AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL SAFETY.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall establish a safe travel to school grant program to provide grants to towns for expenses incurred as part of improving student safety along routes of travel to schools and in the immediate areas around schools during the hours before and after regular school hours.

(b) On or before July 15, 2014, a town may submit an application, at such time and in such manner as the department prescribes, to the department for a grant pursuant to this section. Each application shall include a plan for the improvement of student safety along routes of travel to school and in the immediate areas around schools during the hours before and after regular school hours. Such plan shall (1) be developed by the town in consultation with the local law enforcement agency and local or regional board of education for such town, (2) include the travel routes to schools and the areas around such schools that will be covered by such plan, (3) establish the hours before and after school that supervision may be provided along such travel routes and areas around such schools, and (4) require that any person assisting in the implementation of such plan submit to state and national criminal history records checks prior to implementation of such plan.

(c) Not later than August 1, 2014, the department shall select up to ten towns to receive grants under this section and shall give priority to towns in which priority school districts are located or towns in which a priority school is located.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall assist the United Way of Connecticut in including a student safety hotline as part of the 2-1-1 Infoline program. Such student safety hotline shall receive calls from students and the parents or guardians of students who suspect or have reason to believe that the health and safety of students and faculty at a school may be at risk of violence or the unlawful use of a weapon, as defined in section 29-38 of the general statutes.

Sec. 3. Section 84 of public act 13-3, as amended by section 15 of public act 13-122 and section 191 of public act 13-247, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2013, to June 30, 2015, inclusive, the Departments of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Construction Services and Education shall jointly administer a school security infrastructure competitive grant program to reimburse (1) towns for certain expenses for schools under the jurisdiction of the town's school district incurred on or after January 1, 2013, and (2) the supervisory agent for nonpublic schools for certain expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2013, for: [(1)] (A) The development or improvement of the security infrastructure of schools, based on the results of school building security assessments pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, including, but not limited to, the installation of surveillance cameras, penetration resistant vestibules, ballistic glass, solid core doors, double door access, computer-controlled electronic locks, entry door buzzer systems, scan card systems, panic alarms or other systems; and [(2) (A)] (B) (i) the training of school personnel in the operation and maintenance of the security infrastructure of school buildings, or [(B)] (ii) the purchase of portable entrance security devices, including, but not limited to, metal detector wands and screening machines and related training.

(b) On and after the effective date of this section, each local and regional board of education [may,] on behalf of its town or its member towns [,] and supervisory agent for a nonpublic school, may apply, at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection prescribes, to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection for a grant for certain expenses for schools under the jurisdiction of such board of education or supervisory agent incurred on and after January 1, 2013, for the purposes described in subsection (a) of this section. Ten per cent of the funds available under this program shall be awarded to the supervisory agents of nonpublic schools, in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section. Prior to the date that the School Safety Infrastructure Council makes its initial submission of the school safety infrastructure standards, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 80 of public act 13-3, the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Commissioners of Construction Services and Education, shall determine which expenses are eligible for reimbursement under the program. On and after the date that the School Safety Infrastructure Council submits the school safety infrastructure standards, the decision to approve or deny an application and the determination of which expenses are eligible for reimbursement under the program shall be in accordance with the most recent submission of the school safety infrastructure standards, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 80 of public act 13-3.

(c) (1) A town may receive a grant equal to a percentage of its eligible expenses. The percentage shall be determined as follows: [(1)] (A) Each town shall be ranked in descending order from one to one hundred sixty-nine according to town wealth, as defined in subdivision (26) of section 10-262f of the general statutes, [(2)] (B) based upon such ranking, a percentage of not less than twenty or more than eighty shall be assigned to each town on a continuous scale, and [(3)] (C) the town ranked first shall be assigned a percentage of twenty and the town ranked last shall be assigned a percentage of eighty.

(2) The supervisory agent for a nonpublic school may receive a grant equal to fifty per cent of its eligible expenses.

(d) If there are not sufficient funds to provide grants to all towns and supervisory agents for nonpublic schools based on the percentage determined pursuant to [this] subsection (c) of this section, the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Commissioners of Construction Services and Education, shall give priority to applicants on behalf of schools with the greatest need for security infrastructure, as determined by said commissioners based on school building security assessments of the schools under the jurisdiction of the town's school district conducted pursuant to this subsection. Of the applicants on behalf of such schools with the greatest need for security infrastructure, said commissioners shall give first priority to applicants on behalf of schools that have no security infrastructure at the time of such school building security assessment and succeeding priority to applicants on behalf of schools located in priority school districts pursuant to section 10-266p of the general statutes. To be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this section, an applicant board of education or supervisory agent shall [(A)] (1) demonstrate that it has developed and periodically practices an emergency plan at the schools under its jurisdiction and that such plan has been developed in concert with applicable state or local first-responders, and [(B)] (2) provide for a uniform assessment of the schools under its jurisdiction, including any security infrastructure, using the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities' Safe Schools Facilities Check List. The assessment shall be conducted under the supervision of the local law enforcement agency.

Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 10-222d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(c) Not later than [January 1, 2012] July 1, 2014, each local and regional board of education shall [approve] submit the safe school climate plan developed pursuant to this section [and submit such plan] to the Department of Education for approval in accordance with section 5 of this act. Not later than thirty calendar days after approval of [such] the safe school climate plan by the [local or regional board of education] department, the board shall make such plan available on the board's and each individual school in the school district's Internet web site and ensure that such plan is included in the school district's publication of the rules, procedures and standards of conduct for schools and in all student handbooks.

Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The Department of Education shall receive and review each safe school climate plan submitted pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-222d of the general statutes, as amended by this act. The department may approve or reject a safe school climate plan if such plan does not adequately ensure a safe school climate at the schools under the jurisdiction of the board of education submitting such plan. If the department rejects a safe school climate plan submitted by a local or regional board of education, such board of education shall redevelop and resubmit the safe school climate plan to the department for approval not later than thirty calendar days after such rejection. If the department rejects such resubmitted plan, such board of education shall adopt the model safe school climate plan, developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 10-222h of the general statutes, as amended by this act.

(b) The Department of Education shall make available on the department's Internet web site (1) each safe school climate plan that has been approved by the department, (2) a list of the school districts that have an approved safe school climate plan, and (3) a list of the school districts whose safe school climate plan has been rejected and is in the process of resubmitting its safe school climate plan for approval by the department.

Sec. 6. Section 10-222h of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) The Department of Education shall, within available appropriations, (1) document school districts' articulated needs for technical assistance and training related to safe learning and bullying, (2) collect information on the prevention and intervention strategies used by schools to reduce the incidence of bullying, improve school climate and improve reporting outcomes, (3) develop or recommend a model safe school climate plan for grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, and (4) in collaboration with the Connecticut Association of Schools, disseminate to all public schools grade-level appropriate school climate assessment instruments approved by the department, including surveys that collect information about students' perspectives and opinions about the school climate at the school, to be used by local and regional boards of education for the purposes of collecting information described in subdivision (2) of this subsection so that the department can monitor bullying prevention efforts over time and compare each district's progress to state trends.

(b) On or before February 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the department shall, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, submit a report on the status of its efforts pursuant to this section including, but not limited to, the number of verified acts of bullying in the state, an analysis of the responsive action taken by school districts, an analysis of student perspectives and opinions about school climate at schools and any recommendations it may have regarding additional activities or funding to prevent bullying in schools and improve school climate to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and children and to the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

(c) The department may accept private donations for the purposes of this section.

Statement of Purpose:

To establish a safe travel to school grant program, to include a student safety hotline as part of the 2-1-1 Infoline program to include nonpublic schools as eligible recipients for a school security infrastructure grant, to establish an approval process for safe school climate plans submitted by local and regional boards of education to the Department of Education, to require school climate assessment surveys to include students' perspectives and opinions, and to require the Department of Education to analyze student perspectives and opinions about school climate in its annual report on school climate.

[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.]