Bill Text: CT HB05446 | 2018 | General Assembly | Chaptered
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Minor Revisions And Additions To The Education Statutes.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2018-06-14 - Signed by the Governor [HB05446 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2018-HB05446-Chaptered.html
Substitute House Bill No. 5446
AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS TO THE EDUCATION STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 10-19o of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(a) The Commissioner of Education shall establish a program to provide grants to youth service bureaus in accordance with this section. Only youth service bureaus which (1) were eligible to receive grants pursuant to this section for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, (2) applied for a grant by June 30, 2012, with prior approval of the town's contribution pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, (3) applied for a grant during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, or (4) applied for a grant during the fiscal year ending June 30, [2017] 2018, with prior approval of the town's contribution pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, shall be eligible for a grant pursuant to this section. Each such youth service bureau shall receive, within available appropriations, a grant of fourteen thousand dollars. The Department of Education may expend an amount not to exceed two per cent of the amount appropriated for purposes of this section for administrative expenses. If there are any remaining funds, each such youth service bureau that was awarded a grant in excess of fifteen thousand dollars in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1995, shall receive a percentage of such funds. The percentage shall be determined as follows: For each such grant in excess of fifteen thousand dollars, the difference between the amount of the grant awarded to the youth service bureau for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1995, and fifteen thousand dollars shall be divided by the difference between the total amount of the grants awarded to all youth service bureaus that were awarded grants in excess of fifteen thousand dollars for said fiscal year and the product of fifteen thousand dollars and the number of such grants for said fiscal year.
Sec. 2. Section 10-16b of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(a) In the public schools the program of instruction offered shall include at least the following subject matter, as taught by legally qualified teachers, the arts; career education; consumer education; health and safety, including, but not limited to, human growth and development, nutrition, first aid, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in accordance with the provisions of section 10-16qq, disease prevention and cancer awareness, including, but not limited to, age and developmentally appropriate instruction in performing self-examinations for the purposes of screening for breast cancer and testicular cancer, community and consumer health, physical, mental and emotional health, including youth suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, including instruction relating to opioid use and related disorders, safety, which shall include the safe use of social media, as defined in section 9-601, and may include the dangers of gang membership, and accident prevention; language arts, including reading, writing, grammar, speaking and spelling; mathematics; physical education; science; social studies, including, but not limited to, citizenship, economics, geography, government and history; computer programming instruction; and in addition, on at least the secondary level, one or more world languages and vocational education. For purposes of this subsection, world languages shall include American Sign Language, provided such subject matter is taught by a qualified instructor under the supervision of a teacher who holds a certificate issued by the State Board of Education. For purposes of this subsection, the "arts" means any form of visual or performing arts, which may include, but not be limited to, dance, music, art and theatre.
(b) If a local or regional board of education requires its pupils to take a course in a world language, the parent or guardian of a pupil identified as deaf or hard of hearing may request in writing that such pupil be exempted from such requirement and, if such a request is made, such pupil shall be exempt from such requirement.
(c) Each local and regional board of education shall on September 1, 1982, and annually thereafter at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Education shall request, attest to the State Board of Education that such local or regional board of education offers at least the program of instruction required pursuant to this section, and that such program of instruction is planned, ongoing and systematic.
(d) The State Board of Education shall make available curriculum materials and such other materials as may assist local and regional boards of education in developing instructional programs pursuant to this section. The State Board of Education, within available appropriations and utilizing available resource materials, shall assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to include: (1) Holocaust and genocide education and awareness; (2) the historical events surrounding the Great Famine in Ireland; (3) African-American history; (4) Puerto Rican history; (5) Native American history; (6) personal financial management, including, but not limited to, financial literacy as developed in the plan provided under section 10-16pp; (7) training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automatic external defibrillators; (8) labor history and law, including organized labor, the collective bargaining process, existing legal protections in the workplace, the history and economics of free market capitalism and entrepreneurialism, and the role of labor and capitalism in the development of the American and world economies; [and] (9) topics approved by the state board upon the request of local or regional boards of education as part of the program of instruction offered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and (10) instruction relating to the Safe Haven Act, sections 17a-57 to 17a-61, inclusive.
Sec. 3. Subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 10-198d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(b) (1) The chronic absenteeism prevention and intervention plan shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (A) Information that describes (i) chronic absenteeism, including, but not limited to, the definition of a chronically absent child under section 10-198c, and the causes of chronic absenteeism, such as poverty, violence, poor health and lack of access to transportation, (ii) the effect of chronic absenteeism on a student's academic performance, and (iii) how family and school partnerships with community resources, including, but not limited to, family resource centers and youth service bureaus, can reduce chronic absenteeism and improve student attendance, and (B) a means of collecting and analyzing data relating to student attendance, truancy and chronic absenteeism for the purpose of (i) disaggregating such data by school district, school, grade and subgroups, such as race, ethnicity, gender, eligibility for free or reduced priced lunches, [and] students whose primary language is not English and students with disabilities, and (ii) assisting local and regional boards of education in (I) tracking chronic absenteeism over multiple years and for the current school year, (II) developing indicators to identify students who are at risk of being chronically absent children, (III) monitoring students' attendance over time, and (IV) making adjustments to interventions as they are being implemented.
Sec. 4. Section 10-198e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
The Department of Education shall identify effective truancy intervention models for implementation by local and regional boards of education pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-198a, including intervention models that address the needs of students with disabilities. Not later than August 15, [2017] 2018, a listing of such approved models shall be available for implementation by local and regional boards of education pursuant to said subsection (b).
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 2-53m of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(a) The joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, in consultation with the Office of Fiscal Analysis, the Office of Legislative Research and the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, shall maintain an annual report card that evaluates the progress of state policies and programs in promoting the result that all Connecticut children grow up in a stable living environment, safe, healthy and ready to lead successful lives. Progress shall be measured by primary indicators of progress, including, but not limited to, indicators established in the final report of the former Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee prepared pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of public act 09-166, of state-wide rates of child abuse, child poverty, low birth weight, third grade reading proficiency, and the annual social health index developed pursuant to section 46a-131a. For each indicator, the data shall also be presented according to ethnicity or race, gender, geography, disability and, where appropriate, age and other relevant characteristics. The joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children shall prepare the report card on or before January 15, 2018, and annually thereafter. On or before January 15, 2018, and annually thereafter, said committee shall make the report card available to the public on the Internet and on the web site of the General Assembly and shall transmit the report card electronically to (1) members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and human services, (2) the Commissioners of Children and Families, Education and Public Health, (3) the Child Advocate, (4) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and (5) the Chief Court Administrator.
Sec. 6. Section 10-16v of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2018):
(a) The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, and the executive director of the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, shall establish an after school committee.
(b) The after school committee shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, and the executive director of the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors and shall include, but not be limited to, persons having expertise in after school programs, after school program providers, local elected officials, members of community agencies, members of the business community and professional educators.
(c) The after school committee may report on and make recommendations, including, but not be limited to, the following: (1) Identification of existing state, federal and private resources to support and sustain after school programs; (2) methods and practices to enhance coordination and goal setting among state agencies to achieve efficiencies and to encourage training and local technical assistance with respect to after school programs; (3) identification of best practices; (4) methods of encouraging community-based providers; (5) professional development; (6) measures to address barriers to after school programs; and (7) a private and public governance structure that ensures sustainability for after school programs.
(d) The Commissioner of Education may seek and accept funding from private organizations that do not receive grants or other funding from the Department of Education to implement the provisions of this section.
(e) The after school committee shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, its findings pursuant to this section to the General Assembly by February 1, 2004.
(f) Not later than February 1, 2019, the after school committee shall submit a report, and any recommendations for legislation, on how to better coordinate, expand, finance and improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of summer and after school programming for school-age children in all settings to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a.
Sec. 7. Section 10-95q of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) (1) On or after July 1, 2017, until June 30, [2020] 2021, the Technical Education and Career System board may recommend a candidate for superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System to the Commissioner of Education. The commissioner may hire or reject any candidate for superintendent recommended by the board. If the commissioner rejects a candidate for superintendent, the board shall recommend another candidate for superintendent to the commissioner. The term of office of the superintendent hired under this subdivision shall expire on June 30, [2020] 2021.
(2) On and after July 1, [2020] 2021, the Technical Education and Career System board shall recommend a candidate for superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System to the executive director of the Technical Education and Career System. The executive director may hire or reject any candidate for superintendent recommended by the board. If the executive director rejects a candidate for superintendent, the board shall recommend another candidate for superintendent to the executive director. The term of office of the superintendent hired under this subdivision shall be three years and may be extended for no more than three years at any one time.
(b) The superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System shall be responsible for the operation and administration of the technical education and career schools and all other matters relating to vocational, technical, technological and postsecondary education in the system.
Sec. 8. Section 10-99f of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2011, to June 30, [2019] 2020, inclusive, the budget for the Technical Education and Career System shall (1) be a separate budgeted agency from the Department of Education, and (2) include a separate (A) educational account for educational and school-based accounts and expenditures, and (B) noneducational account.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Governor, when considering reductions in allotment requisitions or allotments in force, shall give priority to the educational needs of the system and instructional staffing needs, as identified in the statement of staffing needs submitted by the superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System pursuant to section 10-99g, and every effort shall be made to avoid impairment of the system's educational mission and interruption to instructional time during such consideration.
Sec. 9. Section 10-99f of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes, as amended by section 9 of public act 17-237, is repealed and the following is substituted thereof (Effective July 1, 2020):
(a) For the fiscal year ending June 30, [2020] 2021, and each fiscal year thereafter, the budget for the Technical Education and Career System shall (1) be a separate budgeted agency, and (2) include a separate (A) educational account for educational and school-based accounts and expenditures, and (B) noneducational account.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Governor, when considering reductions in allotment requisitions or allotments in force, shall give priority to the educational needs of the system and instructional staffing needs, as identified in the statement of staffing needs submitted by the superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System pursuant to section 10-99g, [as amended by this act,] and every effort shall be made to avoid impairment of the system's educational mission and interruption to instructional time during such consideration.
Sec. 10. Section 10-99h of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2018, [and June 30, 2019] to June 30, 2020, inclusive, the superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System shall create and maintain a list that includes an inventory of all technical and vocational equipment, supplies and materials purchased or obtained and used in the provision of career technical education in each technical education and career school and across the Technical Education and Career System. The board shall consult such list (1) during the preparation of the budget for the Technical Education and Career System, pursuant to section 10-99g, (2) prior to purchasing or obtaining any new equipment, supplies or materials, and (3) for the purpose of sharing equipment, supplies and materials among technical education and career schools.
(b) For the fiscal year ending June 30, [2020] 2021, and each fiscal year thereafter, the executive director of the Technical Education and Career System shall create and maintain a list that includes an inventory of all technical and vocational equipment, supplies and materials purchased or obtained and used in the provision of career technical education in each technical education and career school and across the Technical Education and Career System. The executive director shall consult such list (1) during the preparation of the budget for the Technical Education and Career System, pursuant to section 10-99g, (2) prior to purchasing or obtaining any new equipment, supplies or materials, and (3) for the purpose of sharing equipment, supplies and materials among technical education and career schools.
Sec. 11. Section 16 of public act 17-237, as amended by section 79 of public act 17-2 of the June special session, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
For the fiscal [year] years ending June 30, 2018, to June 30, 2020, inclusive, the State Board of Education shall hire a consultant to (1) assist the Technical Education and Career System board with the development of a transition plan for the Technical Education and Career System, (2) identify and provide recommendations concerning which services could be provided more efficiently through or in conjunction with another local or regional board of education, municipality or state agency by means of a memorandum of understanding with the Technical Education and Career System, and (3) identify efficiencies, best practices and cost savings in procurement. Such consultant shall consult with the administrative and professional staff of the Technical Education and Career System in the development of the transition plan and recommendations described in subdivision (2) of this section. Not later than January 1, [2019] 2020, the state board shall submit a report on the transition plan and such identified services and any recommendations for legislation necessary to implement such transition plan and such identified services to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
Sec. 12. Section 18 of public act 17-237 is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2018, [and June 30, 2019] to June 30, 2020, inclusive, the Department of Education shall (1) provide training to those persons employed by the department within the Technical Education and Career System who will be responsible for performing central office and administrative functions for the system on and after July 1, [2019] 2020, and (2) identify those persons within the system who can be trained to perform multiple functions or responsibilities for the system.
Sec. 13. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2018) The Department of Children and Families shall provide instructional materials relating to the Safe Haven Act, sections 17a-57 to 17a-61, inclusive, of the general statutes, to (1) a local or regional board of education, upon request of such board, and (2) the State Board of Education, not later than October 1, 2018, for the purpose of assisting the state board in meeting its responsibility of making available curriculum materials pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-16b of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
Sec. 14. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to study issues relating to the governance, financing, general conduct and role of interscholastic athletics programs offered at high schools in the state. Such study shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of the following: (1) Barriers to participation in sanctioned interscholastic athletic activities, (2) the impact of nonsanctioned activities on interscholastic sports participation, (3) financing of interscholastic athletic teams, (4) policies regarding performance reviews of interscholastic athletics by school districts, (5) the length of the athletic season for specific sports and restrictions on participation in interscholastic athletics, (6) academic requirements for participation in interscholastic athletics, (7) safety and sportsmanship of participants and spectators, and (8) issues relating to the participation of students enrolled in nonpublic schools and schools of choice.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives;
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;
(6) One appointed by the Senate Republican president pro tempore;
(7) A representative of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference;
(8) A representative of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association;
(9) A representative of the Connecticut Athletic Directors Association;
(10) A representative of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education;
(11) A representative of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents; and
(12) A representative of the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association.
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the General Assembly.
(d) All appointments to the task force shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty days after the effective date of this section.
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
(g) Not later than January 1, 2019, the task force shall submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task force shall not terminate until the date it submits such report.
Sec. 15. Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-76d of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(2) Not later than December 1, 2017, each local and regional board of education shall (A) enroll as a provider in the state medical assistance program, (B) participate in the Medicaid School Based Child Health Program administered by the Department of Social Services, and (C) submit billable service information electronically to the Department of Social Services, or its billing agent. For each local or regional board of education with a student population of less than one thousand students, a cost benefit analysis may be conducted by such local or regional board of education in a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Social Services to determine whether the cost to participate in the medical assistance program exceeds the revenue that would be generated for the local or regional board of education. A local or regional board of education exempted from the requirements of this subdivision after such cost benefit analysis shall complete and submit such analysis to the commissioner every three years in order to remain exempt. Not later than September 1, 2018, the commissioner of Social Services shall develop a cost benefit analysis model and determine the feasibility of directly certifying students as eligible for Medicaid benefits on behalf of a local or regional board of education.
Sec. 16. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-65 of the general statutes, no local or regional board of education may deny, or otherwise prohibit, any student under such board's jurisdiction from enrolling in an agricultural science and technology education center for the school year commencing July 1, 2018, if such student (1) was enrolled in an agricultural science and technology education center during the school year commencing July 1, 2017, or (2) received notice on or before April 1, 2018, that such student was admitted for enrollment in an agricultural science and technology education center for the school year commencing July 1, 2018.
Sec. 17. (Effective from passage) Sections 5, 10 and 20 of public act 17-237 shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Sec. 18. (Effective from passage) Section 2 of public act 17-237, as amended by section 73 of public act 17-2 of the June special session, shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Sec. 19. (Effective from passage) Section 4 of public act 17-237, as amended by section 74 of public act 17-2 of the June special session, shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Sec. 20. (Effective from passage) Section 6 of public act 17-237, as amended by section 279 of public act 17-2 of the June special session, shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Sec. 21. (Effective from passage) Section 7 of public act 17-237, as amended by section 287 of public act 17-2 of the June special session, shall take effect July 1, 2020.
Sec. 22. Section 13 of public act 17-173 is repealed. (Effective from passage)