SB 380 — AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL DISCIPLINE.

Upon347 approval[shall ofbe suchsubmitted] plan,may aincorporate writtenthe ormodel electronicschool copyclimate ofimprovement such plan shalldeveloped beby madeavailabletomembersoftheschoolcommunityandsuchplanshallthe LCOsocial No.and emotional learning and school climate advisory collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q, as amended by this act.

2701The 8school ofclimate 11specialist Raisedsubmit Billsuch No.380plan beto used in the preventionschool of,climate identificationcoordinator offor review and responseapproval toon challengingor behavior.before December thirty-first of each school year.

Upon approval of such plan, a written or electronic copy of such plan shall be made available to members of the school community and such plan shall be used in the prevention of, identification of and response to challenging behavior.

The directorofschoolclimatesSB380 improvement/ shall(1)assistFile local andregional boards of education with the implementation of (A) sections 10-222t to 10-222v, inclusive, and sections 10-222aa to 10-222jj, inclusive, of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and (B) the Connecticut school climate policy, as defined in section 10-222aa of the general statutes, as amended by this act, (2) assist the Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q of the general statutes, as amended by this act, in the LCO No.

2701347 9 ofsSB380 11File Raised Bill No.

380347 directorofschoolclimate improvement shall(1)assist localandregional boards of education with the implementation of (A) sections 10-222t to 10-222v, inclusive, and sections 10-222aa to 10-222jj, inclusive, of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and (B) the Connecticut school climate policy, as defined in section 10-222aa of the general statutes, as amended by this act, (2) assist the social and emotional learning and school climate advisory collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q of the general statutes, as amended by this act, in the development and implementation of tools and best practices related to school climate and culture, including, but not limited to, the development of a model school climate survey and a model school climate improvement plan, (3) provide information and assistance to local and regional boards of education, students and parents and guardians of students on the uniform bullying complaint form created pursuant to section 10-222bb of the general statutes, (4) not later than January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of mattersrelatingto educationonrecommendationsforbestpracticesand improvement of school climate improvement strategies in thethis state, (5) assist school climate coordinators, appointed pursuant to section 10- 222dd of the general statutes, in the development of a continuum of strategies to prevent, identify and respond to challenging behavior, (6) develop and provide technical assistance and recommendations, in collaboration with the Socialsocial and Emotionalemotional Learninglearning and Schoolschool Climateclimate Advisoryadvisory Collaborative,collaborative, to local and regional boards of education on trainings for school employees for the purposes of school climate improvement, and (7) in collaboration with the Socialsocial and Emotionalemotional Learninglearning and Schoolschool Climateclimate Advisoryadvisory Collaborative,collaborative, develop strategies to improve the delivery of services concerning social and emotional learning, skills building and mental health supports.

Section 1 July 1, 2024 10-233c(g) Sec.sSB380 / File No.

347 10 sSB380 File No.

347 Sec.

9 July 1, 2024 New section LCOStatement No.of Legislative Commissioners:

2701In 10Section 2(b), "its presentation to the court" was changed to "the presentation of 11such Raisedarrest Billto No.the court" for clarity and "and 54-76l, and shall only be disclosed as provided in this section and shall not be further disclosed" was added for consistency.

380ED StatementJoint ofFavorable Purpose:Subst.

TosSB380 (1)/ requireFile servicesNo. to be provided for certain youth who receive out- of-school suspensions;

(2)347 revise11 thesSB380 proceduresFile byNo. which notification is to be made to superintendents upon the arrest of a student;

(3)347 clarifyThe schoolresourceofficerreportingrequirements;(4)requiretheSocialandfollowing EmotionalFiscal LearningImpact Statement and SchoolBill ClimateAnalysis Advisoryare Collaborativeprepared tofor developthe standardsbenefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for apurposes schoolof climateinformation, surveysummarization and aexplanation modeland schooldo climatenot improvementrepresent plan;the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

(5)In requiregeneral, thefiscal schoolimpacts climateare surveybased toupon meeta thevariety standardsof developedinformational bysources, including the collaborativeanalyst’s orprofessional beknowledge. thestate-wide school climate survey developed by the collaborative;

(6)Whenever allowapplicable, schoolagency climatedata specialistsis toconsulted incorporateas thepart modelof schoolthe climateanalysis, improvementhowever planfinal inproducts ado schoolnot climatenecessarily improvementreflect planan forassessment suchfrom specialist'sany school;specific department.

andOFA (7)Fiscal requireNote theDepartmentState ofEducationtoImpact: (A)report onor 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.

[ProposedAgency deletionsAffected areFund-Effect enclosedFY in25 brackets.$ FY 26 $ Judicial Dept.

Proposed(Probation) additionsGF are- indicatedCost by439,000 underline,– except139,000 that– when722,000 the277,000 entireEducation, textDept. of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.

2701GF 11- ofCost 1151,500 103,000 State Comptroller - Fringe GF - Cost 184,243 – 96,487 – Benefits1 293,243 151,487 Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in significant costs to the state annually beginning in FY 25.

It requires:

(1) the Judicial Department to provide reports to school superintendents regarding students that have been arrested for certain offenses;

and (2) the State Department of Education to appoint a director of school climate improvement.

These costs are described in detail below.

Judicial Branch The bill results in estimated costs to the Judicial Department of between $439,000 and $722,000 in FY 25 and between $139,000 and $277,000 in FY 26 and annually thereafter.

There are corresponding fringe benefits costs of $163,000 to $272,000 in FY 25 and $54,000 to $109,000 in FY 26 and annually thereafter.

Due to the July 1, 2024 effective date, it is assumed that the Judicial The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller.

The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 41.25% of payroll in FY 25.

sSB380 / File No.

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347 Department will not have sufficient time to develop a technical solution in the first fiscal year.

This results in a higher personnel cost in FY 25 for what is expected to be a highly manual process.

After a technical solution has been produced, it is anticipated that the Judicial Department will be able to reduce personnel costs in FY 26.

The one-time cost to develop a technical solution is anticipated to be approximately $14,000 in FY 25.

There are additional one-time costs expected for equipment between $9,000 to $15,000 in FY 25.

State Department of Education The bill results in a cost to SDE of $51,500 in FY 25 and $103,000 in FY and annually thereafter.

There are corresponding fringe costs of $21,243 in FY 25 and $42,487 in FY 26 and annually thereafter.

The bill requires SDE to appoint a director of school climate improvement.

It is anticipated that SDE will have to hire an employee to fulfill this requirement.

The bill also makes other changes regarding school climate and steps local and regional school districts must take when issuing certain out- of-school suspension.

These changes are not expected to increase costs to SDE or to local and regional school districts associated with:

(1) the provision of services to students that are arrested or that receive out-of- school suspensions;

or (2) administering school climate surveys.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

2The positions required would be for a Juvenile Probation Officer Trainee which has an estimated salary of $66,000.

In FY 25, it is expected that the Judicial Department would need between 6 – 10 positions ($396,000 - $666,000 for the salaries and other expenses related to the positions between $20,000 - $33,000 in FY 25).

3In FY 26, it expected that the Judicial Department would require between 2 – 4 positions ($132,000 - $264,000 for the salaries and other expenses related to the positions between $7,000 - $13,000 in FY 26).

4This estimate includes approximately 140 hours of development and testing to create a technical solution for the reports.

sSB380 / File No.

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347 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 380 AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL DISCIPLINE.

SUMMARY This bill makes numerous changes to the laws addressing student suspensions and arrests and school climate efforts in schools.

It includes the following:

1.

changes the out-of-school suspension standard for grades preschool to two, inclusive, to evidence showing that the student’s conduct on school grounds is behavior that causes serious physical harm rather than of a violent or sexual nature (§ 1);

2.

limits out-of-school suspensions for this grade group to no more than two school days (§ 1);

3.

changes the range of student ages, from at least seven years of age but less than 21 to at least 10 but less than 21, when police must notify a school superintendent that a student from the superintendent’s school district is arrested for certain offenses, and makes other notification changes (§ 2);

4.

clarifies that when the school resource officer’s (SRO) law enforcement agency does not have a chief of police who is Police OfficerStandardsandTrainingCouncil(POST)certified,thenthe SRO instead submits the reports to the superintendent (§ 3);

5.

allows a school climate specialist to incorporate the model school climate improvement plan into his or her school climate improvement plan, and makes other changes to school climate law (§§ 4-7);

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347 6.

requirestheStateDepartmentofEducation’s(SDE)annualreport on school bullying to include the number of bullying acts directed at students based on the victim being an actual or perceived member of a protected class (§ 8);

and 7.

creates the new position of statewide school climate improvement director (§ 9).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2024, except § 5, which is the same statutory section as § 4, but with a later effective date, is effective July 1, 2025.

§ 1 – STANDARD FOR EARLY GRADES OUT-OF-SCHOOL SUSPENSION The bill changes the standard for out-of-school suspensions for grades preschool to two, inclusive, to evidence that the student’s conduct on school grounds is behavior that causes serious physical harm.

Under current law, the standard is conduct of a violent or sexual nature that endangers persons.

Additionally under the bill in order to suspend a student in these grades, the school administration must (1) require that the student receives trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate services that align with any behavioral intervention plan, individualized education program, or Section 504 plan (Rehabilitation Act of 1973), when the student returns to school immediately following the suspension and (2) consider whether to convene a planning and placement team meeting to evaluate whether the student may need special education or related services.

It also limitsout-of-schoolsuspensionsfor thisgroupto no more than two school days.

By law, out-of-school suspensions are otherwise no more than 10 consecutive school days.

§ 2 – NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOLLOWING CERTAIN STUDENT ARRESTS The bill changes the range of student ages, from at least seven years sSB380 / File No.

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347 of age but less than 21 to at least 10 but less than 21, when police must notify a school superintendent that a student from the superintendent’s school district is arrested for certain offenses.

It also makes changes to the offenses that trigger the notification and for one group of offenses, what actor makes the notification.

Under current law, if the student is charged with a felony, a class A misdemeanor, or possession of a facsimile firearm (class B misdemeanor) the arresting law enforcement agency, by the end of the weekday following the arrest, must orally notify the superintendent for the district where the student resides or attends school of the student’s identity and the arrest offense.

Within 72 hours of the arrest, a written notification must be provided that contains a brief description of the incident.

Notification of Superintendent The bill creates two groups of crimes by separating possession of a firearm,asdefinedinfederallaw,fromtheabove-mentionedcrimesand it handles each group’s notification requirement differently.

Under the bill, when a student is charged with possession of a firearm, as defined in federal law, on school grounds or at a school- sponsored activity, the notification process is the same as under current law (see above).

Under federal law, firearm means (1) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to fire a projectile by an explosive action;

(2) any firearm muffler or silencer;

or (3) any destructive device, which includes any explosive bomb, grenade, or mine.

When a student is charged with possession of a facsimile firearm, a class A misdemeanor, or a felony, other thanpossession of a firearm, the judicial branch’s Court Support Services Division must, upon the arrest being presented to the court, provide a written report of the arrest to the superintendent of the school district in which the student resides or attends school.

The report must include, at a minimum, (1) the student’s identity, the arrest violation or violations, a brief description of the sSB380 / File No.

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347 incident and, if applicable, the identity of the alleged victim if the victim is another enrolled student, and (2) whether the person’s arrest has been diverted to the community-based diversion system, screened, and found to be eligible for nonjudicial handling or dismissed by the court.

Once the superintendent receives either of the reports mentioned above, it must be kept confidential according to state juvenile and youth confidentiality laws and can only be disclosed as provided in this section and shall not be further disclosed.

Allowed Disclosure of the Student Record As under current law, the superintendent can disclose either type of written report described above to only the principal of the school the student attends or to the principal or supervisory agent (i.e., an administrator) of any other school in which the superintendent knows the person is a student.

The bill maintains the current law requirement for what a principal may do with the report.

This includes disclosing the report only to specialservicesstafforaconsultant (suchasapsychiatrist,psychologist, or social worker) to (1) assess the risk of danger posed by the student to his or herself, other students, school employees, or school property and (2) institute an appropriate change of the student’s educational plan or placement, and for disciplinary purposes.

The bill includes a new requirement that the student cannot be prevented from attending class before an informal suspension hearing or an expulsion hearing is held.

Expulsion Hearing Prohibited When Student Diverted to Community-Based Diversion System The bill prohibits holding an informal suspension hearing or expulsion hearing when the written report indicates the student’s arrest has been diverted to the community-based diversion system and found eligible for nonjudicial handling or the court dismisses the case.

As under current law, if an expulsion hearing is held, police may testify and give reports if invited to testify by any of certain parties including the school board, the principal, or the student’s parents or sSB380 / File No.

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347 guardian.

§ 3 – SRO REPORTS Current law requires each SRO to give his or her agency’s police chief a report for each investigation or behavioral intervention the SRO conducts within five days after doing so.

The law details what must be in the report and requires police chiefs to submit SROs’ reports to their school districts’ superintendents at least monthly.

The bill clarifies that when the SRO’s law enforcement agency does not have a chief of police who is POST certified, then the SRO instead submits the reports to the superintendent.

(In some towns, by charter or municipal ordinance, the chief law enforcement officer is the first selectman.) §§ 4 & 5 – SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEYS AND CLIMATE IMPROVEMENT PLANS The bill requires the Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative (i.e., “the collaborative”) to develop a (1) school climate survey standard and (2) model school climate improvement plan.

The survey standards must include data collection standards on diversity, equity, and inclusion and how to reduce data collection disparities between school districts.

By law, the collaborative is tasked with numerous activities related to positive school climate including developing a statewide school climate survey and a model positive school climate policy.

§§ 6 & 7 – LOCAL SCHOOL CLIMATE STEPS Under current law, a “school climate survey” means a research- based, validated, and developmentally appropriate survey for students, school employees, and families of students, in the predominant languages of the school community, that measures and identifies school climate needs and tracks progress through a school climate improvement plan.

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347 The bill adds to this definition the requirement that school climate surveys meet the collaborative survey standards or use the state-wide school climate survey that the collaborative develops.

By law, the school climate specialist has numerous duties at the individual school level.

The bill allows a school climate specialist to incorporate the model school climate improvement plan into his or her school climate improvement plan.

Unchanged from current law, the school climate specialist must submit the plan to the school district’s school climate coordinator for review and approval.

§ 8 – RECORDING ACTS OF BULLYING By law, SDE must annually report to the Education and Children’s committees and legislative leadership on the status of its efforts to address school bullying.

The report must include the number of verified bullying acts in the state.

The bill additionally requires the report to include the number of bullying acts directed at students based on the bullying victim being an actual or perceived member of a protected class.

(Presumably, this means protected class as defined in Connecticut human rights law.) § 9 – STATE DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL CLIMATE IMPROVEMENT The bill requires SDE to appoint a director of school climate improvement to serve as the statewide social and emotional learning and school climate expert.

The director is given numerous duties including annually, beginning by January 1, 2026, submitting a report to the Education Committee on recommendations for best practices and school climate improvement strategies in the state.

At the state level, the bill requires the director to:

1.

assist the collaborative to develop and implement tools and best practices for school climate and culture, including developing a model school climate survey and a model school climate improvement plan;

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in collaboration with the collaborative develop strategies to improve service delivery concerning social and emotional learning, skills building, and mental health supports.

At the local level, the bill requires the director to:

1.

assist school boards with implementing the (a) state anti- bullying, school climate, and social and emotional learning policy and requirements and (b) Connecticut school climate policy;

2.

provide information and assistance to school boards, students, and parents and guardians of students on the uniform bullying complaint form;

3.

assist schoolclimate coordinators(thedistrictwideschoolclimate official) in developing a continuum of strategies to prevent, identify, and respond to challenging behavior;

and 4.

develop and provide technical assistance and recommendations, incollaborationwiththecollaborative,toschoolboardsonschool employee trainings for the purposes of school climate improvement.

COMMITTEE ACTION Education Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 31 Nay 13 (03/20/2024) sSB380 / File No.

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