would this legislation infringe upon a nonpublic school’s First Amendment protections. Rather, the Jack Reid Law would ensure that students attending nonpublic schools receive protections against bullying comparable to those already afforded to students in public school settings.
 
By enacting this legislation, we can help ensure that all Pennsylvania students—regardless of the type of school they attend—are afforded the same basic protection from bullying and have the opportunity to learn in a safe and supportive environment. I respectfully ask you to join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.