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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 380
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 2701
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL DISCIPLINE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (g) of section 10-233c of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2024): 3
(g) On and after July 1, 2015, all suspensions pursuant to this section 4
shall be in-school suspensions, except a local or regional board of 5
education may authorize the administration of schools under its 6
direction to impose an out-of-school suspension on any pupil in (1) 7
grades three to twelve, inclusive, if, during the hearing held pursuant to 8
subsection (a) of this section, (A) the administration determines that the 9
pupil being suspended poses such a danger to persons or property or 10
such a disruption of the educational process that the pupil shall be 11
excluded from school during the period of suspension, or (B) the 12
administration determines that an out-of-school suspension is 13
appropriate for such pupil based on evidence of (i) previous disciplinary 14
problems that have led to suspensions or expulsion of such pupil, and 15
(ii) efforts by the administration to address such disciplinary problems 16 Raised Bill No. 380
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through means other than out-of-school suspension or expulsion, 17
including positive behavioral support strategies, or (2) grades preschool 18
to two, inclusive, if during the hearing held pursuant to subsection (a) 19
of this section, the administration (A) determines that an out-of-school 20
suspension is appropriate for such pupil based on evidence that such 21
pupil's conduct on school grounds is [of a violent or sexual nature that 22
endangers persons] behavior that causes physical harm, (B) requires 23
that such pupil receives services that are trauma-informed and 24
developmentally appropriate and align with any b ehavioral 25
intervention plan, individualized education program or plan pursuant 26
to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time 27
to time, for such pupil upon such pupil's return to school immediately 28
following the out-of-school suspension, and (C) considers whether to 29
convene a planning and placement team meeting for the purposes of 30
conducting an evaluation to determine whether such pupil may require 31
special education or related services. An out-of-school suspension 32
imposed under subdivision (2) of this subsection shall not exceed two 33
school days. An in-school suspension may be served in the school that 34
the pupil attends, or in any school building under the jurisdiction of the 35
local or regional board of education, as determined by such board. 36
Nothing in this section shall limit a person's duty as a mandated 37
reporter pursuant to section 17-101a to report suspected child abuse or 38
neglect. 39
Sec. 2. Section 10-233h of the general statutes is repealed and the 40
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 41
(a) If any person who is at least [seven] ten years of age but less than 42
twenty-one years of age and an enrolled student is arrested for [a 43
violation of section 53-206c, a class A misdemeanor or a felony] 44
possession of a firearm, as defined in 18 USC 921, as amended from time 45
to time, on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity, the 46
municipal police department or Division of State Police within the 47
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection that made 48
such arrest shall, not later than the end of the weekday following such 49
arrest, orally notify the superintendent of schools of the school district 50 Raised Bill No. 380
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in which such person resides or attends school of the identity of such 51
person and the offense or offenses for which he was arrested and shall, 52
within seventy-two hours of such arrest, provide written notification of 53
such arrest, containing a brief description of the incident, to such 54
superintendent. The superintendent shall maintain such written report 55
in a secure location and the information in such report shall be 56
maintained as confidential in accordance with section 46b-124. [The 57
superintendent may disclose such information only to the principal of 58
the school in which such person is a student or to the principal or 59
supervisory agent of any other school in which the superintendent 60
knows such person is a student. The principal or supervisory agent may 61
disclose such information only to special services staff or a consultant, 62
such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker, for the purposes of 63
assessing the risk of danger posed by such person to himself, other 64
students, school employees or school property and effectuating an 65
appropriate modification of such person's educational plan or 66
placement, and for disciplinary purposes. If the arrest occurred during 67
the school year, such assessment shall be completed not later than the 68
end of the next school day. If an expulsion hearing is held pursuant to 69
section 10-233d, a representative of the municipal police department or 70
the Division of State Police, as appropriate, may testify and provide 71
reports and information on the arrest at such hearing, provided such 72
police participation is requested by any of the following: The local or 73
regional board of education, the impartial hearing board, the principal 74
of the school or the student or his parent or guardian. Such information 75
with respect to a child under eighteen years of age shall be confidential 76
in accordance with sections 46b-124 and 54-76l, and shall only be 77
disclosed as provided in this section and shall not be further disclosed.] 78
(b) If any person who is at least ten years of age but less than twenty-79
one years of age and an enrolled student is arrested for a violation of 80
section 53-206c, a class A misdemeanor or a felony, other than 81
possession of a firearm as described in subsection (a) of this section, the 82
Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch shall provide a 83
written report of such arrest to the superintendent of schools of the 84 Raised Bill No. 380
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school district in which such person resides or attends school upon its 85
presentation to the court, if appropriate. Such notice shall not be 86
provided to the superintendent of schools if the arrest has been diverted 87
to the community-based diversion system, screened and found to be 88
eligible for nonjudicial handling or dismissed by the court. Such written 89
report shall include, but need not be limited to, the identity of such 90
person, the violation or violations for which such person has been 91
arrested, a brief description of the incident that is the basis for such 92
violation and, if applicable, the identity of the alleged victim if such 93
alleged victim is another enrolled student. The superintendent shall 94
maintain such written report in a secure location and the information in 95
such report shall be maintained as confidential in accordance with 96
section 46b-124. 97
(c) (1) The superintendent may disclose a written report described in 98
subsection (a) or (b) of this section only to the principal of the school in 99
which such person is a student or to the principal or supervisory agent 100
of any other school in which the superintendent knows such person is a 101
student. 102
(2) Upon receipt of such written report, the principal or supervisory 103
agent may disclose such report only to special services staff or a 104
consultant, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker, for the 105
purposes of assessing the risk of danger posed by such person to himself 106
or herself, other students, school employees or school property and 107
effectuating an appropriate modification of such person's educational 108
plan or placement, and for disciplinary purposes. Such person shall not 109
be prevented from attending class prior to the holding of an informal 110
hearing pursuant to section 10-233c, as amended by this act, or an 111
expulsion hearing pursuant to section 10-233d. 112
(d) If an expulsion hearing is held pursuant to section 10-233d, a 113
representative of the municipal police department or the Division of 114
State Police, as appropriate, may testify and provide reports and 115
information on such violation at such hearing, provided such police 116
participation is requested by any of the following: The local or regional 117 Raised Bill No. 380
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board of education, the impartial hearing board, the principal of the 118
school or the student or his parent or guardian. Such information with 119
respect to a child under eighteen years of age shall be confidential in 120
accordance with sections 46b-124 and 54-76l, and shall only be disclosed 121
as provided in this section and shall not be further disclosed. 122
Sec. 3. Section 10-233p of the 2024 supplement to the general statutes 123
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 124
1, 2024): 125
Each school resource officer, as defined in section 10-233m, shall 126
submit to the chief of police of such school resource officer's local law 127
enforcement agency a report for each investigation or behavioral 128
intervention of challenging behavior or conflict that escalates to violence 129
or constitutes a crime conducted by such school resource officer not later 130
than five school days after conducting such investigation or behavioral 131
intervention. The chief of police shall submit such report to the 132
superintendent of schools for the school district in which such 133
investigation or behavioral intervention occurred in accordance with 134
the provisions of the memorandum of understanding entered into 135
pursuant to section 10-233m, but shall be not less frequently than 136
monthly. If a school resource officer's local law enforcement agency has 137
no chief of police, such school resource officer shall submit such report 138
directly to the superintendent of schools for the school district in which 139
such investigation or behavioral intervention occurred in the same 140
manner specified in this section for the chief of police to submit such 141
report. Such superintendent shall submit such report to the local or 142
regional board of education of the school district. Such report shall 143
include, but need not be limited to, (1) the date, time and location of 144
such investigation or behavioral intervention, (2) the name and badge 145
number of such school resource officer, (3) the race, ethnicity, gender, 146
age and disability status for each student involved in such investigation 147
or behavioral intervention, (4) the reason for and nature of such 148
investigation or behavioral intervention, (5) the disposition of such 149
investigation or behavioral intervention, and (6) whether any student 150
involved in such investigation or behavioral intervention was (A) 151 Raised Bill No. 380
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searched, (B) apprised of such student's constitutional rights, (C) issued 152
a citation or a summons, (D) arrested, or (E) detained, including the 153
amount of time such student was detained. For purposes of this section, 154
"investigation or behavioral intervention" means a circumstance in 155
which a school resource officer is conducting (i) a fact-finding inquiry 156
concerning student behavior or school safety, including, but not limited 157
to, emergency circumstances, or (ii) an intervention to resolve violent or 158
nonviolent student behavior or conflicts. 159
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 10-222q of the 2024 supplement to the 160
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 161
thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 162
(a) There is established a social and emotional learning and school 163
climate advisory collaborative. The collaborative shall (1) collect 164
information concerning the school climate improvement efforts of local 165
and regional boards of education, (2) document any needs articulated 166
by local and regional boards of education for technical assistance and 167
training relating to fostering positive school climates, (3) identify best 168
practices for promoting positive school climates, (4) direct resources to 169
support state-wide and local initiatives on issues relating to fostering 170
and improving positive school climates and improving access to social 171
and emotional learning in schools, (5) develop an assessment for 172
screening students in grades three to twelve, inclusive, to determine 173
whether such students are at risk for suicide, (6) develop a biennial state-174
wide school climate survey, as described in subsection (c) of section 2 of 175
public act 19-166, (7) develop a model positive school climate policy, as 176
described in subsection (a) of section 2 of public act 19-166, (8) develop 177
a plain language explanation of the rights and remedies available under 178
sections 10-4a and 10-4b for distribution to parents and guardians 179
pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section 10-222d, and 180
provide such explanation to each local and regional board of education 181
not later than January 1, 2021, (9) develop school climate survey 182
standards, including, but not limited to, standards for the collection of 183
data on diversity, equity and inclusion and for the reduction in 184
disparities in data collection between school districts, (10) develop a 185 Raised Bill No. 380
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model school climate improvement plan, and [(9)] (11) perform other 186
functions concerning social and emotional learning and fostering 187
positive school climates. 188
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 10-222q of the 2024 supplement to the 189
general statutes, as amended by section 65 of public act 23-167, is 190
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 191
2025): 192
(a) There is established a social and emotional learning and school 193
climate advisory collaborative. The collaborative shall (1) collect 194
information concerning the school climate improvement efforts of local 195
and regional boards of education, (2) document any needs articulated 196
by local and regional boards of education for technical assistance and 197
training relating to fostering positive school climates, (3) identify best 198
practices for promoting positive school climates, (4) direct resources to 199
support state-wide and local initiatives on issues relating to fostering 200
and improving positive school climates and improving access to social 201
and emotional learning in schools, (5) develop an assessment for 202
screening students in grades three to twelve, inclusive, to determine 203
whether such students are at risk for suicide, (6) develop a biennial state-204
wide school climate survey, as described in subsection (c) of section 2 of 205
public act 19-166, (7) adopt a Connecticut school climate policy, as 206
defined in section 10-222aa, as amended by this act, (8) develop a plain 207
language explanation of the rights and remedies available under 208
sections 10-4a and 10-4b for distribution to parents and guardians, and 209
provide such explanation to each local and regional board of education 210
not later than January 1, 2021, (9) develop standards for a school climate 211
survey, including, but not limited to, standards for the collection of data 212
on diversity, equity and inclusion and for the reduction in disparities in 213
data collection between school districts, (10) develop a model school 214
climate improvement plan, and [(9)] (11) perform other functions 215
concerning social and emotional learning and fostering positive school 216
climates. 217
Sec. 6. Subdivision (12) of section 10-222aa of the 2024 supplement to 218 Raised Bill No. 380
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the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 219
thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 220
(12) "School climate survey" means a research-based, validated and 221
developmentally appropriate survey administered to students, school 222
employees and families of students, in the predominant languages of 223
the members of the school community, that (A) measures and identifies 224
school climate needs and tracks progress through a school climate 225
improvement plan, and (B) (i) meets the school climate survey standards 226
developed by the Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate 227
Advisory Collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q, as 228
amended by this act, or (ii) is the state-wide school climate survey 229
developed by said collaborative. 230
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 10-222hh of the 2024 supplement to 231
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 232
thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 233
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, 2025, and each school year 234
thereafter, the school climate specialist, as described in section 10-222ee, 235
for each school, in collaboration with the school climate coordinator, as 236
described in section 10-222dd, shall develop, and update as necessary, a 237
school climate improvement plan. Such plan shall be based on the 238
results of the school climate survey, administered pursuant to section 239
10-222gg, any recommendations from the school climate committee, as 240
described in section 10-222ff, the protocols and supports, described in 241
subsection (b) of this section and any other data the school climate 242
specialist and school climate coordinator deemed relevant. Such plan 243
may incorporate the model school climate improvement plan developed 244
by the Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory 245
Collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q, as amended by 246
this act. [Such plan] The school climate specialist shall [be submitted] 247
submit such plan to the school climate coordinator for review and 248
approval on or before December thirty-first of each school year. Upon 249
approval of such plan, a written or electronic copy of such plan shall be 250
made available to members of the school community and such plan shall 251 Raised Bill No. 380
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be used in the prevention of, identification of and response to 252
challenging behavior. 253
Sec. 8. Subsection (b) of section 10-222h of the general statutes is 254
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 255
2024): 256
(b) On or before February 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the 257
department shall, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, 258
submit a report on the status of its efforts pursuant to this section 259
including, but not limited to, (1) the number of verified acts of bullying 260
in the state, including, but not limited to, the number of such acts 261
directed at a student based on actual or perceived membership in a 262
protected class, (2) an analysis of the responsive action taken by school 263
districts, (3) an analysis of student responses on the uniform grade-level 264
appropriate questions described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (4) 265
of subsection (a) of this section, and (4) any recommendations it may 266
have regarding additional activities or funding to prevent bullying in 267
schools and improve school climate to the joint standing committees of 268
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 269
education and children and to the speaker of the House of 270
Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the 271
majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the 272
Senate. 273
Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2024) The Department of Education 274
shall appoint a director of school climate improvement to serve as the 275
state-wide social and emotional learning and school climate expert. The 276
director of school climate improvement shall (1) assist local and regional 277
boards of education with the implementation of (A) sections 10-222t to 278
10-222v, inclusive, and sections 10-222aa to 10-222jj, inclusive, of the 279
general statutes, as amended by this act, and (B) the Connecticut school 280
climate policy, as defined in section 10-222aa of the general statutes, as 281
amended by this act, (2) assist the Social and Emotional Learning and 282
School Climate Advisory Collaborative, established pursuant to section 283
10-222q of the general statutes, as amended by this act, in the 284 Raised Bill No. 380
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development and implementation of tools and best practices related to 285
school climate and culture, including, but not limited to, the 286
development of a model school climate survey and a model school 287
climate improvement plan, (3) provide information and assistance to 288
local and regional boards of education, students and parents and 289
guardians of students on the uniform bullying complaint form created 290
pursuant to section 10-222bb of the general statutes, (4) not later than 291
January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, submit a report, in accordance 292
with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 293
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 294
matters relating to education on recommendations for best practices and 295
improvement of school climate improvement strategies in the state, (5) 296
assist school climate coordinators, appointed pursuant to section 10-297
222dd of the general statutes, in the development of a continuum of 298
strategies to prevent, identify and respond to challenging behavior, (6) 299
develop and provide technical assistance and recommendations, in 300
collaboration with the Social and Emotional Learning and School 301
Climate Advisory Collaborative, to local and regional boards of 302
education on trainings for school employees for the purposes of school 303
climate improvement, and (7) in collaboration with the Social and 304
Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative, 305
develop strategies to improve the delivery of services concerning social 306
emotional learning, skills building and mental health supports. 307
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 10-233c(g)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 10-233h
Sec. 3 July 1, 2024 10-233p
Sec. 4 July 1, 2024 10-222q(a)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2025 10-222q(a)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2024 10-222aa(12)
Sec. 7 July 1, 2024 10-222hh(a)
Sec. 8 July 1, 2024 10-222h(b)
Sec. 9 July 1, 2024 New section
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Statement of Purpose:
To (1) require services to be provided for certain youth who receive out-
of-school suspensions; (2) revise the procedures by which notification is
to be made to superintendents upon the arrest of a student; (3) clarify
school resource officer reporting requirements; (4) require the Social and
Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative to
develop standards for a school climate survey and a model school
climate improvement plan; (5) require the school climate survey to meet
the standards developed by the collaborative or be the state-wide school
climate survey developed by the collaborative; (6) allow school climate
specialists to incorporate the model school climate improvement plan in
a school climate improvement plan for such specialist's school; and (7)
require the Department of Education to (A) report on or before February
1, 2025, the number of acts of bullying based on a student's membership
in a protected class, and (B) appoint a director of school climate
improvement.
[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.]