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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5243
AN ACT CONCERNING ADULT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes in laws on adult sexual misconduct
against students and related matters.
The bill creates a mechanism by which adult sexual misconduct can
be identified by requiring the Department of Public Health (DPH),
starting with the 2022-23 school year, to biennially administer the
Connecticut School Health Survey to randomly selected high schools (§§
1-3). If a survey reveals that adult sexual misconduct occurred, local and
regional boards of education must seek counseling services for students
and training for teachers, administrators, coaches, and other staff (§ 4).
The bill requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF), in
consultation with various state agencies, to (1) develop a framework to
address sexual misconduct in schools and (2) develop or adopt three
training programs: for bystanders, appropriate interaction with
children, and victim sensitivity. DCF must also make the training-
related materials available to youth-serving and religious organizations,
upon request (§§ 5, 6, 10, 12 & 13).
It requires local and regional boards of education to (1) include these
training programs in the in-service training required for certified school
employees, (2) develop and implement a policy that addresses adult
sexual misconduct in their schools, and (3) give school employees and
others a copy of the Governor’s Task Force’s child sexual abuse
guidelines (§§ 14, 16 & 17).
It also expands the list of mandated reporters and establishes a 3-year
statute of limitations for prosecuting failure to report (§§ 7 & 8).
The bill authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to take 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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disciplinary actions if a certificate or permit holder has had a finding of
abuse or neglect substantiated by DCF and upheld on appeal (§ 9).
Under the bill, starting July 1, 2023, any teacher preparation program
leading to professional certification must include instruction in adult
sexual misconduct awareness and prevention in schools (§ 15).
Lastly, the bill requires DCF; the labor and education departments;
and the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to jointly develop a hiring
checklist to be used by local and regional boards of education and child
care services providers (§ 11).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022, except that the provision (1)
regarding the State Department of Education’s (SDE’s) parent
notification policy and form is effective upon passage (§ 3); (2)
expanding the list of mandated reporters is effective October 1, 2022 (§
8); and (3) regarding the school boards’ in-service training is effective
July 1, 2023 (§ 16).
§§ 1-4 — CONNECTICUT SCHOOL HEALTH SURVEY
The bill requires the DPH, starting with the 2022-23 school year, to
biennially administer the Connecticut School Health Survey to students
in grades nine through 12, if the department receives funding from the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for that
purpose.
Under the bill, the survey must be (1) based on the CDC’s Youth Risk
Behavior Survey and (2) administered in the high schools the CDC
randomly selects.
Additional Survey Questions (§§ 1 & 2)
The bill allows DPH to develop additional questions to be included
in the survey that are relevant to the health concerns of the state’s high
school students. If DPH does this, it must be in consultation with the
departments of Children and Families, Education, and Mental Health
and Addiction Services; OEC; and any other agency or public interest
group DPH deems necessary. 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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It also requires the child advocate, in consultation with DPH and DCF
and by October 1, 2022, to develop and update, as necessary, questions
to assess the risk of youths becoming victims of sexual assault or
misconduct by an adult. These questions must be included in the
survey.
DPH Guidelines (§ 1)
The bill requires DPH to provide local and regional boards of
education with guidelines on the survey’s administration and the
boards must administer the survey according to these guidelines.
Under the bill, the guidelines must include the:
1. CDC survey protocol;
2. requirement to provide parents the opportunity to exclude their
children from the survey by denying permission in writing, on a
DPH-prescribed form;
3. requirement for the survey to be anonymous and designed to
protect student privacy;
4. timeframe for completing the survey; and
5. process for submitting survey results to the department.
SDE Uniform Parent Notification Policy and Form (§ 3)
The bill requires SDE, by January 1, 2023, and in consultation with
DPH, to develop a uniform parental notification policy and form for
local or regional boards of education to use in administering the survey.
Under the bill, SDE’s uniform policy must address timely notification
to the parents or guardians of students in grades nine to 12 about the
Connecticut School Health Survey at least 21 days before the date the
board will administer the survey.
It also requires SDE to develop a notification form for parents and
guardians that includes (1) an explanation of the survey and how a
parent or guardian may opt out and (2) the Internet link to the survey. 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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DCF Training and Student Support Related to Survey Results (§ 4)
Starting with the 2022-23 school year, if a school’s survey results
reveal that a student has been the victim of sexual assault or misconduct
by an adult, the bill requires the school’s local or regional board of
education to ask DCF and SDE to provide or facilitate:
1. training for the school’s teachers, administrators, and other staff
about how to support students who have experienced abuse;
2. counseling services for students by working with the school’s
mental health personnel and administrators;
3. the distribution of counseling services materials created or
offered by victim advocate groups and other state agencies; and
4. the bystander training and appropriate interaction with children
training programs (see § 5 below) to the school’s teachers,
administrators, and staff.
§§ 5 & 6 — BYSTANDER TRAINING & APPROPRIATE
INTERACTION WITH CHILDREN TRAINING PROGRAM S
By January 1, 2023, the bill requires DCF, in consultation with SDE,
to develop or adopt (1) a bystander training program and (2) an
appropriate interaction with children training program. DCF must
update both programs as necessary.
The training programs must be (1) provided to any school employee
hired by a local or regional board of education starting with the 2023-24
school year and (2) and included as part of the board’s in-service
training program.
Starting with the 2023-24 school year, the bill requires employees
hired by a local or regional board of education to complete both training
programs. School employees who are intramural or interscholastic
athletics coaches must complete the trainings before starting coaching
for the athletic season.
For these purposes, “school employee” means a teacher; substitute
teacher; school administrator or superintendent; guidance or school 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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counselor; psychologist; social worker; nurse; physician; school
paraprofessional; or coach employed by a local or regional board of
education or working in a public elementary, middle, or high school.
DCF’s Memorandum of Understanding
Under the bill, DCF may enter into a memorandum of understanding
with each regional educational service center for both training programs
to be provided at or by the center to the teachers, administrators, and
other staff of boards that are members of the center.
The bill also allows DCF to enter into a memorandum of
understanding with the intramural and interscholastic athletics
governing authority to provide these training programs to coaches who
hold or are issued a coaching permit by SBE.
§§ 10 & 16 — IN-SERVICE TRAINING
By law, local and regional boards of education must provide an in-
service training program for teachers, administrators, and other
certified pupil personnel. The bill requires the training to include
information on adult sexual misconduct awareness and prevention and
the bystander, appropriate interaction with children, and victim
sensitivity training programs.
§§ 7 & 8 — MANDATED REPORTERS
The law generally imposes a legal responsibility on a specified class
of individuals and entities (e.g., doctors, social workers, and school
employees) to report to the appropriate authorities any reasonable
suspicion or belief that a child is being abused or neglected (“mandated
reporters”).
The bill expands the list of mandated reporters to include (1) paid or
volunteer staff members age 18 or older and (2) volunteer youth camp
directors or assistant youth camp directors. Under existing law, paid
youth camp directors and paid assistant directors are already mandated
reporters (§ 8).
The bill also establishes a three-year criminal statute of limitations for
prosecuting a mandated reporter for failure to report suspected child 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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abuse or neglect as required on or after July 1, 2022. Under current law,
the statute of limitations is either one or five years, depending on the
circumstances.
By law, failure to report suspected child abuse or neglect is a class A
misdemeanor if a mandated reporter fails to report within the
prescribed time period. But it is a class E felony if the (1) violation is a
subsequent violation; (2) violation is willful, intentional, or due to gross
negligence; or (3) mandated reporter had actual knowledge that a child
was abused or neglected or a student was the victim of sexual assault.
Currently, these class A misdemeanors have a one-year statute of
limitations, while the class E felonies have a five-year statute of
limitations. (§ 7).
§ 9 — BOARD OF EDUCATION DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS
Existing law allows SBE to revoke, suspend, or place on probationary
status teaching, educator, or coaching certificates, permits, or
authorizations if, for example, a holder has been convicted of a crime
involving moral turpitude. The bill authorizes SBE to also take these
disciplinary actions if the holder has had a finding of abuse or neglect
substantiated by DCF and upheld on appeal (§ 9).
§ 10 — VICTIM SENSITIVITY TRAINING PROGRAM
The bill requires DCF, by January 1, 2023, in collaboration with SDE
and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, to
develop or adopt a victim sensitivity training program for school social
workers, mental health professionals, and school administrators. DCF
must make this training program available to local and regional boards
of education, who must include them as part of their in-service training
program.
§ 11 — DCF, DOL, OEC, AND SDE HIRING CHECKLIST
The bill requires DCF, OEC, SDE, and the Department of Labor, by
January 1, 2023, to jointly develop a checklist for local and regional
boards of education and child care services providers to use during the
hiring process to screen applicants and prospective employees. Child
care providers’ checklist must include comprehensive background 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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checks.
§ 13 — DCF’S FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS ADULT SEXUAL
MISCONDUCT IN SCHOOLS
By July 1, 2023, the bill requires DCF, in consultation with SDE, to
develop a framework for addressing adult sexual misconduct in
schools. It allows DCF to seek input and recommendations from
stakeholders while developing the framework.
Under the bill, the framework must include:
1. a definition of adult sexual misconduct;
2. protocols and guidance that local and regional boards of
education can use to address adult sexual misconduct in schools
that are consistent with federal law and guidelines on sexual
abuse prevention and antidiscrimination;
3. guidance on the requirements and obligations of mandated
reporters; and
4. provisions addressing the heightened risk of victimization for
highly vulnerable students, such as students with disabilities or
who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other
sexual orientations and gender identities.
The framework must require any trainings by local and regional
boards of education on adult sexual misconduct or abuse prevention
and response to be comprehensive, on-going, and offered to all school
employees (as defined under § 6 above), board members, and parents
and guardians.
§ 14 — BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICIES ON ADULT SEXUAL
MISCONDUCT
Each school year starting with the 2023-24 school year, the bill
requires each local and regional board of education to develop and
implement a policy that addresses adult sexual misconduct in the
schools under its jurisdiction. 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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The policy must be in accordance with the bill’s required framework
(see § 13) for addressing adult sexual misconduct. Also, the board must
annually provide a copy of the policy to all school employees, board
members, and the parents and guardians of students enrolled in the
schools under the board’s jurisdiction.
Under this section of the bill, a “school employee” is:
1. a teacher, substitute teacher, school administrator, school
superintendent, guidance counselor, school counselor,
psychologist, social worker, nurse, physician, school
paraprofessional, or coach employed by a local or regional board
of education or a private elementary, middle, or high school or
working in a public or private elementary, middle, or high
school; or
2. anyone who, in the performance of his or her duties, has regular
contact with students and provides services to or on behalf of
students enrolled in a public or private elementary, middle, or
high school, under a contract with the local or regional board of
education or private school’s supervisory agent.
§ 17 — GOVERNOR’S TASK FORCE ON JUSTICE FOR ABUSED
CHILDREN GUIDELINES
Starting with the 2022-23 school year, and each school year after that,
the bill requires each local and regional board of education to give a
copy of the guidelines regarding child sexual abuse, developed by the
governor’s task force on justice for abused children, to the board’s
school employees, board members, and the parents and guardians of
students enrolled in the board’s schools. (“School employees” has the
same meaning as under § 14 above.)
BACKGROUND
CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Under existing agency practice, DPH biennially conducts the CDC’s
Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered in Connecticut as the
Connecticut School Health Survey, with funding provided through a 2022HB-05243-R000274-BA.DOCX
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cooperative agreement with the CDC. The CDC randomly selects
approximately 50 high schools that are a representative sample of public
high school students. DPH staff obtain permission from the CDC-
selected schools to conduct the survey.
Related Bill
sHB 5152, reported favorably by the Children’s Committee, contains
similar provisions as this bill on mandated reporters.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Committee on Children
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 12 Nay 1 (03/15/2022)