HB 5426

General Assembly  Substitute Bill No. 5426
   February Session, 2026
 AN ACT REQUIRING THE AVAILABILITY OF AN ADVISOR DURING
 DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
 EDUCATION.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
1      Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) Not later than August 1, 2026,
2   each institution of higher education in the state shall adopt a policy
3   allowing each student to designate an advisor or support person of such
4   student's choice to assist and support such student during a disciplinary
5   proceeding that may result in such student being suspended from such
6   institution, placed on probation, expelled from such institution or
7   prohibited from participating in an intercollegiate athletic program at
8   such institution. Such advisor or support person shall receive copies of
9   any communication relating to such disciplinary proceeding and
10   accompany such student to any meeting relating to such disciplinary
11   proceeding, provided (1) the involvement of such advisor or support
12   person does not result in the postponement or delay of such meeting as
13   scheduled, and (2) for disciplinary proceedings concerning sexual
14   assault, stalking and intimate partner violence, the policies adopted
15   pursuant to the provisions of section 10a-55m of the general statutes
16   concerning a student's entitlement to be accompanied by an advisor or
17   support person shall take precedence over the implementation of the
18   policy adopted under this section to the extent such policies differ. Each
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  Substitute Bill No. 5426
19 institution shall notify every student at the commencement of each
20 academic year and prior to the commencement of such disciplinary
21 proceeding of such policy and the manner in which such student may
22 designate or redesignate such student's choice of advisor or support
23 person. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an
24 institution to provide an advisor or support person to a student.
  This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
  sections:
  Section 1      July 1, 2026  New section
 HED  Joint Favorable Subst.
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