Committee hears support for House Bill 1919 to protect educators injured by student behavior

Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and a middle‑school teacher, told the House Education Committee that injuries from student behavior — including hitting, biting and incidents that have led to classroom evacuations — are becoming more frequent and severe, causing concussions, emergency‑room visits and extended medical leaves.

"They're not walking away from this profession. They're walking away from high risk classrooms," Chapin said, describing conversations he held with educators across the state. Chapin said delayed or partial pay under the current workers' compensation system, along with loss of health insurance and credited service toward pension accounts, is prompting experienced staff to leave.

Chapin testified in favor of House Bill 1919, which he said "ensures that when a school employee is injured due to a student behavior ... they can recover at home without losing payor benefits." He said the proposal would establish a statewide baseline so educators would not have to rely solely on local bargaining for those protections. Chapin described the bill as an "immediate, practical response" to injuries driving retention problems; he identified PSEA membership at roughly 177,000 members in his testimony.

Committee members asked how a statewide floor would interact with collective bargaining. Chapin said the intent was not to preempt local agreements but to provide a minimum standard for districts that currently lack protections: "We're not trying to take anything away from collective bargaining agreements ... Just provide a baseline and a floor so that our educators and support staff are being taken care of."

Testimony also referenced the Heart and Lung Act as a precedent for recognizing public servants who face inherent job risks; witnesses argued HB1919 applies similar principles to school employees. No vote occurred; the committee heard testimony and engaged members in follow‑up questions about implementation, local contract relations and funding implications. The committee adjourned without taking a formal vote on the bill.

The bill is sponsored in testimony by Representatives Mahaffey and Friel; the committee did not record a legislative action during this session.