Last year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed significant revisions to the school climate and bullying requirements, via Public Act 23-167 as we explored at length in a prior posting. As we noted last year, all school districts are required to have a new school climate policy in place by no later than the start of 2025-2026 school year. By law, schools must use a policy developed by the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) and further adopted by the Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative.
By way of update, this new climate policy has been adopted and contains model complaint, investigation and notice forms. School districts may elect to use this policy for the coming 2024-25 school year (and otherwise comply with all of the changes provided via Public Act 23-167), but must have this specific policy in place for the 2025-26 school year. As of this writing it would appear that most school districts have chosen to wait until 2025-26 to adopt the new policy.
In addition, per Public Act 23-167, commencing with the 2025-26 school year school districts must also administer a school climate survey to students, school employees and student families as well as a school climate improvement plan (based upon Connecticut school climate standards developed by the Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative Collaborative), with such plan also to be in effect by the start of the 2025-26 school year. Furthermore, schools are required to adopt a “restorative practices response policy” by July 1, 2025. However, starting with THIS SCHOOL YEAR – 2024-25, schools are required to provide resources and training regarding social and emotional learning, school climate and culture and evidence and research-based interventions, including restorative practices, to school employees.
While this certainly seems like a lot of work for the school climate coordinators, school climate specialists, and school climate committees during this year, fortunately some help is on the way. Public Act 24-45 (“An Act Concerning Education Mandate Relief, School Discipline and Disconnected Youth”) has among its many pages some school climate related provisions that should provide some relief for administrators with school climate responsibilities. To this end, Public Act 24-45 expands the duties of the Social and Emotional Learning and School Advisory Collaborative to require it to develop 1) school climate survey standards (including standards related to the collection of data related to diversity, equity and inclusion and the reduction of disparities in data collection between school districts), and 2) a model school climate improvement plan. In turn, school climate specialists may incorporate this model school climate improvement plan when drafting and submitting such plans that are to be in effect beginning with the 2025-26 school year. In addition, the Act requires the State Department of Education to appoint a director of school climate improvement to serve as the statewide social and emotional learning and school climate expert. The specified duties for the director include, among other things, assisting school districts with implementing the various school climate, bullying and social emotional learning policy requirements and statutory mandates. Again, this should provide comfort that schools will not be completely flying blind with respect to this brave new world.
Stay tuned for further developments. Pullman & Comley’s School Law Section is presenting a free webinar on September 5, 2024 regarding legislation from the 2024 session of the Connecticut General Assembly that may be of interest to Connecticut schools, including the afore-referenced Public Act 24-45.
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