(a) As used in this section: (1) “School” means a public school as defined in section 10-183b or a private elementary or secondary school attendance at which meets the requirements of section 10-184; (2) a “professional employee” means a person employed by a school who (A) holds a certificate from the State Board of Education, (B) is a member of a faculty where certification is not required, (C) is an administration officer of a school, or (D) is a registered nurse employed by or assigned to a school; (3) a “student” is a person enrolled in a school; (4) a “professional communication” is any communication made privately and in confidence by a student to a professional employee of such student's school in the course of the latter's employment.
(b) Any such professional employee shall not be required to disclose any information acquired through a professional communication with a student, when such information concerns alcohol or drug abuse or any alcoholic or drug problem of such student but if such employee obtains physical evidence from such student indicating that a crime has been or is being committed by such student, such employee shall be required to turn such evidence over to school administrators or law enforcement officials within two school days after receipt of such physical evidence, provided if such evidence is obtained less than two days before a school vacation or the end of a school year, such evidence shall be turned over within two calendar days after receipt thereof, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and provided further in no such case shall such employee be required to disclose the name of the student from whom he obtained such evidence and such employee shall be immune from arrest and prosecution for the possession of such evidence obtained from such student.
(c) Any physical evidence surrendered to a school administration pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be turned over by such school administrator to the Commissioner of Consumer Protection or the appropriate law enforcement agency within three school days after receipt of such physical evidence, for its proper disposition, provided if such evidence is obtained less than three days before a school vacation or the end of a school year, such evidence shall be turned over within three calendar days from receipt thereof, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
(d) Any such professional employee who, in good faith, discloses or does not disclose, such professional communication, shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed, and shall have the same immunity with respect to any judicial proceeding which results from such disclosure.
(1971, P.A. 261, S. 1-3; 1972, P.A. 64; P.A. 78-29; 78-208, S. 29, 35; 78-218, S. 103; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c); P.A. 04-189, S. 1.)
History: 1972 act amended Subsec. (a) to define “school” rather than “public school”, including private elementary and secondary schools in the definition and deleting “public” with reference to schools throughout the subsection and to redefine “professional employee” to include registered nurses employed in schools; P.A. 78-29 provided time limits for turning over physical evidence of crime in Subsec. (b), inserted new Subsec. (c) providing time limits for surrender of evidence to proper authority by school administrators and relettered former Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (d); P.A. 78-208 clarified definition of “school” in Subsec. (a); P.A. 78-218 substituted “such student's” for “his” in Subsec. (a)(4); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Consumer Protection with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection in Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.
Cited. 216 C. 253.
Structure Connecticut General Statutes
Title 10 - Education and Culture
Chapter 166 - Teachers and Superintendents
Section 10-144o. - Definitions.
Section 10-145a. (Formerly Sec. 10-146). - Specific components of teacher preparation programs.
Section 10-145b. - Teaching certificates.
Section 10-145c. - Election of persons certified provisionally before July 1, 1974.
Section 10-145e. - Certification for occupational subjects.
Section 10-145f. - Testing for prospective teachers.
Section 10-145g. - Regulations.
Section 10-145h. - Requirements for certification as a bilingual education teacher.
Section 10-145j. - Employment of national corps of teachers' training program graduates.
Section 10-145k. - Issuance of international teacher permit.
Section 10-145l. - Waiver from subject area major requirements for certain teachers.
Section 10-145m. - Resident teacher certificate.
Section 10-145n. - Issuance of adjunct instructor permit.
Section 10-145q. - Issuance of charter school educator permit.
Section 10-145r. - Survey on reading instruction.
Section 10-145s. - Distinguished educator designation.
Section 10-145y. - Issuance of career and technical pathways instructor permit.
Section 10-146a. - Advisory board on state certification of teachers.
Section 10-146f. - Waiver of certification requirements for bilingual teachers.
Section 10-146g. - Teachers of specialized courses.
Section 10-146h. - Report re quality of teacher preparation programs.
Section 10-146i. - Military spouse teacher permit.
Section 10-147 and 10-148. - Kindergarten certificates. Teacher to have certificate.
Section 10-148a. - Professional development for certified employees.
Section 10-148d. - Professional development for paraeducators.
Section 10-149. - Qualifications for athletic coaches of intramural and interscholastic athletics.
Section 10-149d. - Athletic directors. Definitions. Qualifications and hiring. Duties.
Section 10-149f. - Sudden cardiac arrest awareness education program. Consent form.
Section 10-149h. - Exertional heat illness awareness education program.
Section 10-150 and 10-150a. - School registers.
Section 10-151a. - Access of teacher to supervisory records and reports in personnel file.
Section 10-151c. - Nondisclosure of records of teacher performance and evaluation. Exceptions.
Section 10-151d. - Performance Evaluation Advisory Council. Responsibilities.
Section 10-151f. - Teacher evaluation and support pilot program.
Section 10-151g. - Neag School of Education study of teacher evaluation and support pilot program.
Section 10-151i. - Audits of teacher evaluation and support programs.
Section 10-152. - Discrimination in salaries of teachers.
Section 10-153b. - Selection of teachers' representatives.
Section 10-153c. - Disputes as to elections.
Section 10-153f. - Mediation and arbitration of disagreements.
Section 10-153h. - Appropriation.
Section 10-153i. - Designation of statutory agent for service of process.
Section 10-153j. - The making of service of process, notice or demand.
Section 10-153o. - Review of performance of arbitration panel members.
Section 10-153t. - Turnaround plan referees.
Section 10-154. - Homes and transportation for teachers.
Section 10-155. - Emergency teacher training program.
Section 10-155cc. - Definitions.
Section 10-155f. - Residency requirement prohibited.
Section 10-155g. - Educational Excellence Trust Fund.
Section 10-155i. - Pilot program to assist paraprofessionals.
Section 10-155j. - Development of paraprofessionals.
Section 10-155k. - School Paraeducator Advisory Council.
Section 10-155l. - Minority teacher recruitment.
Section 10-155m. - Promotion of teaching profession as career option to high school students.
Section 10-156a. - Duty-free lunch period.
Section 10-156aa. - Task Force to Diversify the Educator Workforce.
Section 10-156bb. - Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council.
Section 10-156c. - Military leave.
Section 10-156cc. - Report re effectiveness of minority teacher recruitment programs.
Section 10-156d. - Reemployment after military leave.
Section 10-156dd. - Student survey re minority teacher recruitment programs.
Section 10-156ee. - Duties re minority teacher recruitment.
Section 10-156gg. - Minority candidate certification, retention or residency year program.
Section 10-156ii. - Minority teacher candidate scholarship program.
Section 10-157a. - Superintendent for more than one town.
Section 10-158. - Superintendent for more than one town. Supervision districts.