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HB05542 • 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING CRIMINAL AND SIMPLE TRESPASS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS OR IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

AN ACT CONCERNING CRIMINAL AND SIMPLE TRESPASS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS OR IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

Children Crime Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Judiciary Committee
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
File Number 632
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text explicitly lists the effective date as October 1, 2026 for all sections.

Clarifying Trespass Laws for School Grounds and Buildings

This law updates state trespass rules to clearly include school grounds, parking lots, athletic fields, and buildings in the definitions of criminal and simple trespass.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds specific language stating that 'public land' includes school grounds, parking lots, athletic fields, and school buildings for all degrees of trespass.
  • Allows authorized officials from local or regional boards of education to give orders telling people not to enter or requiring them to leave school property.
  • Defines criminal trespass in the first degree as entering or staying on public land (including schools) after being told personally by an official to stop.
  • Classifies simple trespass on school grounds as a minor infraction if there is no intent to harm property.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who enter or remain on school property without permission
  • Local and regional boards of education officials authorized to give trespass orders

Terms To Know

Criminal Trespass
A crime that happens when a person enters or stays on property they are not allowed to be on, with different levels of severity.
Simple Trespass
A minor violation for entering or staying on property without permission but without intent to harm anything.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify how much money schools will spend to enforce these rules.
  • The text clarifies the locations but does not change the penalties for trespassing outside of school areas.
  • There is no expected financial impact on state or municipal budgets.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  2. 2026-04-14 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  3. 2026-04-14 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 424

  4. 2026-04-14 LCO

    File Number 632

  5. 2026-04-08 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/13/26 5:00 PM

  6. 2026-03-30 JUD

    Joint Favorable

  7. 2026-03-30 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  8. 2026-03-13 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/18

  9. 2026-03-11 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Judiciary

Official Summary Text

To clarify provisions concerning trespassing on school grounds or in school buildings.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
House of Representatives
HB5542 / File No. 632 1

General Assembly File No. 632
February Session, 2026 House Bill No. 5542

House of Representatives, April 14, 2026

The Committee on Judiciary reported through REP.
STAFSTROM of the 129th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee
on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING CRIMINAL AND SIMPLE TRESPASS ON
SCHOOL GROUNDS OR IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 53a -107 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) A person is guilty of criminal trespass in the first degree when: (1) 3
Knowing that such person is not licensed or privileged to do so, such 4
person enters or remains in a building or any other premises after an 5
order to leave or not to enter personally communicated to such person 6
by the owner of the premises or other authorized person; or (2) such 7
person enters or remains in a building or any other premises in violation 8
of a restraining order issued pursuant to section 46b -15 or a protective 9
order issued pursuant to section 46b-16a, 46b-38c, 54-1k or 54-82r by the 10
Superior Court; or (3) such person enters or remains in a building or any 11
other premises in violation of a foreign order of protection, as defined 12
in section 46b -15a, that has been issued against such person in a case 13
involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force 14
HB5542 File No. 632

HB5542 / File No. 632 2

against another person; or (4) knowing that such person is not licensed 15
or privileged to do so, such person enters or remains on public land , 16
including on school grounds and any parking lot or athletic field or in 17
any school building on such grounds, after an order to leave or not to 18
enter personally communicated to such person by an authorized official 19
of the state, [or] a municipality or a local or regional board of education, 20
as the case may be. 21
(b) Criminal trespass in the first degree is a class A misdemeanor. 22
Sec. 2. Section 53a -108 of the general statutes is repealed and the 23
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 24
(a) A person is guilty of criminal trespass in the second degree when, 25
knowing that such person is not licensed or privileged to do so, (1) such 26
person enters or remains in a building , including a school building , or 27
(2) such person enters or remains on public land , including on school 28
grounds and any parking lot or athletic field on such grounds. 29
(b) Criminal trespass in the second degree is a class B misdemeanor. 30
Sec. 3. Section 53a -109 of the general statutes is repealed and the 31
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 32
(a) A person is guilty of criminal trespass in the third degree when, 33
knowing that such person is not licensed or privileged to do so: (1) Such 34
person enters or remains in premises which are posted in a manner 35
prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to the attention of 36
intruders or are fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to 37
exclude intruders, or which belong to the state and are appurtenant to 38
any state institution , including a state -operated school building or on 39
such school grounds and any parking lot or athletic field on such school 40
grounds; or (2) such person enters or remains in any premises for the 41
purpose of hunting, trapping or fishing; or (3) such person enters or 42
remains on public land , including on school grounds and any parking 43
lot or athletic field or in any school building on such grounds, which is 44
posted in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to 45
HB5542 File No. 632

HB5542 / File No. 632 3

the attention of intruders or is fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner 46
designed to exclude intruders. 47
(b) Criminal trespass in the third degree is a class C misdemeanor, 48
except that any person found guilty under subdivision (2) of subsection 49
(a) of this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor and fined not 50
less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars. 51
Sec. 4. Section 53a -110a of the general statutes is repealed and the 52
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 53
(a) A person is guilty of simple trespass when, knowing that such 54
person is not licensed or privileged to do so, such person enters or 55
remains in or on any premises without intent to harm any property , 56
including on school grounds and any parking lot or athletic field or in 57
any school building on such grounds. 58
(b) Simple trespass is an infraction. 59
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 53a-107
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 53a-108
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 53a-109
Sec. 4 October 1, 2026 53a-110a

JUD Joint Favorable

HB5542 File No. 632

HB5542 / File No. 632 4

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 makes clarifying changes to the state's trespass statutes,
resulting in no fiscal impact.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

HB5542 File No. 632

HB5542 / File No. 632 5

OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5542

AN ACT CONCERNING CRIMINAL AND SIMPLE TRESPASS ON
SCHOOL GROUNDS OR IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

SUMMARY
This bill specifies that when a person commits 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree
or simple trespass on a ny premises, building, public land, or state
institution, these locations include school grounds and any parking lot,
athletic field, or school building on the grounds.
Under the law, one form of 1st degree trespass happens when a
person, without license or privilege , enters or remains on public land
after an order to not do so from an authorized state or municipal official.
The bill explicitly states that an authorized official of a local or regional
board of education could also have (1) ordered the person not to enter
or (2) ordered the person to leave, for the purpose of determining
whether the person committed 1st degree trespass.
By law, 1st, 2nd, and 3 rd degree trespass are misdemeanor crimes
and simple trespass is an infraction (violations are paid or resolved
through the judicial branch’s Centralized Infractions Bureau).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 41 Nay 0 (03/30/2026)