AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECURE TRANSMISSION OF SAFETY PLANS OF MINOR PATIENTS TO SCHOOLS BY HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

House of Representatives
sHB5168 / File No. 682 1

General Assembly File No. 682
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5168

House of Representatives, April 20, 2026

The Committee on Education reported through REP. LEEPER
of the 132nd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of
the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECURE TRANSMISSION OF SAFETY
PLANS OF MINOR PATIENTS TO SCHOOLS BY HEALTH CARE
PROVIDERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Designated employee" means a school nurse or nurse practitioner 2
appointed pursuant to section 10 -212 of the general statutes, school 3
nurse supervisor, school counselor, school social worker or school 4
psychologist who a local or regional school board of education 5
designates to access safety plans of minor patients transmitted by health 6
care providers to a school district or school's secure messaging system 7
account pursuant to the provisions of this section; 8
(2) "Health care provider" means any person, corporation, limited 9
liability company, facility or institution operated, owned or licensed by 10
this state to provide health care or professional medical services; 11
(3) "Legally authorized representative" means a minor patient's 12
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parent, guardian appointed by the Probate Court or a personal 13
representative, as described in 45 CFR 164.502(g); 14
(4) "Safety plan" means a written document created collaboratively 15
between a health care provider and a patient outlining coping strategies, 16
activities and support networks the patient can access to prevent or 17
manage a potential mental health crisis; 18
(5) "School nurse supervisor" means a school nurse or nurse 19
practitioner appointed pursuant to section 10-212 of the general statutes 20
designated by the local or regional board of education as the supervisor, 21
or, if no designation has been made by the board, the lead or 22
coordinating school nurse or nurse practitioner; and 23
(6) "Secure messaging system" means a platform capable of sending 24
and receiving secure messages and may include a platform that 25
complies with the Direct Project specifications published by the federal 26
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. 27
(b) On and after April 1, 2027, each health care provider that prepares 28
a safety plan for a minor patient who received inpatient behavioral 29
health care treatment for a period not less than twelve consecutive days 30
shall (1) review such safety plan with the minor patient if the health care 31
provider believes such a review is medically appropriate, and (2) 32
inquire as to whether the minor patient or minor patient's parent or 33
legally authorized representative consents to sharing such safety plan 34
with the minor patient's school. If the minor patient or minor patient's 35
parent or legally authorized representative consents to sharing such 36
safety plan with the minor patient's school, the health care provider 37
shall obtain written consent from (A) the minor patient's parent or 38
legally authorized representative, or (B) if the minor patient is sixteen 39
years of age or older, such minor patient, and transmit such safety plan 40
to the minor patient's school district or school (i) using a secure 41
messaging system, or (ii) in a form and manner that complies with the 42
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, P.L. 104 -43
191, as amended from time to time, and 45 CFR 160.101 to 45 CFR 44
164.534, inclusive, as amended from time to time. 45
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(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to (1) create a standard 46
of medical care with respect to any minor patient, (2) require a health 47
care provider to create a safety plan, (3) require a health care provider 48
to release information to a parent or legally authorized representative if, 49
pursuant to state or federal law, a minor patient may withhold such 50
information from such minor patient's parent or legally authorized 51
representative, including, but not limited to, information regarding 52
pregnancy, abortion, contraceptives, human immunodeficiency virus or 53
other sexually transmitted disease testing or treatment, mental health 54
treatment or any other area of care that a health care provider has 55
promised a minor patient that the health care provider will keep 56
confidential, or (4) require a health care provider to transmit a safety 57
plan or provide any other information to any person in violation of the 58
provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 59
1996, P.L. 104-191, as amended from time to time. 60
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply unless the State-wide 61
Health Information Exchange provides, pursuant to section 17b -59d of 62
the general statutes, as amended by this act, a secure messaging system 63
organizational account to each school district or school, as determined 64
by each local and regional board of education, for the purposes of 65
receiving minor patient safety plans pursuant to the provisions of this 66
section, and access to such organizational account for designated 67
employees at no cost to such school district, school and designated 68
employee. 69
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) On or before January 1, 2027, 70
each local or regional board of education shall ensure that each school 71
district or school, as determined by the board, (1) signs up for an 72
organizational account on a secure messaging system, as defined in 73
section 1 of this act, and (2) provides access to one or more designated 74
employees, as defined in section 1 of this act, one of whom shall be a 75
school nurse supervisor, as defined in section 1 of this act, to such 76
organizational account for the purpose of accessing minor patient safety 77
plans, as defined in section 1 of this act, transmitted by health care 78
providers, pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of this act. A 79
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designated employee shall retain minor patient safety plans in a 80
confidential file separate from any cumulative academic or health 81
record, provided information contained in a minor patient safety plan 82
may be used to provide appropriate interventions pursuant to an 83
individualized education program or a plan pursuant to Section 504 of 84
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 85
(b) On or before April 1, 2027, each local or regional board of 86
education shall submit each school district or school's secure messaging 87
system address to the Commissioner of Education in a form and manner 88
prescribed by the commissioner. On and after April 1, 2027, if a school 89
district or school's secure messaging system address changes, each local 90
or regional board of education shall, in a form and manner prescribed 91
by the commissioner, submit such new address to the commissioner as 92
soon as practicable but not later than thirty days after acquiring such 93
new address. The commissioner shall compile and maintain a list of each 94
school district or school's secure messaging system address and make 95
such list available to health care providers in the state for the purpose of 96
transmitting minor patient safety plans pursuant to the provisions of 97
section 1 of this act. 98
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply unless the State-wide 99
Health Information Exchange provides, pursuant to section 17b -59d of 100
the general statutes, as amended by this act, a secure messaging system 101
organizational account to each school district or school, as determined 102
by each local and regional board of education, for the purposes of 103
receiving minor patient safety plans pursuant to the provisions of 104
section 1 of this act, and access to such organizational account for 105
designated employees at no cost to such school district, school and 106
designated employee. 107
Sec. 3. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2027 ) (a) For the school year 108
commencing July 1, 2027, and each school year thereafter, each local and 109
regional board of education shall provide guidance regarding the 110
requirements of section 1 of this act for all new designated employees, 111
as defined in section 1 of this act. The Department of Education shall 112
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develop and make available such guidance and training materials for 113
use by each local and regional board of education. Such materials shall 114
include instruction for using a secure messaging system for the purpose 115
of accessing minor patient safety plans, as defined in section 1 of this 116
act, transmitted by health care providers pursuant to the provisions of 117
section 1 of this act. 118
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply unless the State-wide 119
Health Information Exchange provides, pursuant to section 17b -59d of 120
the general statutes, as amended by this act, a secure messaging system 121
organizational account to each school district or school, as determined 122
by each local and regional board of education, for the purposes of 123
receiving minor patient safety plans pursuant to the provisions of 124
section 1 of this act, and access to such organizational account for 125
designated employees at no cost to such school district, school and 126
designated employee. 127
Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 17b -59d of the general statutes is 128
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof ( Effective from 129
passage): 130
(b) It shall be the goal of the State-wide Health Information Exchange 131
to: (1) Allow real -time, secure access to patient health information and 132
complete medical records across all health care provider settings; (2) 133
provide patients with secure electronic access to their health 134
information in accordance with 45 CFR 171; (3) allow voluntary 135
participation by patients to access their health information at no cost; (4) 136
support care coordination through real-time alerts and timely access to 137
clinical information; (5) reduce costs associated with preventable 138
readmissions, duplicative testing and medical errors; (6) promote the 139
highest level of interoperability; (7) meet all state and federal privacy 140
and security requirements; (8) support public health reporting, quality 141
improvement, academic research and health care delivery and payment 142
reform through data aggregation and analytics; (9) support population 143
health analytics; (10) be standards -based; [and] (11) provide for broad 144
local governance that (A) includes stakeholders, including, but not 145
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limited to, representatives of the Department of Social Services, 146
hospitals, physicians, behavioral health care providers, long -term care 147
providers, health insurers, employers, patients and academic or medical 148
research institutions, and (B) is committed to the successful 149
development and implementation of the State-wide Health Information 150
Exchange; and (12) provide, within available appropriations, (A) a 151
secure messaging system organizational account to each school district 152
or school, as determined by each local and regional board of education, 153
for the purposes of receiving minor patient safety plans pursuant to the 154
provisions of section 1 of this act, and (B) access to such organizational 155
account for designated employees, as defined in section 1 of this act, at 156
no cost to such school district, school and designated employee. 157
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 4 from passage 17b-59d(b)

ED Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill has no fiscal impact. It requires: (1) the Office of Health
Strategy to provide, and local and regional boards of education (BOEs)
to use, a secure messaging system for safety plans; (2) BOEs to designate
at least one employee to have access to th e system; and (3) the State
Department of Education (SDE) to provide guidance and make training
available for designated employees.
OHS currently has a secure messaging system (Connie) and it is
anticipated BOEs and SDE can meet the bill's requirements using
existing resources.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5168

AN ACT CONCERNING THE SECURE TRANSMISSION OF SAFETY
PLANS OF MINOR PATIENTS TO SCHOOLS BY HEALTH CARE
PROVIDERS.

SUMMARY
This bill regulates the review and sharing of certain minors’ “safety
plans” (written documents health care providers and patients create
collaboratively, outlining coping strategies, activities, and support
networks the patient can access to prevent or manage a potential mental
health crisis).
Starting April 1, 2027, the bill requires each health care provider that
prepares a safety plan for a minor patient who received at least 12
consecutive days of inpatient behavioral health care treatment to (1)
review it with the minor, if medically appropriate, and (2) ask whether
the minor or the minor’s parent or legally authorized representative
consents to sharing the safety plan with the minor’s school. If this
consent is given, the provider must (1) get written consent from the
minor’s parent or legally authorized representative (or the minor if they
are at least age 16) and (2) send the plan to the minor’s school or school
district using a secure messaging system or in a way that complies with
the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA).
Relatedly, the bill also requires:
1. school districts and schools to sign up for an organizational
account on a secure messaging system and give at least one
designated employee (for example, a school nurse, social worker,
or psychologist) access to the account;
2. local and regional education boards (school boards) to give the
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State Department of Education (SDE) commissioner each
school’s and school district’s secure messaging system address to
make available to health care providers; and
3. school boards to give new designated employees SDE-developed
guidance on how to use the secure messaging system.
Additionally, the bill makes it a goal of the Statewide Health
Information Exchange (“Connie”) to give, within available
appropriations, schools and school districts a secure messaging system
organizational account that designated employees may access to receive
these safety plans. The bill expressly provides that its requirements do
not apply unless Connie provides these accounts at no cost to schools,
school districts, and their designated employees.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage , except that the provision on
guidance for new designated employees takes effect July 1, 2027.
SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS
Provider Requirements
The bill specifies that its provisions do not create a standard of
medical care for minor patients or require a health care provider to do
the following:
1. create a safety plan;
2. release information to a minor patient’s parent or legally
authorized representative if state or federal law allows the minor
to withhold the information (for example, when it is about
pregnancy, abortion, contraception, HIV, mental health
treatment, or any other area of care that the provider promised to
keep confidential); or
3. transmit a safety plan or provide any other information to
someone in violation of HIPAA.
Secure Messaging Systems
The bill requires school boards, by January 1, 2027, to ensure that each
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school district or school, as determined by the board, (1) signs up for an
organizational account on a “secure messaging system” (for example,
one that complies with the federal Office of the National Coordinator
for Health Information Technology’s Direct Project specifications, see
BACKGROUND) and (2) gives at least one designated employee (see
below) access to the organizational account to access the safety plans.
Correspondingly, the bill makes it a goal of Connie to give, within
available appropriations, (1) a secure messaging system organizational
account to each board -determined school district and school to receive
these safety plans and (2) designated employees access to the accounts.
The bill’s requirements do not apply unless Connie provides these
accounts at no cost to schools, school districts, and their designated
employees.
Designated Employees
Under the bill, a “designated employee” is a school nurse or nurse
practitioner, school nurse supervisor, school counselor, school social
worker, or school psychologist the school board designates to access the
safety plans.
The bill requires at least one designated employee to be a school
nurse supervisor. Designated employees must keep the safety plans in
a confidential file separate from any cumulative academic or health
record, so long as safety plan information may be use d for appropriate
interventions under a minor’s individualized education program (IEP)
or 504 plan (see BACKGROUND).
SDE List of Secure Messaging System Addresses
The bill requires school boards to give the SDE commissioner each
school district’s and school’s secure messaging system address by April
1, 2027. After this date, the education boards must also give the
commissioner any address changes within 30 days after receiving them.
The bill requires the SDE commissioner to create and maintain a list
of these secure messaging system addresses and make it available to the
state’s health care providers so they can send the safety plans.
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Guidance for New Designated Employees
Starting with the 2027 -2028 school year, each school board must
provide guidance about the safety plans to new designated employees.
More specifically, SDE must develop guidance and related training
materials for the school boards to use that include instruction on using
a secure messaging system to access safety plans sent by health care
providers under the bill.
BACKGROUND
Direct Project Standards
The Direct Project is part of the Nationwide Health Information
Network and specifies technical standards and services for health care
providers to securely send authenticated, encrypted health information
directly to trusted recipients online.
IEP and 504 Plans
An IEP is a written statement detailing a student’s academic
achievement level, goals for future achievement, and specialized
educational services needed to reach the goals. Federal law requires
school boards to develop IEPs for students eligible to receiv e special
education and related services (Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.). Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 protects students with mental or physical disabilities from
discrimination in public schools (29 U.S.C. § 794). Students who receive
school accommodations under this law have them memorialized in a
written plan, commonly known as a “504 plan.”
Legislative History
The House referred the bill (File 37) to the Education Committee,
which reported a substitute that adds provisions specifying that the
bill’s requirements do not apply unless Connie provides secure
messaging system organizational accounts at no cost to sch ools, school
districts, and their designated employees.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 22 Nay 9 (03/02/2026)

Education Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 41 Nay 2 (04/06/2026)