LCO No. 4599 1 of 20
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7215
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4599
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
(KID)
AN ACT CONCERNING SA FE SCHOOL CLIMATE POLICIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-222d of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) As used in this section [,] and sections [10-222g to] 10-222h, as 3
amended by this act, 10-222i [, inclusive, and section] and 10-222k, as 4
amended by this act: 5
(1) "Bullying" means [(A) the repeated use by one or more students 6
of a written, oral or electronic communication, such as cyberbullying, 7
directed at or referring to another student attending school in the same 8
school district, or (B) a physical act or gesture by one or more students 9
repeatedly directed at another student attending school in the same 10
school district, that: (i) Causes physical or emotional harm to such 11
student or damage to such student's property, (ii) places such student 12
in reasonable fear of harm to himself or herself, or of damage to his or 13
her property, (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for such 14
student, (iv) infringes on the rights of such student at school, or (v) 15
substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of 16
a school] direct or indirect and severe, persistent or pervasive 17
aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing within an interpersonal 18 Raised Bill No. 7215
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relationship, characterized by an imbalance of power and carried out 19
by an individual. "Bullying" may include, but need not be limited to, 20
an open attack on a victim that is physical or verbal in nature or one or 21
more forms of relational aggression, such as social isolation, 22
intentional exclusion, rumor-spreading, damaging a victim's 23
reputation, making faces or obscene gestures at a victim whether the 24
victim perceives such faces or gestures or not and manipulating 25
friendships and other relationships. "Bullying" shall include, but need 26
not be limited to, [a written, oral or electronic communication or 27
physical act or gesture] aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing 28
based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as 29
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual 30
orientation, gender identity or expression, socioeconomic status, 31
academic status, physical appearance, or mental, physical, 32
developmental or sensory disability, or by association with an 33
individual or group who has or is perceived to have one or more of 34
such characteristics; 35
(2) "Cyberbullying" means [any act of] bullying through the use of 36
the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, cellular mobile 37
telephone or other mobile electronic devices or any electronic 38
communications; 39
(3) "Teen dating violence" means any act of physical, emotional or 40
sexual abuse, including stalking, harassing and threatening, that 41
occurs between two students who are currently in or who have 42
recently been in a dating relationship; 43
(4) "Mobile electronic device" means any hand-held or other 44
portable electronic equipment capable of providing data 45
communication between two or more individuals, including, but not 46
limited to, a text messaging device, a paging device, a personal digital 47
assistant, a laptop computer, equipment that is capable of playing a 48
video game or a digital video disk, or equipment on which digital 49
images are taken or transmitted; 50 Raised Bill No. 7215
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(5) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, 51
writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted 52
in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic 53
or photo-optical system; 54
[(6) "Hostile environment" means a situation in which bullying 55
among students is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the 56
conditions of the school climate;] 57
[(7)] (6) "Outside of the school setting" means at a location, activity 58
or program that is not school related, or through the use of an 59
electronic device or a mobile electronic device that is not owned, 60
leased or used by a local or regional board of education; 61
[(8)] (7) "School employee" means (A) a teacher, substitute teacher, 62
school administrator, school superintendent, guidance counselor, 63
school counselor, psychologist, social worker, nurse, physician, school 64
paraprofessional or coach employed by a local or regional board of 65
education or working in a public elementary, middle or high school; 66
[or] (B) any other individual who, in the performance of his or her 67
duties, has regular contact with students and who provides services to 68
or on behalf of students enrolled in a public elementary, middle or 69
high school, pursuant to a contract with the local or regional board of 70
education; [and] or a volunteer who, in the performance of such 71
volunteer's duties, has regular contact with students and provides 72
services to or on behalf of students enrolled in a public elementary, 73
middle or high school; 74
[(9)] (8) "School climate" means the quality and character of school 75
life [with a particular focus on the quality of the relationships within 76
the school community between and among students and adults.] based 77
on patterns of students', parents' and school employees' experiences of 78
school life, including, but not limited to, norms, goals, values, beliefs, 79
interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices and 80
organizational structures; 81
(9) "Aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing" means an act 82 Raised Bill No. 7215
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that occurs (A) at a school or during a school-sponsored or school-83
related activity, function or program, whether such activity, function 84
or program takes place at a school or elsewhere; (B) at a school bus 85
stop or on a school bus or other vehicle owned, leased or used by a 86
local or regional board of education; (C) through the use of the 87
Internet, interactive and digital technologies, cellular mobile telephone 88
or other mobile electronic devices or any electronic communications; 89
or (D) outside of the school setting, if such act infringes on the rights 90
and opportunities in a school setting of the individual against whom 91
such act was directed; provided such act (i) causes physical or 92
emotional harm to an individual or damage to such individual's 93
property; (ii) places an individual in reasonable fear of harm to self or 94
damage to such individual's property; (iii) creates a hostile 95
environment at school for an individual; or (iv) infringes on the rights 96
and opportunities of an individual at school; 97
(10) "Emotional intelligence" means the ability to (A) perceive or 98
recognize emotions in oneself or others; (B) use emotions to facilitate 99
cognitive activities, including, but not limited to, reasoning, problem 100
solving and interpersonal communication; (C) understand and label 101
emotions; and (D) manage emotions in oneself and others; and 102
(11) "Social and emotional learning" means the process through 103
which children and adults achieve emotional intelligence through 104
competencies, including, but not limited to, self-awareness, self-105
management, social awareness, relationship skills and reasonable 106
decision-making. 107
(b) Each local and regional board of education shall develop and 108
implement a safe school climate [plan to address the existence of 109
bullying and teen dating violence in its schools.] policy. Such [plan] 110
policy shall: [(1) Enable] 111
(1) Promote prevention and intervention and the fostering of a 112
positive school climate through the utilization of model school climate 113
standards, such as the National School Climate Standards published 114 Raised Bill No. 7215
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by the National School Climate Center. A positive school climate shall 115
(A) promote norms, values, beliefs and expectations that support 116
feelings of social, emotional and physical safety; (B) ensure that 117
students, the families of students and school employees are engaged 118
and respected and work together to develop and contribute to a shared 119
school vision; (C) encourage educators to model and nurture attitudes 120
that emphasize the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning; and 121
(D) allow for each person to contribute to the operation of the school 122
and care of the physical environment of the school; 123
(2) Include prevention strategies for bullying and teen dating 124
violence in schools, which may include, but need not be limited to, (A) 125
adoption of evidence-based, data-driven systems for assessing, 126
implementing and continuously improving culturally competent, 127
restorative, social and emotional learning in consultation with or on 128
the recommendation of the Department of Education; (B) school rules 129
and policies that prohibit aggressive behavior or intentional harm-130
doing and teen dating violence and that establish appropriate 131
interventions for those involved in such acts; (C) adequate school 132
employee supervision of outdoor areas, hallways, lunchrooms, 133
bathrooms, school buses and other areas where bullying or teen dating 134
violence is likely to occur; (D) culturally competent school-wide 135
training that focuses on restorative practices and social and emotional 136
learning competencies and evidence-based tools to develop such 137
competencies; (E) student and peer-led training, education and 138
support; and (F) promotion of parent or guardian partnership and 139
engagement in fostering a positive school climate through individual 140
or team participation in meetings and trainings; 141
(3) Include intervention protocols to address bullying and teen 142
dating violence in schools under the jurisdiction of the local or regional 143
board of education by (A) enabling students to anonymously report 144
[acts of bullying] aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing to 145
school employees and require students and the parents or guardians of 146
students to be notified at the beginning of each school year of the 147
process by which students may make such reports; [, (2) enable] (B) 148 Raised Bill No. 7215
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enabling the parents or guardians of students to file written reports of 149
[suspected bullying, (3) require] aggressive behavior or intentional 150
harm-doing; (C) requiring school employees who witness [acts of 151
bullying or receive reports of bullying] aggressive behavior or 152
intentional harm-doing or receive reports of aggressive behavior or 153
intentional harm-doing to orally notify the safe school climate 154
specialist, described in section 10-222k, as amended by this act, or 155
another school administrator if the safe school climate specialist is 156
unavailable, not later than one school day after such school employee 157
witnesses or receives a report of [bullying] aggressive behavior or 158
intentional harm-doing, and to file a written report not later than two 159
school days after making such oral report; [, (4) require] (D) requiring 160
the safe school climate specialist to investigate or supervise the 161
investigation of all reports of [bullying] aggressive behavior or 162
intentional harm-doing and ensure that such investigation is 163
completed promptly after receipt of any written reports made under 164
this section and that the parents or guardians of [the] a student alleged 165
to have [committed an act or acts of bullying] engaged in aggressive 166
behavior or intentional harm-doing and the parents or guardians of the 167
student against whom such alleged [act or acts were] aggressive 168
behavior or intentional harm-doing was directed receive prompt notice 169
that such investigation has commenced; [, (5) require] (E) requiring the 170
safe school climate specialist or such specialist's designee to review 171
any anonymous reports, except that no disciplinary action shall be 172
taken solely on the basis of an anonymous report; [, (6) include a 173
prevention and intervention strategy, as defined by section 10-222g, for 174
school employees to deal with bullying and teen dating violence, (7) 175
provide for the inclusion of language in student codes of conduct 176
concerning bullying, (8) require each school] (F) requiring the safe 177
school climate specialist or such specialist's designee to notify the 178
parents or guardians of [students who commit any verified acts of 179
bullying and the parents or guardians of students against whom such 180
acts were directed not later than forty-eight hours after the completion 181
of the investigation described in subdivision (4) of this subsection, (9) 182
require each school to invite the parents or guardians of a student 183 Raised Bill No. 7215
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against whom such act was directed to a meeting to communicate to 184
such parents or guardians the measures being taken by the school to 185
ensure the safety of the student against whom such act was directed 186
and policies and procedures in place to prevent further acts of 187
bullying, (10) require each school to invite the parents or guardians of 188
a student who commits any verified act of bullying to a meeting, 189
separate and distinct from the meeting required in subdivision (9) of 190
this subsection, to discuss specific interventions undertaken by the 191
school to prevent further acts of bullying, (11) establish] a student who 192
is reasonably found to have committed an act of bullying, not later 193
than forty-eight hours after the completion of an investigation 194
described in subparagraph (D) of this subdivision, of specific 195
interventions in progress or undertaken by the school to prevent 196
further acts of bullying; (G) requiring the safe school climate specialist 197
or such specialist's designee to notify the parents or guardians of a 198
student against whom an act of bullying was directed, not later than 199
forty-eight hours after the completion of an investigation described in 200
subparagraph (D) of this subdivision, of the measures being taken by 201
the school to ensure the safety of such student and the policies and 202
procedures in place at the school to prevent further acts of bullying; 203
(H) establishing a procedure for each school to document and maintain 204
records relating to reports and investigations of [bullying] aggressive 205
behavior or intentional harm-doing in such school and to maintain a 206
list of the number of verified acts of bullying in such school and make 207
such list available for public inspection, and annually report such 208
number to the Department of Education, and in such manner as 209
prescribed by the Commissioner of Education; [, (12) direct] (I) 210
directing the development of case-by-case interventions for addressing 211
[repeated incidents of] bullying against a single individual, [or 212
recurrently perpetrated] bullying incidents by the same individual 213
[that may include both counseling and discipline, (13) prohibit] and, at 214
the discretion of the safe school climate specialist, aggressive behavior 215
or intentional harm-doing by the same individual that may not rise to 216
the level of bullying, provided such interventions may include, but 217
need not be limited to, restorative, equity-based, bias-informed, 218 Raised Bill No. 7215
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culturally competent, trauma-informed interventions and supports for 219
students found to have engaged in bullying, students against whom 220
acts of bullying have been committed, parents and guardians and 221
school employees. Interventions and supports may include, but not be 222
limited to, referrals to a school counselor, psychologist or other 223
appropriate social or mental health service, plans that address safety 224
measures the school will take to protect students against further acts of 225
bullying and periodic follow-ups by the safe school climate specialist; 226
and (J) prohibiting discrimination and retaliation against an individual 227
who reports or assists in the investigation of an act of bullying. [, (14) 228
direct the development of student safety support plans for students 229
against whom an act of bullying was directed that address safety 230
measures the school will take to protect such students against further 231
acts of bullying, (15) require] 232
(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent the ability of the principal of 233
a school, or the principal's designee, to notify the appropriate local law 234
enforcement agency when such principal, or the principal's designee, 235
believes that any acts of bullying or aggressive behavior or intentional 236
harm-doing constitute criminal conduct. [, (16) prohibit bullying (A) on 237
school grounds, at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, 238
function or program whether on or off school grounds, at a school bus 239
stop, on a school bus or other vehicle owned, leased or used by a local 240
or regional board of education, or through the use of an electronic 241
device or an electronic mobile device owned, leased or used by the 242
local or regional board of education, and (B) outside of the school 243
setting if such bullying (i) creates a hostile environment at school for 244
the student against whom such bullying was directed, or (ii) infringes 245
on the rights of the student against whom such bullying was directed 246
at school, or (iii) substantially disrupts the education process or the 247
orderly operation of a school, (17) require, at the beginning of each 248
school year, each school to provide all school employees with a written 249
or electronic copy of the school district's safe school climate plan, and 250
(18) require that all school employees annually complete the training 251
described in section 10-220a or section 10-222j. The notification 252 Raised Bill No. 7215
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required pursuant to subdivision (8) of this subsection and the 253
invitation required pursuant to subdivision (9) of this subsection shall 254
include a description of the response of school employees to such acts 255
and any consequences that may result from the commission of further 256
acts of bullying.] 257
[(c)] (d) Not later than September 1, [2014] 2019, each local and 258
regional board of education that has not had a safe school climate 259
[plan] policy, developed pursuant to this section, previously reviewed 260
[and approved] by the Department of Education shall submit a safe 261
school climate [plan] policy to the department for review [and 262
approval] in accordance with the provisions of section 10-222p, as 263
amended by this act. [Not later than thirty calendar days after 264
approval by the department of such safe school climate plan, the] The 265
board shall make such [plan] policy available on the board's [and each 266
individual school in the school district's] Internet web site and ensure 267
that such [plan] policy is included in the [school district's] board's 268
publication of the rules, procedures and standards of conduct for 269
schools and in all student handbooks and employee manuals. 270
[(d)] (e) On and after July 1, [2012] 2019, and not less than biennially 271
thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall require 272
each school in the district to [complete an assessment using the school 273
climate assessment instruments, including surveys, approved and 274
disseminated by the Department of Education pursuant to section 10-275
222h. Each local and regional board of education shall collect the 276
school climate assessments for each school in the district and submit 277
such school climate assessments to the department] assess school 278
climate using a school climate assessment instrument, which may be 279
approved and disseminated by the Department of Education pursuant 280
to section 10-222h, as amended by this act. Such school climate 281
assessment instrument shall (1) be an empirically validated survey that 282
provides an in-depth profile of a school community's strengths and 283
areas that need improvement, such as the Comprehensive School 284
Climate Inventory published by the National School Climate Center; 285
(2) present grade-level appropriate questions that permit the collection 286 Raised Bill No. 7215
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of information on students' perspectives and opinions about the school 287
climate; and (3) protect the anonymity of respondents. 288
(f) Funding for the development and implementation of a safe 289
school climate policy may originate from public, private, federal or 290
philanthropic sources. 291
Sec. 2. Section 10-222h of the general statutes is repealed and the 292
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 293
(a) The Department of Education shall, within available 294
appropriations, (1) document school districts' [articulated needs for 295
technical assistance and training related to safe learning and bullying, 296
(2) collect information on the prevention and intervention strategies 297
used by schools to reduce the incidence of bullying, improve school 298
climate and improve reporting outcomes, (3) develop or recommend 299
model safe school climate plans for grades kindergarten to twelve, 300
inclusive, and (4) in collaboration with the Connecticut Association of 301
Schools, disseminate to all public schools grade-level appropriate 302
school climate assessment instruments, approved by the department, 303
to be used by local and regional boards of education for the purposes 304
of collecting information described in subdivision (2) of this subsection 305
so that the department can monitor bullying prevention efforts over 306
time and compare each district's progress to state trends. Such school 307
climate assessment instruments shall (A) include surveys that contain 308
uniform grade-level appropriate questions that collect information 309
about students' perspectives and opinions about the school climate at 310
the school, and (B) allow students to complete and submit such 311
assessment and survey anonymously] best practices for fostering a 312
positive school climate and any articulated needs for technical 313
assistance and training related to fostering a positive school climate; 314
and (2) recommend model safe and positive school climate policies for 315
school districts. 316
(b) [On or before February 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the 317
department shall, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, 318 Raised Bill No. 7215
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submit a report on the status of its efforts pursuant to this section 319
including, but not limited to, the number of verified acts of bullying in 320
the state, an analysis of the responsive action taken by school districts, 321
an analysis of student responses on the uniform grade -level 322
appropriate questions described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision 323
(4) of subsection (a) of this section and any recommendations it may 324
have regarding additional activities or funding to prevent bullying in 325
schools and improve school climate to the joint standing committees of 326
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 327
education and children and to the speaker of the House of 328
Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the 329
majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the 330
Senate] The Department of Education, in consultation with local, state 331
and national experts on social and emotional skills assessment and 332
development, shall, within available appropriations, develop a social 333
and emotional learning assessment instrument to measure individual 334
student attainment of the social and emotional learning competencies. 335
Such instrument shall (1) measure intrapersonal and interpersonal 336
competencies; (2) be age and grade level appropriate for children in 337
preschool and grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive; (3) include 338
measures to ensure feasibility of implementation in schools and 339
districts; and (4) assess what children know and are able to do. Such 340
instrument shall not be used to evaluate problem behaviors or screen 341
students for behavioral or emotional problems. 342
(c) The department may accept private donations for the purposes 343
of this section. 344
Sec. 3. Section 10-222j of the general statutes is repealed and the 345
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 346
The Department of Education shall provide, within available 347
appropriations, annual training to school employees, as defined in 348
section 10-222d, as amended by this act, except those school employees 349
who hold professional certification pursuant to section 10-145b unless 350
such school employee who holds professional certification is the 351 Raised Bill No. 7215
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district safe school climate coordinator [,] or the safe school climate 352
specialist, [or a member of the safe school climate committee, as 353
described in section 10-222k,] on the prevention, identification and 354
response to school bullying and teen dating violence, as defined in 355
section 10-222d, as amended by this act, and the prevention of and 356
response to youth suicide. Such training shall be culturally competent 357
and bias-informed and focus on restorative practices and the social and 358
emotional learning competencies, including, but not limited to, self-359
awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and 360
responsible decision-making and evidence-based tools to develop 361
those competencies. Such training may include, but not be limited to, 362
(1) developmentally appropriate strategies to prevent [bullying] 363
aggressive behavior and intentional harm-doing and teen dating 364
violence, [among students in school and outside of the school setting,] 365
(2) developmentally appropriate strategies for immediate and effective 366
interventions to stop [bullying] aggressive behavior and intentional 367
harm-doing and teen dating violence, (3) [information regarding the 368
interaction and relationship between students committing acts of 369
bullying and teen dating violence, students against whom such acts of 370
bullying and teen dating violence are directed and witnesses of such 371
acts of bullying and teen dating violence, (4)] research findings on 372
[bullying] aggressive behavior and intentional harm-doing and teen 373
dating violence, such as information about the types of students who 374
have been shown to be at-risk for [bullying] aggressive behavior and 375
intentional harm-doing and teen dating violence in the school setting, 376
[(5)] (4) information on the incidence and nature of cyberbullying, as 377
defined in section 10-222d, as amended by this act, [(6)] (5) Internet 378
safety issues as they relate to cyberbullying, or [(7)] (6) information on 379
the incidence of youth suicide, methods of identifying youths at risk of 380
suicide and developmentally appropriate strategies for effective 381
interventions to prevent youth suicide. Such training may be 382
conducted in a training-of-trainers model and presented in person by 383
mentors, offered in state-wide workshops or through on-line courses. 384
Sec. 4. Section 10-222k of the general statutes is repealed and the 385 Raised Bill No. 7215
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 386
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, [2012] 2019, and each 387
school year thereafter, the superintendent of each local or regional 388
board of education shall appoint, from among existing school district 389
staff, a district safe school climate coordinator. The district safe school 390
climate coordinator shall: (1) Be responsible for implementing the 391
district's safe school climate [plan] policy, developed pursuant to 392
section 10-222d, as amended by this act, (2) collaborate with the safe 393
school climate specialists, described in subsection (b) of this section, 394
the board of education for the district and the superintendent of 395
schools of the school district to foster a positive school climate and 396
prevent, identify and respond to [bullying] aggressive behavior and 397
intentional harm-doing in the schools of the district, and (3) [provide 398
data and information, in collaboration with the superintendent of 399
schools of the district, to the Department of Education regarding 400
bullying, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 401
10-222d and subsection (a) of section 10-222h, and (4) meet with the 402
safe school climate specialists at least twice during the school year to 403
discuss issues relating to bullying in the school district and] collaborate 404
with the social and emotional learning and school climate council 405
established pursuant to subsection (c) of this section to make 406
recommendations concerning amendments to the district's safe school 407
climate [plan] policy. 408
(b) For the school year commencing July 1, [2012] 2019, and each 409
school year thereafter, the principal of each school, or the principal's 410
designee, shall serve as the safe school climate [specialist] coordinator 411
and shall (1) [investigate or supervise the investigation of reported acts 412
of bullying in the school in accordance with the district's safe school 413
climate plan, (2) collect and maintain records of reports and 414
investigations of bullying in the school, and (3) act as the primary 415
school official responsible for preventing, identifying and responding 416
to reports of bullying in the school] lead the school's positive school 417
climate efforts; (2) investigate or supervise the investigation of 418
reported acts of aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing in the 419 Raised Bill No. 7215
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school in accordance with the district's safe school climate policy; and 420
(3) collect and maintain records of investigations of aggressive 421
behavior and intentional harm-doing and findings of bullying in the 422
school. 423
(c) [(1)] For the school year commencing July 1, [2012] 2019, and 424
each school year thereafter, [the principal of each school shall establish 425
a committee or designate at least one existing committee in the school 426
to be responsible for developing and fostering a safe school climate 427
and addressing issues relating to bullying in the school. Such 428
committee shall include at least one parent or guardian of a student 429
enrolled in the school appointed by the school principal] each local or 430
regional board of education shall establish a social and emotional 431
learning and school climate council. The members of such council shall 432
be individuals who work in, attend or are otherwise affiliated with a 433
school under the jurisdiction of the local or regional board of 434
education, and shall include, but not be limited to, a school 435
administrator, parent or guardian, teacher, student and member of the 436
community. The council shall, in consultation with the district safe 437
school climate coordinator, (1) monitor school climate improvement 438
efforts; (2) identify patterns of aggressive behavior and intentional 439
harm-doing among students in the schools; (3) identify best practices 440
for promoting a positive school climate; (4) identify and pursue 441
resources to educate students, parents and guardians of students, 442
school employees and the community on issues relating to fostering a 443
positive school climate and social and emotional skills building; and 444
(5) perform any other duties as determined by the local or regional 445
board of education that are related to the prevention of and 446
intervention of aggressive behavior and intentional harm-doing and 447
fostering a positive school climate in the school district. 448
[(2) Any such committee shall: (A) Receive copies of completed 449
reports following investigations of bullying, (B) identify and address 450
patterns of bullying among students in the school, (C) implement the 451
provisions of the school security and safety plan, developed pursuant 452
to section 10-222m, regarding the collection, evaluation and reporting 453 Raised Bill No. 7215
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of information relating to instances of disturbing or threatening 454
behavior that may not meet the definition of bullying, (D) review and 455
amend school policies relating to bullying, (E) review and make 456
recommendations to the district safe school climate coordinator 457
regarding the district's safe school climate plan based on issues and 458
experiences specific to the school, (F) educate students, school 459
employees and parents and guardians of students on issues relating to 460
bullying, (G) collaborate with the district safe school climate 461
coordinator in the collection of data regarding bullying, in accordance 462
with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 10-222d and subsection 463
(a) of section 10-222h, and (H) perform any other duties as determined 464
by the school principal that are related to the prevention, identification 465
and response to school bullying for the school. 466
(3) Any parent or guardian serving as a member of any such 467
committee shall not participate in the activities described in 468
subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of subdivision (2) of this 469
subsection or any other activity that may compromise the 470
confidentiality of a student.] 471
Sec. 5. Section 10-222p of the general statutes is repealed and the 472
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 473
[(a) The Department of Education shall receive each safe school 474
climate plan submitted pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-222d 475
and review each such plan for compliance with the provisions of 476
subsection (b) of section 10-222d. Not later than thirty calendar days 477
after receiving such plan, the department shall approve or reject such 478
plan. If the department rejects a safe school climate plan, the 479
department shall provide notice of such rejection and the reasons for 480
such rejection to the local or regional board of education that 481
submitted such plan. Such local or regional board of education shall 482
redevelop and resubmit a safe school climate plan to the department 483
for approval not later than thirty calendar days after receipt of notice 484
of such rejection. Not later than thirty calendar days after receiving 485
such resubmitted plan, the department shall approve or reject such 486 Raised Bill No. 7215
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plan. If the department rejects a resubmitted safe school climate plan, 487
the department shall provide notice of such rejection to the local or 488
regional board of education that resubmitted such plan. Not later than 489
thirty calendar days after receiving notice of such rejection and the 490
reasons for such rejection, such local or regional board of education 491
shall adopt an appropriate model safe school climate plan, developed 492
or recommended by the department pursuant to subdivision (3) of 493
subsection (a) of section 10-222h.] 494
[(b)] The Department of Education shall, in consultation with local 495
and regional boards of education, make available on the department's 496
Internet web site [(1) each safe school climate plan that has been 497
approved by the department, (2) a list of the school districts that have 498
an approved safe school climate plan, and (3) a list of the school 499
districts whose safe school climate plans have been rejected and that 500
are in the process of resubmitting their safe school climate plans for 501
approval by the department] a model safe school climate policy 502
developed pursuant to section 10-222d, as amended by this act. 503
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) Each local and regional board of 504
education shall provide training to school administrators on the 505
prevention of and intervention in discrimination against and targeted 506
harassment of students based on such students' (1) actual or perceived 507
differentiating characteristics, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, 508
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or 509
expression, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical 510
appearance or mental, physical, developmental or sensory disability; 511
or (2) association with individuals or groups who have or are 512
perceived to have one or more of such characteristics. Such training 513
may be delivered in collaboration with one or more organizations 514
offering information and training on identifying, preventing and 515
intervening in protected class discrimination. 516
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 10-220a of the general statutes is 517
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 518
1, 2019): 519 Raised Bill No. 7215
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(a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-520
service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil 521
personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or 522
professional educator certificate. Such program shall provide such 523
teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) 524
the nature and the relationship of alcohol and drugs, as defined in 525
subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, to health and personality 526
development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health 527
and mental health risk reduction education that includes, but need not 528
be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and 529
the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, 530
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as 531
defined in section 19a-581, violence, teen dating violence, domestic 532
violence and child abuse, (3) school violence prevention, conflict 533
resolution, the prevention of and response to youth suicide and the 534
identification and prevention of and response to bullying, as defined in 535
subsection (a) of section 10-222d, as amended by this act, except that 536
those boards of education that implement any evidence-based model 537
approach that is approved by the Department of Education and is 538
consistent with subsection (c) of section 10-145a, sections 10-222d, as 539
amended by this act, [10-222g] and 10-222h, as amended by this act, 540
subsection (g) of section 10-233c and sections 1 and 3 of public act 08-541
160, shall not be required to provide in-service training on the 542
identification and prevention of and response to bullying, (4) 543
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life saving 544
procedures, (5) the requirements and obligations of a mandated 545
reporter, and (6) the detection and recognition of, and evidence-based 546
structured literacy interventions for, students with dyslexia, as defined 547
in section 10-3d. Each local or regional board of education may allow 548
any paraprofessional or noncertified employee to participate, on a 549
voluntary basis, in any in-service training program provided pursuant 550
to this section. 551
Sec. 8. Section 10-222l of the general statutes is repealed and the 552
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 553 Raised Bill No. 7215
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(a) No claim for damages shall be made against a school employee, 554
as defined in section 10-222d, as amended by this act, who reports, 555
investigates and responds to bullying or teen dating violence, as 556
defined in section 10-222d, as amended by this act, in accordance with 557
the provisions of the safe school climate [plan] policy, described in 558
section 10-222d, as amended by this act, if such school employee was 559
acting in good faith in the discharge of his or her duties or within the 560
scope of his or her employment. The immunity provided in this 561
subsection does not apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, 562
reckless, wilful or wanton misconduct. 563
(b) No claim for damages shall be made against a student, parent or 564
guardian of a student or any other individual who reports an act of 565
bullying or teen dating violence to a school employee, in accordance 566
with the provisions of the safe school climate [plan] policy described in 567
section 10-222d, as amended by this act, if such individual was acting 568
in good faith. The immunity provided in this subsection does not 569
apply to acts or omissions constituting gross, reckless, wilful or 570
wanton misconduct. 571
(c) No claim for damages shall be made against a local or regional 572
board of education that implements the safe school climate [plan] 573
policy, described in section 10-222d, as amended by this act, and 574
reports, investigates and responds to bullying or teen dating violence, 575
as defined in section 10-222d, as amended by this act, if such local or 576
regional board of education was acting in good faith in the discharge 577
of its duties. The immunity provided in this subsection does not apply 578
to acts or omissions constituting gross, reckless, wilful or wanton 579
misconduct. 580
Sec. 9. Subsection (a) of section 10-222n of the general statutes is 581
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 582
1, 2019): 583
(a) Not later than January 1, 2014, the Department of Emergency 584
Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Department of 585 Raised Bill No. 7215
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Education, shall develop school security and safety plan standards. 586
The school security and safety plan standards shall be an all-hazards 587
approach to emergencies at public schools and shall include, but not be 588
limited to, (1) involvement of local officials, including the chief 589
executive officer of the municipality, the superintendent of schools, 590
law enforcement, fire, public health, emergency management and 591
emergency medical services, in the development of school security and 592
safety plans, (2) a command center organization structure based on the 593
federal National Incident Management System and a description of the 594
responsibilities of such command center organization, (3) a 595
requirement that a school security and safety committee be established 596
at each school, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-222m, 597
(4) crisis management procedures, (5) a requirement that local law 598
enforcement and other local public safety officials evaluate, score and 599
provide feedback on fire drills and crisis response drills, conducted 600
pursuant to section 10-231, (6) a requirement that local and regional 601
boards of education annually submit reports to the Department of 602
Emergency Services and Public Protection regarding such fire drills 603
and crisis response drills, (7) procedures for managing various types of 604
emergencies, (8) a requirement that each local and regional board of 605
education conduct a security and vulnerability assessment for each 606
school under the jurisdiction of such board every two years and 607
develop a school security and safety plan for each such school, in 608
accordance with the provisions of section 10-222m, based on the results 609
of such assessment, (9) a requirement that the [safe school climate 610
committee] social and emotional learning and school climate council 611
for each school, established pursuant to section 10-222k, as amended 612
by this act, collect and evaluate information relating to instances of 613
disturbing or threatening behavior that may not meet the definition of 614
bullying, as defined in section 10-222d, as amended by this act, and 615
report such information, as necessary, to the district safe school climate 616
coordinator, described in section 10-222k, as amended by this act, and 617
the school security and safety committee for the school, established 618
pursuant to section 10-222m, and (10) a requirement that the school 619
security and safety plan for each school provide an orientation on such 620 Raised Bill No. 7215
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school security and safety plan to each school employee, as defined in 621
section 10-222d, as amended by this act, at such school and provide 622
violence prevention training in a manner prescribed in such school 623
security and safety plan. The Department of Emergency Services and 624
Public Protection shall make such standards available to local officials, 625
including local and regional boards of education. 626
Sec. 10. Section 10-222g of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective 627
July 1, 2019) 628
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 10-222d
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 10-222h
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 10-222j
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 10-222k
Sec. 5 July 1, 2019 10-222p
Sec. 6 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2019 10-220a(a)
Sec. 8 July 1, 2019 10-222l
Sec. 9 July 1, 2019 10-222n(a)
Sec. 10 July 1, 2019 Repealer section
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) require local and regional boards of education to develop safe
school climate policies, (2) require schools to assess school climate, (3)
require the Department of Education to develop a social and emotional
learning assessment instrument, (4) establish the duties of a safe school
climate coordinator, (5) require local and regional boards of education
to establish a social and emotional learning and school climate council
in place of the existing safe school climate committee, (6) require the
Department of Education to develop a model safe school climate
policy, and (7) require local and regional boards of education to
provide training on the prevention of and intervention in
discrimination against and targeted harassment of students.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]