LCO No. 3922 1 of 4 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6642 January Session, 2023 LCO No. 3922 Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN Introduced by: (KID) AN ACT CONCERNING A TITLE IX COMPLIANCE TOOLKIT FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) The Department of Education 1 shall convene a working group to identify or develop a Title IX 2 compliance toolkit for use by local and regional boards of education, 3 students and parents and guardians of students. For purposes of this 4 section and sections 2 and 3 of this act, "Title IX" means the provisions 5 of Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1972, 20 6 USC 1681 et seq., as amended from time to time. 7 (b) The Title IX compliance toolkit shall include: 8 (1) Training for school administrators, Title IX coordinators, school 9 personnel, students and parents and guardians of students that includes 10 (A) information regarding the prevention, identification and response 11 to adult sexual misconduct in schools, as described in the United States 12 Department of Education's "Training Guide for Administrators and 13 Educators on Addressing Adult Sexual Misconduct in the School 14 Setting", and (B) research and data regarding the prevalence of child 15 Raised Bill No. 6642 LCO No. 3922 2 of 4 sexual abuse, adult sexual misconduct and the unique risk to sexual 16 abuse for students with disabilities or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, 17 transgender, queer or another sexual orientation or gender identity; 18 (2) A model antidiscrimination and abuse prevention policy and 19 procedures that include but are not limited to, policies addressing the 20 needs of students with disabilities or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, 21 transgender, queer or another sexual orientation or gender identity; 22 (3) A summary of applicable state and federal statutory and 23 regulatory requirements and how such requirements affect the rights of 24 students, including students with disabilities or who are lesbian, gay, 25 bisexual, transgender, queer or another sexual orientation or gender 26 identity, to be free from discrimination, harassment and abuse; 27 (4) Provisions relating to the process for reporting an incident of adult 28 sexual misconduct, including documents accessible to parents and 29 guardians of students, students, school personnel and administrators; 30 (5) Requirements for investigating reports of adult sexual 31 misconduct, including information regarding the need to offer safety 32 planning and services to the complainant or victim; 33 (6) An explanation of the Title IX complaint procedures, including, 34 but not limited to, the various methods of submitting complaints and 35 such methods accessible to parents and guardians of students, students, 36 school personnel and administrators; 37 (7) Information explaining the right of an individual to seek redress 38 from the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the 39 United States Department of Health and Human Services' Office for 40 Civil Rights that is accessible to parents and guardians of students, 41 students, school personnel and administrators; 42 (8) Procedures for publishing and disseminating information to 43 parents and guardians of students, students, school personnel and 44 administrators from the Connecticut School Health Survey, 45 Raised Bill No. 6642 LCO No. 3922 3 of 4 administered pursuant to section 10-217h of the general statutes, and 46 school climate assessment instruments, completed pursuant to section 47 10-222d of the general statutes; 48 (9) Information relating to personnel and resources at the state and 49 federal level that can provide ongoing technical assistance and support 50 to local and regional boards of education with regard to such boards' 51 compliance with Title IX requirements; and 52 (10) Information relating to resources that can provide support to 53 students, educators and parents and guardians regarding prevention, 54 identification and response to child sexual harassment, discrimination 55 and abuse. 56 (c) The working group shall consist of: (1) The Commissioner of 57 Education, or the commissioner's designee, (2) the Commissioner of 58 Children and Families, or the commissioner's designee, (3) the 59 Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee, (4) the 60 executive director of the Commission on Human Rights and 61 Opportunities, or the executive director's designee, (5) the Child 62 Advocate, or the Child Advocate's designee, (6) a representative from 63 each of the following organizations, designated by each such 64 organization: (A) The Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, (B) 65 the Connecticut Children's Alliance, (C) Disability Rights of 66 Connecticut, and (D) the Connecticut Association of Public School 67 Superintendents, and (7) any additional members who have expertise in 68 human resources and Internet technology, designated by the 69 Commissioner of Education. 70 (d) Not later than July 1, 2024, the working group shall submit the 71 Title IX compliance toolkit to the joint standing committee of the 72 General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, in 73 accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 74 The working group shall terminate on the date that it submits such 75 toolkit or July 1, 2024, whichever is later. 76 Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) Not later than July 1, 2024, the 77 Raised Bill No. 6642 LCO No. 3922 4 of 4 Department of Education shall distribute the Title IX compliance toolkit, 78 identified or developed pursuant to section 1 of this act, to local and 79 regional boards of education and provide technical assistance to such 80 boards in the implementation of such toolkit. 81 (b) The department shall post the Title IX compliance toolkit on the 82 department's Internet web site. 83 Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2023) For the school year commencing July 1, 84 2024, and each school year thereafter, each local and regional board of 85 education shall implement the Title IX compliance toolkit, identified or 86 developed pursuant to section 1 of this act, in such board's efforts to 87 prevent, identify and respond to reports of child sexual abuse, 88 harassment and discrimination. 89 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 from passage New section Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 New section Statement of Purpose: To identify or develop a federal Title IX compliance toolkit to assist school districts in properly implementing state and federal laws regarding the prevention, identification and response to adult sexual misconduct. [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.]