AN ACT ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS ANTI-MUSLIM AND ANTI-ARAB RACISM IN SCHOOLS.

House of Representatives
sHB5328 / File No. 516 1

General Assembly File No. 516
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5328

House of Representatives, April 8, 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 ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS ANTI-
MUSLIM AND ANTI-ARAB RACISM IN SCHOOLS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective from passage ) (a) There is established a 1
working group to address anti -Muslim and anti-Arab racism in public 2
schools. The working group shall develop guidance and resources to 3
address issues relating to anti -Muslim and anti-Arab racism that affect 4
students, families, educators and school personnel. Such guidance and 5
resources may include, but need not be limited to, (1) suggested 6
amendments to school district policies to ensure that all students, 7
educators and school personnel feel safe inside and outside of the school 8
setting, (2) recommended training relating to anti -Muslim and anti -9
Arab racism for educators and administrators, and (3) guidance in the 10
creation or provision of curriculum materials and resources relating to 11
Islamic and Arab studies, pursuant to the provisions of section 10 -16b 12
of the general statutes, and genocide education and awareness, 13
pursuant to the provisions of section 10 -18f of the general statutes, 14
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including, but not limited to, the history, heritage, contributions and 15
persecution of Muslim communities. 16
(b) The working group shall consist of the following members: 17
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 18
one of whom shall be a school administrator with expertise and 19
knowledge in developing and implementing curricula in public schools 20
in the state, and one of whom shall be a representative of the 21
Connecticut chapter of the Muslim Justice Center; 22
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of 23
whom shall have knowledge and national and local expertise and 24
experience in developing innovative and collaborative resources to 25
address anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism in elementary and secondary 26
schools, and one of whom shall be a representative of the Connecticut 27
chapter of Muslim Advocacy for Rights, Unity and Fairness; 28
(3) Two appointed by the majority leader of the House of 29
Representatives, who shall be teachers with professional knowledge 30
and proven experience in addressing and combatting anti -Muslim or 31
anti-Arab racism in public schools, one of whom shall be a member of 32
the American Federation of Teachers -Connecticut and one of whom 33
shall be a member of the Connecticut Education Association; 34
(4) Two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall be 35
faculty members of an institution of higher education with expertise in 36
curriculum development and knowledge and experience in addressing 37
anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism and teaching Muslim heritage, one of 38
whom shall be a member of the Congress of Connecticut Community 39
Colleges, SEIU Local 1973, and one of whom shall be a member of the 40
Connecticut State Conference of the American Association of University 41
Professors; 42
(5) Two appointed by the minority leader of the House of 43
Representatives, one of whom shall have experience in school 44
administration and expertise in addressing and combatting anti-Muslim 45
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and anti -Arab racism in public schools, and one of whom shall be a 46
parent of a Muslim student in the state; 47
(6) Two appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom 48
shall have professional experience addressing anti -Muslim and anti -49
Arab racism in the state, and one of whom shall be a Muslim student in 50
the state; 51
(7) Two appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a 52
representative of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American 53
Islamic Relations, and one of whom shall be a representative of the 54
Muslim Coalition of Connecticut; 55
(8) The executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of 56
Education, or the executive director's designee; 57
(9) The executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public 58
School Superintendents, or the executive director's designee; 59
(10) The president of the Connecticut Education Association, or the 60
president's designee; and 61
(11) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee. 62
(c) All initial appointments to the working group shall be made not 63
later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy 64
shall be filled by the appointing authority. 65
(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president 66
pro tempore of the Senate shall each select a cochairperson of the 67
working group from among the members of the working group. Such 68
cochairpersons shall jointly schedule the first meeting of the working 69
group, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective 70
date of this section. 71
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 72
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education 73
shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. 74
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(f) Not later than January 1, 2027, the working group shall submit the 75
guidance and resources developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this 76
section and any recommendations for legislation to the joint standing 77
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 78
relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 79
of the general statutes. 80
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 from passage New section

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, which establishes a working group to address anti -Muslim
and anti -Arab racism in public schools, has no fiscal impact. It is
anticipated that the working group has the necessary expertise to meet
the requirements.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5328

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP TO ADDRESS ANTI-
MUSLIM AND ANTI-ARAB RACISM IN SCHOOLS.

SUMMARY
This bill e stablishes a n 18-member working group to address anti -
Muslim and anti -Arab racism in public schools and develop guidance
and resources on the topic . The working group must report on its
guidance and resources, as well as recommendations for legislation, to
the Education Committee by January 1, 2027.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
WORKING GROUP ON ANTI-MUSLIM AND ANTI-ARAB RACISM IN
SCHOOLS
Group Charge
The bill establishes a working group to (1) address issues related to
anti-Muslim and anti -Arab racism that affect students, families,
educators, and school personnel in public schools and (2) develop
guidance and resources on the topic.
Under the bill, guidance and resources may include:
1. suggestions to amend school policies to ensure that all students,
educators, and school personnel feel safe inside and outside of
the school;
2. recommendations on training for educators and administrators;
and
3. guidance in creating or providing curriculum materials and
resources relating to Islamic and Arab studies and genocide
education awareness, including the history, heritage,
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contributions, and persecution of Muslim communities.
Membership
In addition to the education commissioner, Connecticut Association
of Boards of Education ( CABE) executive director , Connecticut
Association of Public School Superintendents ( CAPSS) executive
director, and Connecticut Education Association ( CEA) president, or
their respective designees, the group includes 14 members who must be
appointed within 30 days after the bill’s passage, as shown in the table
below.
Table: Working Group to Address Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Racism in Schools
Appointed Members
Appointing
Authority
Number of
Appointments
Qualifications
House speaker Two Connecticut school administrator with expertise and
knowledge in developing and implementing public school
curricula
Representative of the Connecticut chapter of the Muslim
Justice Center
Senate president
pro tempore
Two Individual with knowledge and national and local expertise
and experience in developing innovative and collaborative
resources to address anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism in
elementary and secondary schools
Representative of the Connecticut chapter of Muslim
Advocacy for Rights, Unity and Fairness
House majority
leader
Two Two teachers with professional knowledge and proven
experience in addressing and combatting anti-Muslim or
anti-Arab racism in public schools, with one teacher being
a member of the American Federation of Teachers-CT and
the other being a member of the CEA
Senate majority
leader
Two Two higher education institution faculty members with
expertise in curriculum development and knowledge and
experience in addressing anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism
and teaching Muslim heritage, with one being from the
Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, SEIU Local
1973, and the other being a member of the Connecticut
State Conference of the American Association of
University Professors
House minority
leader
Two Individual with experience in school administration and
expertise in addressing and combatting anti-Muslim and
anti-Arab racism in public schools
Parent of a Muslim student in the state
Senate minority Two Individual with professional experience addressing anti-
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Appointing
Authority
Number of
Appointments
Qualifications
leader Muslim and anti-Arab racism
Muslim student in the state
Governor Two Representative of the Connecticut chapter of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations
Representative of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut

The House speaker and Senate president pro tempore must each
select a co -chairperson from the working group members. These co -
chairpersons must convene the working group within 60 days after the
bill’s passage.
The Education Committee’s administrative staff must serve as the
group’s administrative staff.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Education Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 45 Nay 1 (03/18/2026)