Bill > SB00980

This bill requires all higher education institutions in Connecticut to enhance campus safety and address discrimination by establishing several key mechanisms. Starting July 1, 2025, each institution must appoint a Title VI coordinator responsible for receiving discrimination complaints, providing staff training, collecting campus climate data, and managing related responsibilities. By January 1, 2026, these institutions must develop comprehensive policies addressing hate incidents, which include mandatory training for staff on responding to such incidents, creating a formal complaint investigation procedure with timely disclosure of disciplinary results, and establishing a campus task force to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bias. The bill defines a "hate incident" as speech or conduct motivated by prejudice toward a person's race, religious identity, or ethnicity, and requires institutions to create security partnerships between campus safety personnel and local law enforcement to protect student groups at heightened risk of targeted violence. The bill aims to proactively prevent and respond to discriminatory actions on college campuses, ensuring a safer and more inclusive educational environment.

Education

Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee (Joint)

https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00980&which_year=2025