CT HB07154

School employees may only take custody of a student's personal mobile electronic device if it is on school property and the employee has reasonable suspicion the device contains evidence of a policy violation or poses risk of imminent injury.

School administrators conducting searches of seized devices must limit searches strictly to finding evidence of the suspected violation or preventing imminent personal injury, and must immediately cease upon finding sufficient evidence or resolving the safety concern.

Principals must notify the student and parent or guardian in writing within 24 hours of completing a device search, including details of the suspected violation and what data was accessed.

School administrators are prohibited from copying, sharing, or transferring any data accessed during a device search that is unrelated to the suspected policy violation or imminent injury risk.

The act takes effect July 1, 2017.