School Climate Legislation and Challenging Behaviors
Public Act 23-167 significantly modified existing school climate legislation and policy. Districts may choose to implement these modified provisions in the 2024-25 school year, but the new school climate provisions become mandatory for all districts in 2025-26. The following elements are included among the changes:
• Requires the adoption of a new School Climate policy
• Outlines expectations on responding to“ challenging behavior”
• Redefines terms and responsibilities associated with school climate personnel
• Establishes new training requirements
What is School Climate? According to legislation, school climate is,“ the quality and character of the school life, with a particular focus on the quality of the relationships within the school community, and which is based on patterns of people’ s experiences of school life and that reflects the norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching, learning, leadership practices and organizational structures within the school community.” School climate is comprehensive, which emphasizes the need to align and integrate efforts across the district and with the community. School climate efforts should be embedded in district improvement plans, and district artifacts, like a Vision of a Graduate. Districts are encouraged to utilize multiple data sources and demonstrate the interconnectedness of various initiatives and programming( i. e., behavior / discipline, family engagement, attendance, social emotional learning, school counseling, advisory, etc.). Connecticut’ s legislation supports districts in their attempts to align efforts, and work proactively with their community to co-create school environments that support student well-being and success. Legislation at a Glance— Overview of Statutory Requirements The new school climate legislation, inclusive of Connecticut General Statutes( C. G. S.) Sec. 10222aa – Sec. 10-222jj, establishes the following necessary components: a new school climate policy, a district-level school climate coordinator, school climate specialist at each school, school climate committees, school climate survey, school climate improvement plan and tiered behavior response, training requirements, and a restorative practices response policy.
This link provides a guide for Challenging Behaviors:
https:// wp. cga. ct. gov / cwcseo / wp-content / uploads / 2024 / 04 / Challenging-Behavior-Reporting-Form- Updated. pdf
Enfield High School’ s Climate Specialist is Mr. Murray. Please see him with any concerns
VI. MISCELLANEOUS
STUDENT RECORDS Both parents and students should be aware of the following guidelines related to student records.
A) Directory Information- The Enfield Board of Education shall give annual notice during the first week of each school year, and individually as students enroll during the remainder of each school year, that the items listed below are considered“ directory information”. Such items will be released by the school at the discretion of the Superintendent of Schools, without further comment, unless the parent informs the principal of the student’ s school, in writing, within two weeks of notification, any or all items he / she does not wish to be released, without prior written consent.
The Enfield Public Schools define the following as“ directory information”: Student’ s name and address
Dates of attendance
Grade level
Honors or awards received
Revised 9 / 8 / 2025