Latest news with #Fanta'sLaw
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Proposed bill would allow Pennsylvania students to take mental health days
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A representative announced plans to model new legislation after a current Utah law that allows students to take mental health days. Representative Napoleon Nelson (D-Montgomery County) called mental health a 'significant issue' among students and youth. Adding that in a 2023 report, 98,000 students have depression and over half had not received care for their mental health. 'Additionally, high school students with depression are more than two times more likely to drop out than their peers, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents,' Nelson wrote. 'Fanta's Law' aims to require Pennsylvania police firearms training courses The proposed legislation would be modeled after a current law in Utah. The bill would allow students to take excused absences to recover from mental health issues, while not creating additional personal or sick days. An additional part of the legislation would require a staff member to talk to a student who has taken two or more mental health days. In a memo to lawmakers, the additional part of the legislation would make it so that students can be connected to mental health support. 'Student mental health is just as important as physical health, and normalizing support for students with mental health issues has increased in the last several years. Teen mental health has been recognized as a crisis, and it is important for the Commonwealth to take charge in protecting the well-being of its citizens,' Nelson wrote. Nelson argues that these are the benefits of the proposed legislation: Normalizes mental health support and encourages students to take care of their mental health Provides schools with additional insight Would allow schools to connect students with essential supports rather than simply punishing them The full memo to lawmakers can be read here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Fanta's Law' aims to require Pennsylvania police firearms training courses
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Representative is aiming to 'hold police to the highest standards' by requiring mandatory in-service firearms training courses. Representative David Delloso's (D-Delaware) bill, also known as Fanta's Law, was created in response to an incident in August 2021, when eight-year-old Fanta Billy was shot and killed by three police officers who were responding to a gunfight in the area. The officers fired at a moving vehicle they believed to be involved in the shooting and ultimately killed Fanta and injured three others, including Fanta's 12-year-old sister. An investigation was opened into the shooting and found that the officers involved fired a total of 25 shots at the vehicle. Delloso noted that although the officers involved accepted their involvement in Fanta's death and are serving probation, their 'reckless, split-second decision to start firing at a random vehicle will forever stay with the community.' Fanta's Law would require all law enforcement officers in an agency located in a county of the second class A with a population between 565,000 and 600,000 to undergo and complete mandatory in-service firearms training courses at least four times each year. In addition to the training, officers would also have the opportunity to undergo 'real-world simulation training' at least twice per year to better prepare them for confrontations. 'As elected officials, we need to ensure the safety and security of all of our fellow Pennsylvanians,' Delloso wrote. 'By requiring our law enforcement officers to complete these concentrated, real-world trainings, they will be better equipped to protect our families and themselves should they need to.' Documentation of the training would be required, with officers who fail to complete the training requirements placed on administrative leave until the requirements are met. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
