Connecticut schools are changing the way they conduct crisis response drills following a new state law that went into effect in March.
The new drills, which include active-shooter training, will add a trauma-informed lens that includes mental health considerations and gives advance notice to students and families.
Advocates for the change said prior crisis response drills varied by town and could be traumatizing to students.
“Sometimes they could look like police officers actually coming in and making noises in the halls and someone acting as if they were a shooter,” said Malini Parikh, a high school student and youth council president at Connecticut Against Gun Violence (CAGV), a nonprofit that advocated for the change.
“Students wouldn't know whether or not this was a drill, or [if] this was real life,” she said.
Parikh testified at the state legislature in 2025. She cited a study from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Everytown for Gun Safety, which found that active shooter drills in schools were associated with increases in depression, stress and anxiety for teachers and students.
Connecticut’s new trauma-informed drills will make accommodations for students with cognitive and sensory disabilities.
“The shift represents an important and necessary change,” Earl Bloodworth, CAGV’s executive director, said in a statement.
“These drills prioritize clear communication, preparation, and emotional safety, ensuring that students and educators understand procedures without being subjected to unnecessary stress or fear-based tactics,” he said.
Bloodworth emphasized that S.B. 298 also helps create a more consistent, standardized approach across Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns.
“A student’s experience, and their sense of safety, should not depend on their zip code,” he said.
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