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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7077
January Session, 2025
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
Prevention at Western Connecticut State University, shall conduct a 17
study of the impact of crisis response drills on the school community. 18
(c) (1) Not later than April 1, 2026, the department shall submit a 19 Substitute Bill No. 7077
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report on the items described in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of 20
subsection (a) of this section, including any recommendations, to the 21
joint 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, 26
including any recommendations, to the joint standing committee of the 27
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, 28
in 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 Section 10-231 of the general statutes is repealed and the 30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 as follows: (1) Utilize the (A) 45
definition for crisis response drills, (B) standardized terminology for the 46
administration and review of crisis response drills, and (C) guidance on 47
standardized responses to crises and debriefing protocols following a 48
crisis, developed by the Department of Emergency Services and Public 49
Protection pursuant to section 1 of this act, (2) the school security and 50
safety committee, as described in section 10-222m of the general statutes, 51 Substitute Bill No. 7077
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as amended by this act, shall collaborate with the school climate 52
committee, as described in section 10-222ff of the general statutes, to 53
plan crisis response drills that prioritize the physical and psychological 54
safety of students and school personnel, (3) crisis drills shall be trauma-55
informed, including utilizing an approach that takes into account prior 56
traumatic experiences and designed to prevent emotional harm to and 57
support the psychological safety of students and school personnel, with 58
mental health professionals' participation integrated throughout the 59
crisis response drill, (4) prior to conducting a crisis response drill, school 60
personnel shall provide age-appropriate education for students and 61
training for school personnel to build knowledge and skills to reduce 62
the potential for confusion or emotional distress, including a review of 63
the purpose and procedures for crisis response drills prior to the first 64
crisis response drill of the school year and notification to students, 65
school personnel and parents and guardians one week in advance of 66
conducting a crisis response drill, (5) school personnel shall 67
communicate, in a clear manner to ensure understanding, the nature 68
and purpose of crisis response drills to the parents and guardians of 69
students at the school prior to conducting a crisis response drill, (6) all 70
communication regarding crisis response drills shall be provided in the 71
native language of each student, school personnel and parents and 72
guardians, (7) at the commencement of the crisis response drill, students 73
and school personnel shall be informed that they are participating in a 74
crisis response drill to avoid confusion when an actual emergency 75
situation is occurring, (8) accommodations for students with cognitive, 76
physical or sensory disability shall be provided, to the extent 77
practicable, during a crisis response drill to ensure the safety and 78
participation of such students, (9) crisis response drills conducted with 79
students shall not include an active assailant simulation or simulated 80
violence with highly sensorial elements such as fake assailants, firearms, 81
gunfire sounds, blood or injuries, and a crisis response drill that is 82
conducted outside of the regular school day and exclusively for school 83
personnel, first responders and other school volunteers may include an 84
active assailant simulation or such simulated violence, and (10) evaluate 85
each crisis response drill using the evaluation template developed 86 Substitute Bill No. 7077
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pursuant to section 1 of this act. 87
Sec. 4. Section 10-222m of the general statutes, as amended by section 88
63 of public act 23-167, is repealed and the following is substituted in 89
lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 90
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and each school year 91
thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall develop and 92
implement a school security and safety plan for each school under the 93
jurisdiction of such board. Such plans shall be based on the school 94
security and safety plan standards developed by the Department of 95
Emergency Services and Public Protection, pursuant to section 10-222n. 96
Each local and regional board of education shall annually review and 97
update, if necessary, such plans. 98
(b) For the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and each school year 99
thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall establish a 100
school security and safety committee at each school under the 101
jurisdiction of such board. The school security and safety committee 102
shall be responsible for assisting in the development of the school 103
security and safety plan for the school and administering such plan. 104
Such school security and safety committee shall consist of a local police 105
officer, a local first responder, a teacher and an administrator employed 106
at the school, a mental health professional, as defined in section 10-76t, 107
a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school and any other 108
person the board of education deems necessary. Any parent or guardian 109
serving as a member of a school security and safety committee shall not 110
have access to information reported to such committee that would result 111
in a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 112
20 USC 1232g, as amended from time to time. 113
(c) Each local and regional board of education shall (1) annually 114
submit the school security and safety plan for each school under the 115
jurisdiction of such board, developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this 116
section, to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, 117
and (2) make any portion of such school security and safety plan that is 118 Substitute Bill No. 7077
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not prohibited from disclosure pursuant to section 1-210 available to 119
members of the school community upon request. 120
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 Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 3, "in accordance with the following protocols" was changed
to "as follows", for proper form; "age-appropriate education and
training to allow students and school personnel" was changed to "age-
appropriate education for students and training for school personnel",
for clarity; and "for the purpose of avoiding" was changed to "to avoid"
and "except" was changed to "and", for proper form.
ED Joint Favorable Subst.