Bill Text: CT HB06624 | 2013 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Minor Revisions To The Education Statutes.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-18 - Signed by the Governor [HB06624 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2013-HB06624-Introduced.html
General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 6624 | ||
January Session, 2013 |
LCO No. 4253 | ||
*04253_______ED_* | |||
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION |
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Introduced by: |
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(ED) |
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AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR REVISIONS TO THE EDUCATION STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 10-264l of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(d) Grants made pursuant to this section, except those made pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection (c) of this section, shall be paid as follows: Seventy per cent by September first and the balance by May first of each fiscal year. The May first payment shall be adjusted to reflect actual interdistrict magnet school program enrollment as of the preceding October first using the data of record as of the intervening March first, if the actual level of enrollment is lower than the projected enrollment stated in the approved grant application. The May first payment shall be further adjusted for the difference between the total grant received by the magnet school operator in the prior fiscal year and the revised total grant amount calculated for the prior fiscal year in cases where the aggregate financial audit submitted by the interdistrict magnet school operator pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (n) of this section indicates an overpayment by the department.
Sec. 2. Subsection (n) of section 10-264l of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(n) (1) Each interdistrict magnet school operator shall annually file with the Commissioner of Education, at such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes, (A) a financial audit [in such form as prescribed by the commissioner] for each interdistrict magnet school operated by such operator, and (B) an aggregate financial audit for all of the interdistrict magnet schools operated by such operator.
(2) Annually, the commissioner shall randomly select one interdistrict magnet school operated by a regional educational service center to be subject to a comprehensive financial audit conducted by an auditor selected by the commissioner. The regional educational service center shall be responsible for all costs associated with the audit conducted pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision.
Sec. 3. Section 10-10b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
[The Department of Education shall require all school districts to include on each student's transcript such student's unique identifier or state-assigned student identifier.] Each local and regional board of education shall include a student's state-assigned student identifier on all official student documents for each student under the jurisdiction of such board of education. For purposes of this section, "official student documents" includes, but is not limited to, transcripts, report cards, attendance records, disciplinary reports and student withdrawal forms.
Sec. 4. Section 10a-55j of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
[The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall require each] Each public institution of higher education and each independent institution of higher education that receives state funding [to] shall track the [unique identifiers or] state-assigned student identifiers, [which] that are assigned by the Department of Education to public school students, of all in-state students of such institution until such students graduate from or terminate enrollment at such institution.
Sec. 5. Section 10-10a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Teacher" means any certified professional employee below the rank of superintendent employed by a board of education for at least ninety days in a position requiring a certificate issued by the State Board of Education;
(2) "Teacher preparation program" means a program designed to qualify an individual for professional certification as an educator provided by institutions of higher education or other providers approved by the Department of Education, including, but not limited to, an alternate route to certification program.
(b) The Department of Education shall develop and implement a state-wide public school information system. The state-wide public school information system shall be designed for the purpose of establishing a standardized electronic data collection and reporting protocol that will facilitate compliance with state and federal reporting requirements, improve school-to-school and district-to-district information exchanges, and maintain the confidentiality of individual student and staff data. [The initial design shall focus on student information, provided the system shall be created to allow for future compatibility with financial, facility and staff data. The system shall provide for the tracking of the performance of individual students on each of the state-wide mastery examinations under section 10-14n in order to allow the department to compare the progress of the same cohort of students who take each examination and to better analyze school performance. The department shall assign a unique student identifier to each student prior to tracking the performance of a student in the public school information system.] Information regarding student demographics and enrollment in the state-wide public school information system shall be collected from local and regional boards of education and other relevant sources.
(c) On or before July 1, 2013, the department shall [expand] develop and implement a longitudinal data system. The longitudinal data system shall be designed for the purpose of using data collected in the state-wide public school information system as follows:
(1) Track and report data relating to student, teacher and school and district performance growth and make such information available to local and regional boards of education for use in evaluating educational performance and growth of teachers and students enrolled in public schools in the state. [Such information shall be collected or calculated based on information received from local and regional boards of education and other relevant sources.] Such information shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) [In addition to] Data relating to students shall include, but not be limited to, (i) performance on state-wide mastery examinations pursuant to [subsection (b) of this section, data relating to students shall include, but not be limited to, (i)] section 10-14n, in order to allow the department to compare the progress of the same cohort of students who take each examination and to better analyze school performance, (ii) the primary language spoken at the home of a student, [(ii)] (iii) student transcripts, [(iii)] (iv) student attendance and student mobility, and [(iv)] (v) reliable, valid assessments of a student's readiness to enter public school at the kindergarten level. The department shall assign a unique student identifier to each student prior to tracking the performance of a student in the longitudinal data system;
(B) Data relating to teachers shall include, but not be limited to, (i) teacher credentials, such as master's degrees, teacher preparation programs completed and certification levels and endorsement areas, (ii) teacher assessments, such as whether a teacher is deemed highly qualified pursuant to [the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110, or deemed to meet such other designations as may be established by] federal law or regulations for the purposes of tracking the equitable distribution of instructional staff, (iii) the presence of substitute teachers in a teacher's classroom, (iv) class size, (v) numbers relating to absenteeism in a teacher's classroom, and (vi) the presence of a teacher's aide. The department shall assign a unique teacher identifier to each teacher prior to collecting such data in the [public school information system] longitudinal data system;
(C) Data relating to schools and districts shall include, but not be limited to, (i) school population, (ii) annual student graduation rates, (iii) annual teacher retention rates, (iv) school disciplinary records, such as data relating to suspensions, expulsions and other disciplinary actions, (v) the percentage of students whose primary language is not English, (vi) the number of and professional credentials of support personnel, and (vii) information relating to instructional technology, such as access to computers.
(2) Collect data relating to student enrollment in and graduation from institutions of higher education for any student who had been assigned a unique student identifier pursuant to subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, [(b) of this section,] provided such data is available.
(3) Develop means for access to and data sharing with the data systems of public institutions of higher education in the state.
(d) On or before July 1, [2011] 2013, and each year thereafter until July 1, [2013] 2015, the Commissioner of Education shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education on the progress of the department's efforts to [expand the state-wide public school information system] develop and implement a longitudinal data system pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. The report shall include a full statement of those data elements that are currently included in the system. [and those data elements that will be added on or before July 1, 2013.]
(e) The system database of student information shall not be considered a public record for the purposes of section 1-210. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of a full-time permanent employee of a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, and that is organized and operated for educational purposes, to obtain information in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h) of this section.
(f) All school districts shall participate in the state-wide public school information system and the longitudinal data system, and report all necessary information required by this section, provided the department provides for technical assistance and training of school staff in the use of the state-wide public school information system and the longitudinal data system.
(g) Local and regional boards of education and preschool programs which receive state or federal funding shall participate, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Education, in the state-wide public school information system, described in subsection (b) of this section, and the longitudinal data system, described in subsection (c) of this section. Participation for purposes of this subsection shall include, but not be limited to, reporting on (1) student experiences in preschool by program type and by numbers of months in each such program, and (2) the readiness of students entering kindergarten and student progress in kindergarten. Such reporting shall be done by October 1, [2007] 2013, and annually thereafter.
(h) On and after August 1, 2009, upon receipt of a written request to access data maintained under this section by a full-time permanent employee of a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, and that is organized and operated for educational purposes, the Department of Education shall provide such data to such requesting party not later than sixty days after such request, provided such requesting party shall be responsible for the reasonable cost of such request. The Department of Administrative Services shall monitor the calculation of such fees charged for access to or copies of such records to ensure that such fees are reasonable and consistent with those charged by other state agencies. The Department of Education shall respond to written requests under this section in the order in which they are received.
(i) The superintendent of schools of a school district, or his or her designee, may access information in the state-wide public school information system and the longitudinal data system regarding the state-wide mastery examination, under section 10-14n. Such access shall be for the limited purpose of determining examination dates, examination scores and levels of student achievement on such examinations for students enrolled in or transferring to the school district of such superintendent.
Sec. 6. Section 42 of public act 12-189 is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15 of [this act] public act 12-189, grants-in-aid for capital start-up costs paid to the Capitol Region Education Council, in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection [(f)] (e) of section 9 of [this act] public act 12-189, and used pursuant to said subdivision (1) shall not be subject to lien or repayment.
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 10-235 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) Each board of education shall protect and save harmless any member of such board or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff, and the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents for Higher Education, the board of trustees of each state institution and each state agency which employs any teacher, and the managing board of any public school, as defined in section 10-183b, including the governing council of any charter school, shall protect and save harmless any member of such boards, or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff employed by it, from financial loss and expense, including legal fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand, suit or judgment by reason of alleged negligence or other act resulting in accidental bodily injury to or death of any person, or in accidental damage to or destruction of property, within or without the school building, or any other acts, including but not limited to infringement of any person's civil rights, resulting in any injury, which acts are not wanton, reckless or malicious, provided such teacher, member or employee, at the time of the acts resulting in such injury, damage or destruction, was acting in the discharge of his or her duties or within the scope of employment or under the direction of such board of education, the Board of Regents for Higher Education, board of trustees, state agency, department or managing board; provided that the provisions of this section shall not limit or otherwise affect application of section 4-165 concerning immunity from personal liability. For the purposes of this section, the terms "teacher" and "other employee" shall include (1) any person who is a cooperating teacher [, teacher mentor or assessor] pursuant to section 10-220a, (2) any student teacher doing practice teaching under the direction of a teacher employed by a local or regional board of education or by the State Board of Education or Board of Regents for Higher Education, (3) any student enrolled in a technical high school who is engaged in a supervised health-related field placement program which constitutes all or part of a course of instruction for credit by a technical high school, provided such health-related field placement program is part of the curriculum of such technical high school, and provided further such course is a requirement for graduation or professional licensure or certification, (4) any volunteer approved by a board of education to carry out a duty prescribed by said board and under the direction of a certificated staff member including any person, partnership, limited liability company or corporation providing students with community-based career education, (5) any volunteer approved by a board of education to carry out the duties of a school bus safety monitor as prescribed by said board, (6) any member of the faculty or staff or any student employed by The University of Connecticut Health Center or health services, (7) any student enrolled in a constituent unit of the state system of higher education who is engaged in a supervised program of field work or clinical practice which constitutes all or part of a course of instruction for credit by a constituent unit, provided such course of instruction is part of the curriculum of a constituent unit, and provided further such course (i) is a requirement for an academic degree or professional licensure or (ii) is offered by the constituent unit in partial fulfillment of its accreditation obligations, and (8) any student enrolled in a constituent unit of the state system of higher education who is acting in the capacity of a member of a student discipline committee established pursuant to section 4-188a.
Sec. 8. Subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 10-155cc of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(4) "Comprehensive professional development plan" means [(A) for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1991, and June 30, 1992, the professional development plan required and approved pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 10-220a and the teacher evaluation program report required pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-151b, or a comprehensive professional development plan required and approved pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 10-220a and (B)] for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, and each fiscal year thereafter, the comprehensive local professional development plan [required and approved] developed pursuant to [said subdivision (2)] subsection (b) of section 10-220a.
Sec. 9. Subsection (h) of section 10-145d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(h) Not later than June 1, 2008, the State Board of Education shall, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, adopt regulations to provide standards for the certification of marital and family therapists employed by local or regional boards of education. Such regulations shall include certification requirements to be met by (1) licensure as a marital and family therapist under section 20-195c, and (2) such other experience as the State Board of Education deems appropriate for the position of marital and family therapist in a school system. Not later than July 1, 2014, the State Board of Education shall, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, amend such regulations to authorize marital and family therapists employed by local or regional boards of education to provide services to students, families and parents or guardians of students.
Sec. 10. Subsection (f) of section 10-221a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2013):
(f) Determination of eligible credits shall be at the discretion of the local or regional board of education, provided the primary focus of the curriculum of eligible credits corresponds directly to the subject matter of the specified course requirements. The local or regional board of education may permit a student to graduate during a period of expulsion pursuant to section 10-233d, if the board determines the student has satisfactorily completed the necessary credits pursuant to this section. The requirements of this section shall apply to any student requiring special education pursuant to section 10-76a, except when the planning and placement team for such student determines the requirement not to be appropriate. For purposes of this section, a credit shall consist of not less than the equivalent of a forty-minute class period for each school day of a school year except for a credit or part of a credit toward high school graduation earned (1) at an institution accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or State Board of Education or regionally accredited, [; or] (2) through on-line coursework that is in accordance with a policy adopted pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, or (3) through a demonstration of mastery based on competency and performance standards, adopted by the State Board of Education.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2013 |
10-264l(d) |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2013 |
10-264l(n) |
Sec. 3 |
July 1, 2013 |
10-10b |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2013 |
10a-55j |
Sec. 5 |
from passage |
10-10a |
Sec. 6 |
from passage |
PA 12-189Section 42 |
Sec. 7 |
from passage |
10-235(a) |
Sec. 8 |
from passage |
10-155cc(a)(4) |
Sec. 9 |
July 1, 2013 |
10-145d(h) |
Sec. 10 |
July 1, 2013 |
10-221a(f) |
Statement of Purpose:
To make minor revisions to the education statutes regarding magnet school grant payments and financial audits, the assignment of state-assigned student identifiers, the development and implementation of a state-wide public school information system and a longitudinal data system, marital and family therapists and high school graduation credits.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]