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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7077
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5505
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT CONCERNING CRISIS RESPONSE DRILLS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) Not later than April 1, 2026, 1
the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, in 2
collaboration with the Connecticut Center for School Safety and Crisis 3
Prevention at Western Connecticut State University, shall (1) develop a 4
clear definition for crisis response drills for purposes of section 10-231 5
of the general statutes, as amended by this act, (2) develop standardized 6
terminology for the administration and review of crisis response drills, 7
(3) develop guidance on (A) standardized responses to crises, and (B) 8
standardized debriefing protocols following a crisis, and (4) develop an 9
evaluation template for crisis response drills that allows school districts 10
to use feedback from participants of the crisis response drill to assess the 11
efficacy of the crisis response drill and make adjustments to subsequent 12
crisis response drills to improve preparedness while preventing 13
emotional harm and supporting psychological safety. 14
(b) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, in 15
collaboration with the Connecticut Center for School Safety and Crisis 16
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Prevention at Western Connecticut State University, shall conduct a 17
study of the impact of crisis response drills and the school community. 18
(c) (1) Not later than April 1, 2026, the department shall submit a 19
report on the items described in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of 20
subsection (a) of this section, and any recommendations, to the joint 21
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 22
matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of 23
section 11-4a of the general statutes. 24
(2) Not later than July 1, 2028, the department shall submit a report 25
on the study conducted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, and 26
any recommendations, to the joint standing committee of the General 27
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in 28
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 29
Sec. 2. Section 10-231 of the general statutes is repealed and the 30
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 31
(a) Each local and regional board of education shall provide for a fire 32
drill to be held in the schools of such board not later than thirty days 33
after the first day of each school year and at least once each month 34
thereafter, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. 35
(b) Each such board shall substitute a crisis response drill for a fire 36
drill once every three months and shall develop the format of such crisis 37
response drill [in consultation] in accordance with the crisis response 38
protocols described in section 3 of this act and with the appropriate local 39
law enforcement agency. A representative of such agency may 40
supervise and participate in any such crisis response drill. 41
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) For the school year commencing 42
July 1, 2026, and each school year thereafter, each crisis response drill 43
conducted pursuant to section 10-231 of the general statutes, as 44
amended by this act, shall be conducted in accordance with the 45
following protocols: (1) Utilize the (A) definition for crisis response 46
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drills, (B) standardized terminology for the administration and review 47
of crisis response drills, and (C) guidance on standardized responses to 48
crises and debriefing protocols following a crisis, developed by the 49
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection pursuant to 50
section 1 of this act, (2) the school security and safety committee, as 51
described in section 10-222m of the general statutes, as amended by this 52
act, shall collaborate with the school climate committee, as described in 53
section 10-222ff of the general statutes, to plan crisis response drills that 54
prioritize the physical and psychological safety of students and school 55
personnel, (3) crisis drills shall be trauma-informed, including utilizing 56
an approach that takes into account prior traumatic experiences and 57
designed to prevent emotional harm to and support the psychological 58
safety of students and school personnel, with mental health 59
professionals' participation integrated throughout the crisis response 60
drill, (4) prior to conducting a crisis response drill, school personnel 61
shall provide age-appropriate education and training to allow students 62
and school personnel to build knowledge and skills to reduce the 63
potential for confusion or emotional distress, including a review of the 64
purpose and procedures for crisis response drills prior to the first crisis 65
response drill of the school year and notification to students, school 66
personnel and parents and guardians one week in advance of 67
conducting a crisis response drill, (5) school personnel shall 68
communicate, in a clear manner to ensure understanding, the nature 69
and purpose of crisis response drills to the parents and guardians of 70
students at the school prior to conducting a crisis response drill, (6) all 71
communication regarding crisis response drills shall be provided in the 72
native language of all students, school personnel and parents and 73
guardians, (7) at the commencement of the crisis response drill, students 74
and school personnel shall be informed that they are participating in a 75
crisis response drill for the purpose of avoiding confusion when an 76
actual emergency situation is occurring, (8) accommodations for 77
students with cognitive, physical or sensory disability shall be provided, 78
to the extent practicable, during a crisis response drill to ensure the 79
safety and participation of such students, (9) crisis response drills 80
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conducted with students shall not include an active assailant simulation, 81
except a crisis response drill that is conducted outside of the regular 82
school day and exclusively for school personnel, first responders and 83
other school volunteers may include an active assailant simulation, and 84
(10) evaluate each crisis response drill using the evaluation template 85
developed pursuant to section 1 of this act. 86
Sec. 4. Section 10-222m of the general statutes, as amended by section 87
63 of public act 23-167, is repealed and the following is substituted in 88
lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 89
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and each school year 90
thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall develop and 91
implement a school security and safety plan for each school under the 92
jurisdiction of such board. Such plans shall be based on the school 93
security and safety plan standards developed by the Department of 94
Emergency Services and Public Protection, pursuant to section 10-222n. 95
Each local and regional board of education shall annually review and 96
update, if necessary, such plans. 97
(b) For the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and each school year 98
thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall establish a 99
school security and safety committee at each school under the 100
jurisdiction of such board. The school security and safety committee 101
shall be responsible for assisting in the development of the school 102
security and safety plan for the school and administering such plan. 103
Such school security and safety committee shall consist of a local police 104
officer, a local first responder, a teacher and an administrator employed 105
at the school, a mental health professional, as defined in section 10-76t, 106
a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school and any other 107
person the board of education deems necessary. Any parent or guardian 108
serving as a member of a school security and safety committee shall not 109
have access to information reported to such committee that would result 110
in a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 111
20 USC 1232g, as amended from time to time. 112
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(c) Each local and regional board of education shall (1) annually 113
submit the school security and safety plan for each school under the 114
jurisdiction of such board, developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this 115
section, to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 116
and (2) make any portion of such school security and safety plan that is 117
not prohibited from disclosure pursuant to section 1-210 available to 118
members of the school community upon request. 119
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 10-231
Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 10-222m
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the recommendations of the School Crisis Response Drills
Working Group regarding the development of protocols for conducting
crisis response drills in schools.
[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.]