Pennsylvania 2025_0 Regular Session Status: In Committee 22 D cosponsors

HB 2873 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in preliminary provisions, providing for nondiscrimination awareness and prevention policy.

Last action — Referred to EDUCATION, Oct. 21, 2026

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced October 21, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 22 sponsors

    1 primary, 21 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (22 D).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

The bill requires schools to adopt nondiscrimination awareness and prevention policies.

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, schools must implement a nondiscrimination policy that protects students based on various characteristics. The Department of Education will provide a model policy and educational materials to assist schools in this initiative.

What this means for you
  • Students: This means students will be safeguarded against discrimination and harassment based on various personal characteristics.

Summary

Nondiscrimination Policies to Protect All Students (Former HB 1997)

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill requires school entities in Pennsylvania to adopt and implement a nondiscrimination awareness and prevention policy.

  • Section 135

    Nondiscrimination Awareness and Prevention Policy.--(a) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, a school entity shall adopt a nondiscrimination awareness and prevention policy consistent with subsection (c), inform the employes of the school entity and parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in the school entity of the policy and post the policy on the school entity's publicly accessible Internet website. The policy adopted by a school entity under this subsection may be based upon the model policy developed by the department under subsection (b)(1). (b) The department shall: (1) In consultation with professional organizations operating in this Commonwealth that serve diverse populations including individuals with disabilities, communities of color and LGBTQ+ individuals, develop a model nondiscrimination awareness and prevention policy that is consistent with subsection (c). (2) Identify awareness and prevention educational materials and make the materials available to school entities and, upon request, to nonpublic schools. A school entity may incorporate the materials into the school entity's discrimination awareness and prevention policy. (c) The model policy developed by the department under subsection (b)(1) and any policy adopted by a school entity under subsection (a) shall include: (1) A statement that students and school employes will not be discriminated against or harassed based on their actual or perceived race, color, sex, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or disability. (2) A statement that expression of transgender or nonbinary identity or any other form of gender nonconforming behavior is a healthy, appropriate and typical aspect of human development. (3) A statement that a gender nonconforming student or school employe should never be asked, encouraged or required to affirm a gender identity or to express the student's gender in a manner that is not consistent with the student's self-identification or expression. (4) A statement that discrimination, harassment and intimidation include conduct that is directed at a student or school employe based on a student or school employe's actual or perceived characteristics and includes conduct that targets a student or school employe because of a characteristic of a friend, family member or other person or group with whom a student or school employe associates. (5) Methods of prevention, including procedures for early identification and referral of students at risk of discrimination, harassment and intimidation. (6) Methods of intervention, including procedures that establish and maintain a behavior threat assessment process based on an appraisal of behaviors and provide appropriate preventive or corrective measures to maintain safe and secure school environments and workplaces. (7) Methods of responding to a student or school employe's discrimination or harassment incident or report based on a student or school employe's actual or perceived characteristics. (8) Reporting procedures and school safety measures that do not reinforce biases against or rely on the profiling of students based on their actual or perceived characteristics.

    This new section establishes requirements for adopting a nondiscrimination policy in schools, including its content and implementation.

Action History

  1. Referred to EDUCATION, Oct. 21, 2026

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 21 co-sponsors · 231 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (21)

Not signed on (231)

231 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 2873 do?
Nondiscrimination Policies to Protect All Students (Former HB 1997)
Who sponsors HB 2873?
HB 2873 is sponsored by Nancy Guenst (Democratic), Joseph C. Hohenstein (Democratic), Ismail Smith-Wade-El (Democratic), Paul Takac (Democratic), Tarik Khan (Democratic), Andre D. Carroll (Democratic), Carol Hill-Evans (Democratic), Tarah Probst (Democratic), Heather Boyd (Democratic), Ben Waxman (Democratic), Maureen E. Madden (Democratic), Malcolm Kenyatta (Democratic), Danielle Friel Otten (Democratic), Benjamin V. Sanchez (Democratic), Christopher M. Rabb (Democratic), Kristine C. Howard (Democratic), Danilo Burgos (Democratic), Nikki Rivera (Democratic), Robert Freeman (Democratic), Melissa Cerrato (Democratic), Michael H. Schlossberg (Democratic), and Rick Krajewski (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 2873?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced October 21, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 2873?
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