2026 Education Legislation Summary

In its 2026 regular session, the General Assembly made a number of changes to the statutes that affect public education in Connecticut. This summary provides a brief overview of some of the more significant changes. Unless otherwise noted, these statutory changes are effective July 1, 2026 or upon passage. Links to the new legislation are provided in the electronic version of this publication.

Statutory Changes Related to Students

Kindergarten Early Admission – Phase-Out of Waivers

Sections 26 and 27 of Public Act 26-1 change Connecticut’s kindergarten entry rules and phase out early admission waivers in two stages. Since July 1, 2024, districts have been required to admit resident children who are five on or before September 1 of the school year. Districts also have been required to consider early admission for resident children younger than five upon written parent request and following an assessment of the child to ensure that admitting such child was developmentally appropriate. Effective July 1, 2026, the early admission process becomes discretionary: a child younger than five as of September 1 may be admitted only if the local or regional board of education has adopted an early admission policy that permits a child to be admitted upon written parent request and following an assessment by the principal and an appropriate certified staff member to determine whether admitting such child is developmentally appropriate. Therefore, for the 2026–2027 school year, boards should: (1) decide whether to adopt an early admission policy; (2) ensure any such policy meets statutory requirements; and (3) communicate the policy—or the decision not to adopt one—to families. Effective July 1, 2027, the law changes again, and the early admission process is repealed in its entirety. Therefore, for the 2027–2028 school year and beyond, all children must be five on or before September 1 of the school year to enroll in kindergarten, regardless of board policy. Boards must be mindful of the changing admission requirements and ensure applicable policies reflect these evolving standards.

Out-of-School Suspension for Preschool Through Grade 2 Students

Under existing law, suspensions from public school must be in-school suspensions, unless certain requirements are met. For students in preschool through grade two, boards of education may authorize the administration to impose an out-of-school suspension only where, after an informal disciplinary hearing, the administration finds that the student’s conduct on school grounds caused physical harm. Section 40 of Public Act 26-1 narrows the circumstances in which out-of-school suspension is permitted for students in the younger grades. Under the revised law, an administrator may authorize out‑of‑school suspension for a student in preschool through grade two only if the student’s conduct on school grounds caused “serious physical harm.”

Alternative Educational Opportunity for Twice-Expelled Students

Under existing law, boards of education must offer an alternative educational opportunity to 16‑ to 18‑year‑old students expelled for the first time who wish to continue their education. Section 41 of Public Act 26-1 expands this mandate by requiring boards to offer an alternative educational opportunity to 16‑ to 18‑year‑old students expelled for either the first or second time who wish to continue their education. Unchanged by the new law, a student may receive an alternative educational opportunity only if the student complies with the conditions established by the local or regional board of education.

Notification of Restraint and Seclusion

Existing law prohibits employees from using physical restraint or seclusion with a student except as an emergency intervention to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or others and requires boards of education to notify parents or guardians of such physical restraint or seclusion within twenty-four hours. Section 42 of Public Act 26-1amends the timeline for notification and requires boards of education to notify parents or guardians the same day that a student is placed in a physical restraint or seclusion. As previously required, boards must still make a reasonable effort to notify parents or guardians immediately after the restraint or seclusion is initiated.

Vision Screening for Students

Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 10-214, each local and regional board of education must provide annual vision screenings for students in kindergarten, first grade, and third through fifth grade. Section 36 of Public Act 26-1permits, but does not require, such vision screening for students in preschool and second grade. 

Expanded Immunization Standards of Care

Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes § 19a-7f et seq., the Commissioner of Public Health is responsible for determining the standard of care for immunization for Connecticut children. Public Act 26-3 makes various changes to the state’s immunization laws, including establishing an immunization standard of care for adults in addition to children, expanding the types of immunizations that may be included in state immunization schedules to include passive immunizations (e.g., antibody treatments), and allowing the Connecticut Department of Public Health to purchase vaccines by means other than through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), among other revisions. The Act also removes reliance upon immunization schedules published by the CDC and adds a requirement that the state’s standard of care for immunizations be based on schedules recommended by the Commissioner. Section 6 of the Act provides that local and regional boards of education, as well as the governing boards of nonpublic schools, must require immunizations included in the schedule for immunization recommended by the Commissioner, which, as stated above, need only take CDC recommendations into consideration rather than rely upon them.  

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Connecticut’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, codified at Connecticut General Statutes § 52-571b, prohibits the state or its political subdivisions from burdening a person’s exercise of religion unless the government can demonstrate that the burden furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so. The statute also allows individuals to assert a violation as either a claim or a defense in judicial proceedings and obtain appropriate relief. Section 14 of Public Act 26-3 amends this statute to exclude the immunization requirements for public and private schools, including higher education institutions, from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Health Assessment Forms

Under existing law, each local and regional board of education must require students to have health assessments and screenings in accordance with statutory requirements, and the board may deny continued attendance in public school to any student who fails to obtain the required health assessments. The results of such assessments and screenings must be recorded on forms supplied by the State Board of Education (“SBE”) and included in a student’s cumulative health record. Section 39 of Public Act 26-1 makes two practical changes. First, it expressly authorizes school nurses to reject assessment or screening results submitted on forms other than the SBE-supplied form and to require resubmission on the correct form. Second, it requires that an asthma action plan be included with the assessment form for any student diagnosed with asthma.

Athletic Health Assessments for High School Student Athletes

Sections 15 and 16 of Public Act 26-13 amend Connecticut General Statutes § 10-206 and establish a new annual athletics health assessment requirement for public high school students who wish to participate in interscholastic athletics. For the school year commencing July 1, 2027, and each school year thereafter, each local or regional board of education must ensure that every student enrolled in grades nine through twelve undergoes an athletics health assessment before being permitted to participate in interscholastic athletics for each academic year. The assessment must be conducted by a qualified health care provider and include a physical examination with cardiac screening designed to detect conditions that could lead to sudden cardiac death.

All athletics health assessments must be recorded on a form supplied by the SBE, which form must include specific statutory elements identifying that certain screenings and assessments have been conducted. Consistent with existing student health assessment requirements, the Act requires boards of education to provide the athletics health assessment without charge to all students whose parents or guardians meet the eligibility requirements for free and reduced-price meals. The assessment results must also be included in the cumulative health record of each student.

Academic Standards for Interscholastic Athletics

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (“CIAC”) has long governed public school interscholastic athletic play in Connecticut, which governance has included establishing minimum academic requirements for participating athletes in grades nine through twelve. Section 3 of Public Act 26-139 provides that, beginning July 1, 2027, local and regional boards of education may not require participating students to meet or exceed academic standards that are higher than those established by the CIAC. Accordingly, districts may not impose stricter academic requirements for athletic participation than those set by the CIAC.

Student School Safety Plans Developed by Health Care Providers

Sections 19 through 22 of Public Act 26-13 set requirements for health care providers to share certain minor patients’ mental health “safety plans” with schools and for boards of education to facilitate receipt of those plans through a secure messaging system. Under the Act, a “safety plan” is defined as a “written document created collaboratively between a health care provider and a patient outlining coping strategies, activities, and support networks the patient can access to prevent or manage a potential mental health crisis.”

Beginning April 1, 2027, each health care provider that prepares a safety plan for a minor patient who received inpatient behavioral health care treatment for a period of at least twelve consecutive days must (1) review the safety plan with the minor patient, if medically appropriate, and (2) inquire whether the minor patient or the patient’s parent or legally authorized representative consents to sharing the safety plan with the patient’s school.

If consent is given, the provider must obtain written consent from the patient or the patient’s parent, as appropriate, and transmit the safety plan to the patient’s school district or school using a secure messaging system or in a form and manner that complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

By January 1, 2027, each local or regional board of education must (1) sign up for a secure messaging system account and (2) provide account access to one or more designated employees (school nurses, nurse supervisors, nurse practitioners, counselors, social workers, or psychologists) to receive safety plans. At least one designated employee must be a school nurse supervisor. Designated employees must retain safety plans in a confidential file separate from cumulative academic or health records, though plan information may be used for Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) or Section 504 plan interventions. By April 1, 2027, each board must submit its secure messaging system address to the Commissioner of Education.

Beginning July 1, 2027, and each school year thereafter, boards of education must provide guidance on these requirements to all new designated employees. The Act directs the State Department of Education (“SDE”) to develop and make available guidance and training materials, which shall include instructions for using the secure messaging system.

The Act also amends the goals of the Statewide Health Information Exchange (“Connie”) to include providing, within available appropriations, a secure messaging system organizational account to each school district or school, as determined by each board of education, for the purpose of receiving safety plans, and providing designated employees with access to those accounts at no cost to the school district, school, or designated employee.

Eating Disorder Screening Tool to be Used by School-Based Health Centers

In accordance with Section 4 of Public Act 26-62, beginning January 1, 2027, each school-based health center (“SBHC”) must (1) adopt an evidence-based screening tool designed to detect early signs of disordered eating behaviors, to be used alongside—not in place of—the diagnostic methods the SBHC already employs, and (2) administer that screening tool to every student in grades six through twelve as part of the student’s annual health check-up, including the routine health assessments conducted under Connecticut General Statutes § 10-206.

Administration of Opioid Antagonists

Public Act 26-38 amends Connecticut General Statutes § 10-212a, which concerns the administration of medication in schools, and expands the permissible use of opioid antagonists, such as Naloxone, to treat overdoses. These revisions reflect the reclassification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of certain opioid antagonists from prescription-only (“legend”) to over-the-counter (“nonlegend”). All nonlegend versions of opioid antagonists come in the form of a nasal spray, rather than an injectable.

Under current law, only a school nurse or, in their absence, a qualified school employee who has completed a training program, may administer opioid antagonists to students without prior written authorization. Section 1 of the Act clarifies that a qualified school employee may administer a legend opioid antagonist whether or not a school nurse is available on-site. Previously, a qualified employee could administer only in the nurse’s absence. Importantly, the Act also eliminates the option for parents or guardians to opt their child out of receiving an opioid antagonist in an emergency.

The Act further provides that “any person” may administer a nonlegend opioid antagonist to “any person” and adds that nothing in the law concerning opioid administration in schools should be construed to prevent school nurses, qualified school employees, or any other person in a school setting from administering a nonlegend opioid antagonist to anyone experiencing an opioid overdose at school. In accordance with changes imposed by Public Act 26-68, described further below, such persons are immune from civil liability for ordinary negligence arising from administration of a nonlegend opioid antagonist, but not for gross, willful, or wanton negligence. The SDE must establish guidelines for the storage and administration of nonlegend opioid antagonists in schools.

Importantly, the law continues to require any administration of a legend opioid antagonist be done only by a trained school nurse or qualified school employee and in compliance with the policies and procedures of the board of education.

Existing law provides immunity from civil and criminal penalties for a person who administers an opioid antagonist (e.g., Naloxone) to another individual, as long as the person administering the opioid antagonist has a good faith belief that the individual is experiencing an opioid-related overdose. Section 165 of Public Act 26-68 expands that immunity to any person administering an over-the-counter (nonlegend) opioid antagonist. This section of the Act also provides that a pharmacy permit is not required to distribute over-the-counter opioid antagonists, as long as such distribution is without consideration or compensation.

Education of Homeless Children and Youth 

Under Connecticut General Statutes § 10-253, boards of education are required to provide educational services to homeless children and youth in accordance with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended from time to time. Effective October 1, 2026, Public Act 26-125 amends Connecticut law to specify that the educational services must be provided in accordance with the version of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in effect December 23, 2022.

Read the full legislation summary, which includes statutory changes related to:

• Students
• School Attendance
• Curriculum
• School Security and Safety
• Employment (School Employees)
• Employment (General)
• Finance and Budget
• Transportation
• Educator Workforce, and
• Miscellaneous Statutory Changes

>> Download the 2026 Education Legislation Summary