Education

This bill requires healthcare facilities and schools to cover medical costs and pay full salary for staff injured during work-related assaults or aggressive incidents. It creates a system for reporting patient violence in digital health records (with patient appeal options) and ensures absences due to such incidents don’t count against paid leave. Directly affects healthcare workers, teachers, and school staff who face workplace violence while performing job duties.

This bill proposes the approval of a collective bargaining agreement between the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees and the Graduate Employee Union, which represents graduate student employees at the university. The agreement covers a four-year period from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, and includes provisions for wage increases, adjustments to health insurance premiums, and changes to university fee credits. By ratifying this contract, the Connecticut General Assembly formally authorizes the university to implement these terms, which are expected to result in net costs to the university's operating fund totaling approximately $29.6 million over the agreement's duration.

HB 5324 repeals several existing education-related mandates in Connecticut. It removes requirements for schools to implement human trafficking training for staff (previously mandated for educators, law enforcement, and healthcare workers), mandates for school composting of organic waste, and a rule allowing school districts to exclude certain insurance losses from budget calculations. The bill directly affects public and nonpublic schools, district administrators, and school personnel who previously had to comply with these specific requirements. This legislation aims to reduce administrative burdens by eliminating these statutory obligations, effective July 1, 2026.