Section 163. Release of Information to School

A. Generally. Upon finding a juvenile to be a delinquent, the court shall, through the juvenile probation office, provide the following information to the building principal or his or her designee of any public, private, or parochial school in which the juvenile is enrolled:

1) name and address of the juvenile;

2) the delinquent act or acts that the juvenile was found to have committed;

3) a brief description of the delinquent act or acts; and

4) the disposition of the case.

B. Notice to school. In addition to the information provided in paragraph (A), the juvenile probation office shall provide notice of the following information:

1) a statement informing the building principal or his or her designee that information received under this rule:

a) shall be maintained separately from the juvenile’s official school record;

b) is for the limited purposes of:

i) protecting school personnel and students; and

ii) arranging for appropriate counseling and education for the juvenile;

c) may not be used for school disciplinary decisions concerning the juvenile unless:

i) the juvenile was under the supervision of the board of directors at the time of the incident;

ii) the act or acts that were substantiated by the court took place on or within 1,500 feet of the school property; and

iii) the school has complied with all other statutory, regulatory, and constitutional provisions relative to the imposition of school discipline; and

d) shall be shared with the juvenile’s teachers.

2) a statement informing the building principal or his or her designee of the requirement to:

a) maintain a log of all school district employees, or building principals or their designees from other school districts, to whom this information was subsequently provided when a juvenile was transferred to another school; and

b) provide a copy of the notice as listed in paragraph (B)(1) to the new school.

C. Additional information.

1) If the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent of a felony offense, the court, through the juvenile probation office, shall provide to the building principal or his or her designee relevant information regarding the juvenile contained in the juvenile probation or treatment reports pertaining to the adjudication, prior delinquent history, and the supervision plan of the juvenile.

2) The court or the juvenile probation office shall have the authority to share any additional information regarding the juvenile under its jurisdiction with the building principal or his or her designee as deemed necessary to protect public safety or to enable appropriate treatment, supervision, or rehabilitation of the juvenile.

D. Acknowledgement of notice and information. The building principal or his or her designee shall provide written acknowledgement to the juvenile probation office of the receipt of, and the requirements and restrictions pertaining to, the information provided under this rule.

E. Transfers to other schools.

1) Any information provided to and maintained by the building principal or his or her designee under this rule shall be transferred to the building principal or his or her designee of any public, private, or parochial school to which the juvenile transfers enrollment.

2) When this information is transferred to an official from another school district, the building principal or his or her designee shall include a copy of the notice initially provided by the juvenile probation office pursuant to paragraph (B).

3) The building principal or his or her designee shall maintain a log of all individuals from other school districts to whom this information is subsequently provided, and shall inform the juvenile probation office upon providing this information to officials from other school districts.

F. Maintained separately. Any information provided to the building principal or his or her designee under this rule shall be maintained separately from the juvenile’s official school record.

G. Dissemination. Unauthorized dissemination of any information contained in the school record to any unauthorized person, agency, or department may result in a finding of contempt of court.

Comment

Pursuant to paragraph (B), the juvenile probation office is required to provide notice to the building principal or his or her designee for maintaining court records separately from official school records. Some school districts have established local policies relating to the receipt of this information that requires the information to be provided to a school district official other than a building principal. That individual should be regarded as the building principal’s designee with respect to the provisions of this rule.

The delinquency information in the school record is to be used only by school officials and is not to be released to the general public or third parties unless ordered by the court. In addition, information sent to the school may not be used for disciplinary purposes against the juvenile. The juvenile probation office should send a notice to the school when it sends information to the school concerning the findings of the court. The notice should state that any information received by the school should not be used against the juvenile for disciplinary reasons, including suspensions and expulsions. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 6341(b.1)(4).

The requirements in paragraph (B) are derived from 42 Pa.C.S. § 6341(b.1)(4), 24 P. S. § 5-510; D.O.F. v. Lewisburg Area School District, 868 A.2d 28 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2004) (holding schools do not have the authority to discipline students, even for actions on school property, if they are not currently under school supervision); and Hoke ex rel. Reidenback v. Elizabethtown Area School District, 833 A.2d 304 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2003).

For further dissemination and usage in school, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 6341(b.1).

In paragraph (D), nothing is intended by this rule to preclude acknowledgement by electronic means.

Pursuant to paragraph (F), information provided by the court is to be kept and maintained separately from the juvenile’s official school record. If the court has ordered a record to be expunged, the court, concurrently, is to order the destruction of the information provided to the school by the court, including information subsequently provided to another school. The terms ‘‘expunged’’ and ‘‘destruction’’ should not be confused in this Comment. Because the school does not fall within any category for retention of information pursuant to Rule 173, there is no reason for the school to maintain its information. Therefore, the school is to destroy all information received from the court.

Official Note

Rule 163 adopted April 1, 2005, effective October 1, 2005. Amended May 21, 2012, effective August 1, 2012. Amended July 28, 2014, effective September 29, 2014.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 163 published with the Court’s Order at 35 Pa.B. 2214 (April 16, 2005).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 163 published with the Court’s Order at 42 Pa.B. 3203 (June 9, 2012).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 163 published with the Court’s Order at 44 Pa.B. 5447 (August 16, 2014).

The provisions of this Rule 163 amended May 21, 2012, effective August 1, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 3203; amended July 28, 2014, effective September 29, 2014, 44 Pa.B. 5447. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (363618) and (361557).