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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6535
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING IS SUES RELATING TO SCH OOL SECURITY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force 1
to study the employment and role of school resource officers in public 2
schools and to develop recommendations regarding whether school 3
resource officers should continue to be employed or assigned in public 4
schools, and, if so, what their duties and role should be within the 5
schools and community in which they are assigned. For purposes of this 6
section, "school resource officer" has the same meaning as provided in 7
section 10-233m of the general statutes. 8
(b) The task force shall examine: 9
(1) Each memorandum of understanding entered into between a local 10
and regional board of education and the local law enforcement agency, 11
pursuant to section 10-233m of the general statutes, that outlines the role 12
and responsibility of school resource officers assigned to schools under 13
the jurisdiction of such board; 14
(2) The number and nature of instances of student discipline in which 15
a school resource officer was involved, and whether such instances 16
resulted in a student suspension, expulsion or school-based arrest, as 17
defined in section 10-233n of the general statutes; 18 Substitute Bill No. 6535
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(3) The degree of involvement in and relationship of the school 19
resource officer with the school community for which such school 20
resource officer is assigned beyond interactions involving student 21
discipline and school-based arrests; 22
(4) The amount of time a school resource officer is on school grounds 23
in his or her official capacity as a school resource officer; 24
(5) Whether the school resource officer is an employee of the local or 25
regional board of education or the local law enforcement agency; 26
(6) The cost, if any, to the local or regional board of education for 27
employing a school resource officer or assigning a school resource 28
officer pursuant to an agreement with a local law enforcement agency; 29
(7) The amount, frequency and nature of any training relating to 30
serving as a school resource officer that a school resource officer receives 31
prior to and while serving as a school resource officer; 32
(8) The grade levels to which a school resource officer is assigned; and 33
(9) Whether, on a state-wide, district and individual school level, a 34
correlation exists between a school's climate for student success and the 35
relationship established between local and regional boards of education 36
and school resource officers as outlined in the memorandum of 37
understanding described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, and the 38
factors described in subdivisions (2) to (8), inclusive, of this subsection. 39
(c) The task force shall consist of the following members: 40
(1) Three appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 41
one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of 42
Boards of Education, one of whom is a school resource officer and one 43
of whom is the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school in 44
which a school resource officer is assigned or employed; 45
(2) Three appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one 46 Substitute Bill No. 6535
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of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of Public 47
School Superintendents, one of whom is a school resource officer and 48
one of whom is the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a school 49
in which a school resource officer is assigned or employed; 50
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of 51
Representatives, one of whom is a representative of Special Education 52
Equity for Kids of Connecticut and one of whom is a representative of 53
the Connecticut Education Association; 54
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom 55
is a representative of the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight 56
Committee, established pursuant to section 46b-121n of the general 57
statutes, and one of whom is a representative of the American 58
Federation of Teachers-Connecticut; 59
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of 60
Representatives, one of whom is a school resource officer and one of 61
whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of School 62
Administrators; 63
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom 64
is a school resource officer and one of whom is a member of the 65
Connecticut Association of Schools; 66
(7) Two appointed by the chairperson of the Black and Puerto Rican 67
Caucus of the General Assembly; 68
(8) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; 69
(9) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 70
or the commissioner's designee; and 71
(10) The Child Advocate, or the Child Advocate's designee. 72
(d) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 73
(2), (3), (4), (5), (6) or (7) of subsection (c) of this section may be a member 74 Substitute Bill No. 6535
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of the General Assembly. 75
(e) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 76
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 77
be filled by the appointing authority. 78
(f) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 79
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 80
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 81
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 82
days after the effective date of this section. 83
(g) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 84
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education 85
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 86
(h) Not later than July 1, 2022, the task force shall submit a report on 87
its findings and any recommendations for revisions to the laws 88
governing the use of school resource officers in schools to the joint 89
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 90
matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of 91
section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on 92
the date that it submits such report or July 1, 2022, whichever is later. 93
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) The School Safety Infrastructure 94
Council, established pursuant to section 10-292r of the general statutes, 95
shall conduct a study to determine whether classroom doors that can be 96
locked from the inside and outside of the classroom should be included 97
in school safety infrastructure criteria, developed pursuant to 98
subsection (b) of section 10-292r of the general statutes. Not later than 99
January 1, 2022, the council shall submit a report on its findings and 100
recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General 101
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in 102
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 103
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) Not later than January 1, 2023, 104
the Department of Education and Department of Emergency Services 105 Substitute Bill No. 6535
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and Public Protection shall jointly develop a state-wide plan for 106
responding to large-scale school crisis events. Such plan shall include, 107
but need not be limited to, cooperation with other education and 108
behavioral health agencies, provisions specifying short and long-term 109
interventions for different student populations and identifying funding 110
mechanisms that will minimize discontinuity of services. The 111
department shall submit such plan to the joint standing committees of 112
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 113
education and public safety, in accordance with the provisions of section 114
11-4a of the general statutes. 115
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 10-222m of the general statutes is 116
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 117
2021): 118
(c) Each local and regional board of education shall annually submit 119
the school security and safety plan for each school under the jurisdiction 120
of such board, developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, to 121
the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. For the 122
school year commencing July 1, 2021, and each school year thereafter, 123
the department shall conduct random audits, including unannounced 124
site visits to schools, to ensure that the school security and safety plans 125
are being developed and submitted in accordance with the provisions 126
of this section and being implemented in accordance with the provisions 127
of such plan. 128
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2021 10-222m(c)
ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP