Schools would use broader safety checks for education job applicants

School employers would have to check an applicant’s work history and required safety information before offering jobs involving direct student contact. The rules cover public schools, charter schools, magnet school operators, nonpublic schools, contractors and substitute teachers. Applicants would have to disclose specified abuse, neglect and sexual misconduct investigations, discipline and license actions. Employers would have to contact current and former employers and report certain investigations or findings to the Department of Education. Temporary hiring could last up to 90 days while checks are completed, but only if the applicant meets the stated conditions. Employers could not hide or destroy information about pending investigations or substantiated abuse or misconduct, except when an allegation is found false. These rules are identified as effective July 1, 2026.

Local and regional school boards could not require high school athletes to meet academic standards higher than the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference standards. The rule covers students in grades 9 through 12 who participate in interscholastic sports and the local or regional boards that set their eligibility rules. The limit applies to academic eligibility standards for interscholastic athletics. The state athletic conference’s standards serve as the highest permitted level under this section. School boards could not impose higher standards later than July 1, 2027.

The Department of Education would establish grants for public schools and regional education service centers that want to provide therapeutic arts programs. Eligible applicants are local or regional boards of education and regional educational service centers, with priority for districts facing high exclusionary discipline, limited behavioral health services and existing social-emotional learning programs. The program would operate within available appropriations, so grants would depend on available funding. The education department would set grant amounts and publish eligibility rules, applications and available funding. The department would report the number of grants and recipients each year. The grants would be for the school year beginning July 1, 2027, and later school years; program information would be posted by January 1, 2027, and reporting would begin by July 1, 2028.