General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6498
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 4032
*04032_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on Education
Introduced by:
(ED )
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6498
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 4032
*04032_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on Education
Introduced by:
(ED )
AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (c) and (d) of section 10-10a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(c) On or before July 1, [2013] 2015, the department shall expand 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 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) the primary language spoken at the home of a student, (ii) student transcripts, (iii) student attendance and student mobility, and (iv) reliable, valid assessments of a student's readiness to enter public school at the kindergarten level;
(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;
(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 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 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] 2015.
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 10-151b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(c) On or before July 1, [2013] 2015, the State Board of Education shall adopt, in consultation with the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council established pursuant to section 10-151d, guidelines for a model teacher evaluation program. Such guidelines shall provide guidance on the use of multiple indicators of student academic growth in teacher evaluations. Such guidelines shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Methods for assessing student academic growth; (2) a consideration of control factors tracked by the state-wide public school information system, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-10a, as amended by this act, that may influence teacher performance ratings, including, but not limited to, student characteristics, student attendance and student mobility; and (3) minimum requirements for teacher evaluation instruments and procedures.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 10-66bb of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) On and after July 1, 1997, the State Board of Education may grant, within available appropriations, charters for local and state charter schools in accordance with this section.
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 10-66bb of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(c) The State Board of Education shall review, annually, all applications and grant charters in accordance with subsection (f) of this section. (1) Except as provided for in subdivision (2) of this subsection, no state charter school shall enroll (A) (i) more than two hundred fifty students, or (ii) in the case of a kindergarten to grade eight, inclusive, school, more than three hundred students, or (B) twenty-five per cent of the enrollment of the school district in which the state charter school is to be located, whichever is less. (2) In the case of a state charter school found by the State Board of Education to have a demonstrated record of achievement, [said board] such school [shall] may, upon application [by such school] to and approval by said board, [waive the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection for such school] enroll up to eighty-five students per grade, if within available appropriations. (3) On and after July 1, 2013, in the case of a state charter school found by the State Board of Education to have a demonstrated record of achievement, said board shall, upon application by such school to said board, waive the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection for such school. The State Board of Education shall give preference to applicants for charter schools that will serve students who reside in a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p or in a district in which seventy-five per cent or more of the enrolled students are members of racial or ethnic minorities and to applicants for state charter schools that will be located at a work-site or that are institutions of higher education. In determining whether to grant a charter, the State Board of Education shall consider the effect of the proposed charter school on the reduction of racial, ethnic and economic isolation in the region in which it is to be located, the regional distribution of charter schools in the state and the potential of over-concentration of charter schools within a school district or in contiguous school districts.
Sec. 5. Subsection (d) of section 10-66dd of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(d) (1) An otherwise qualified school professional hired by a charter school prior to July 1, 2010, and employed in a charter school may participate in the state teacher retirement system under chapter 167a on the same basis as if such professional were employed by a local or regional board of education. The governing council of a charter school shall make the contributions, as defined in subdivision (7) of section 10-183b for such professional.
(2) An otherwise qualified school professional hired by a charter school [on or after] from July 1, 2010, to the effective date of this act, and who has not previously been employed by a charter school in this state prior to July 1, 2010, shall participate in the state teacher retirement system under chapter 167a on the same basis as if such professional were employed by a local or regional board of education. The governing council of a charter school shall make the contributions, as defined in subdivision (7) of section 10-183b for such professional.
(3) An otherwise qualified school professional hired by a charter school on or after July 1, 2013, and who has not previously been employed by a charter school in this state prior to July 1, 2013, shall participate in the state teacher retirement system under chapter 167a on the same basis as if such professional were employed by a local or regional board of education. The governing council of a charter school shall make the contributions, as defined in subdivision (7) of section 10-183b for such professional.
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 10-66hh of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) For the fiscal year ending June 30, [2008] 2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Commissioner of Education shall establish, within available bond authorizations, a grant program to assist state charter schools in financing (1) school building projects, as defined in section 10-282, (2) general improvements to school buildings, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-265h, and (3) repayment of debt incurred for school building projects. The governing authorities of such state charter schools may apply for such grants to the Department of Education at such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes. The commissioner shall give preference to applications that provide for matching funds from nonstate sources.
Sec. 7. Subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of section 10-221a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) For classes graduating from 2004 to [2017] 2019, inclusive, no local or regional board of education shall permit any student to graduate from high school or grant a diploma to any student who has not satisfactorily completed a minimum of twenty credits, not fewer than four of which shall be in English, not fewer than three in mathematics, not fewer than three in social studies, including at least a one-half credit course on civics and American government, not fewer than two in science, not fewer than one in the arts or vocational education and not fewer than one in physical education.
(c) Commencing with classes graduating in [2018] 2020, and for each graduating class thereafter, no local or regional board of education shall permit any student to graduate from high school or grant a diploma to any student who has not satisfactorily completed (1) a minimum of twenty-five credits, including not fewer than: (A) Nine credits in the humanities, including not fewer than (i) four credits in English, including composition; (ii) three credits in social studies, including at least one credit in American history and at least one-half credit in civics and American government; (iii) one credit in fine arts; and (iv) one credit in a humanities elective; (B) eight credits in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, including not fewer than (i) four credits in mathematics, including algebra I, geometry and algebra II or probability and statistics; (ii) three credits in science, including at least one credit in life science and at least one credit in physical science; and (iii) one credit in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics elective; (C) three and one-half credits in career and life skills, including not fewer than (i) one credit in physical education; (ii) one-half credit in health and safety education, as described in section 10-16b; and (iii) two credits in career and life skills electives, such as career and technical education, English as a second language, community service, personal finance, public speaking and nutrition and physical activity; (D) two credits in world languages, subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this section; and (E) a one credit senior demonstration project or its equivalent, as approved by the State Board of Education; and (2) end of the school year examinations for the following courses: (A) Algebra I, (B) geometry, (C) biology, (D) American history, and (E) grade ten English.
(d) Commencing with classes graduating in [2018] 2020, and for each graduating class thereafter, local and regional boards of education shall provide adequate student support and remedial services for students beginning in grade seven. Such student support and remedial services shall provide alternate means for a student to complete any of the high school graduation requirements or end of the school year examinations described in subsection (c) of this section, if such student is unable to satisfactorily complete any of the required courses or exams. Such student support and remedial services shall include, but not be limited to, (1) allowing students to retake courses in summer school or through an on-line course; (2) allowing students to enroll in a class offered at a constituent unit of the state system of higher education, as defined in section 10a-1, pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (g) of this section; (3) allowing students who received a failing score, as determined by the Commissioner of Education, on an end of the school year exam to take an alternate form of the exam; and (4) allowing those students whose individualized education plans state that such students are eligible for an alternate assessment to demonstrate competency on any of the five core courses through success on such alternate assessment.
Sec. 8. Subsection (j) of section 10-221a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(j) For the school year commencing July 1, [2012] 2014, and each school year thereafter, a local or regional board of education shall collect information for each student enrolled in a public school, beginning in grade six, that records students' career and academic choices in grades six to twelve, inclusive.
Sec. 9. Subsection (b) of section 10-5c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) Notwithstanding the high school graduation requirements pursuant to section 10-221a, as amended by this act, for the school year commencing July 1, [2011] 2013, and each school year thereafter, a local or regional board of education shall permit a student to graduate from high school upon the successful completion of the board examination series program described in subsection (a) of this section.
Sec. 10. Section 18 of public act 10-111 is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) For the fiscal years ending June 30, [2013] 2015, to June 30, [2018] 2020, inclusive, the Department of Education shall, within available appropriations, provide grants to local and regional school districts to begin implementation of the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of section 10-221a of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
(b) On or before November 1, [2012] 2014, and biennially thereafter, each local or regional board of education seeking grant assistance from the department pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall report to the department on the status of the school district's implementation of the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of section 10-221a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and an explanation for the reasons why funds are necessary for the next biennium to implement the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of said section 10-221a.
(c) On or before February 1, [2013] 2015, and biennially thereafter, the department shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education on the status of implementation of the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of section 10-221a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, by local and regional boards of education in the state. Such report shall include, (1) an explanation of any existing state and federal funds currently available to assist in such implementation, (2) recommendations regarding the appropriation of additional state funds to support local and regional boards of education in the implementation of subsections (c) and (d) of said section 10-221a, and (3) recommendations for any statutory changes that would facilitate implementation of subsections (c) and (d) of said section 10-221a by local and regional boards of education.
Sec. 11. Section 10-5e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
On and after July 1, [2012] 2014, the Department of Education shall commence development or approval of the end of the school year examinations to be administered pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of section 10-221a, as amended by this act. Such examinations shall be developed or approved on or before July 1, [2014] 2016.
Sec. 12. Subdivision (8) of subsection (g) of section 10-223e of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(8) The Commissioner of Education shall evaluate the school governance councils established on or before January 15, 2011, based on the criteria described in subsection (a) of section 10-4s, as amended by this act. On or before October 1, [2014] 2016, the commissioner 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 evaluation conducted pursuant to this subdivision. Such report shall also include recommendations whether to continue to allow school governance councils to recommend reconstitution pursuant to this subsection.
Sec. 13. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 10-4s of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) On or before January 1, [2012] 2014, the department 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 (1) the number of school governance councils established pursuant to subsection (g) of section 10-223e, as amended by this act, and (2) the number of schools that have been reconstituted and the models, as described in said subsection (g), that have been adopted as part of such reconstitution.
(c) On or before January 1, [2013] 2015, the department 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 (1) the monitoring conducted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, (2) recommendations relating to changes in the reconstitution options available to schools, including whether school governance councils may continue to recommend reconstitution pursuant to subsection (g) of section 10-223e, as amended by this act, (3) comparison of the models adopted, and (4) the level of progress of schools adopting each model in relation to the indicators described in subsection (a) of this section.
Sec. 14. Section 10-4t of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
[(a)] On or before July 1, [2011] 2013, and biennially thereafter, the Department of Education shall report, within available appropriations, 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 (1) the number of such school governance councils that have initiated reconstitution pursuant to subsection (g) of section 10-223, as amended by this act, (2) a comparison of those school governance councils that have initiated such reconstitution and those that have not, and (3) whether parental involvement has increased at those schools with school governance councils.
[(b) On or before July 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, the department 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 evaluations conducted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.]
Sec. 15. Section 10-223g of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
[A] On and after July 1, 2013, a local or regional board of education for a school district with a dropout rate of eight per cent or greater in the previous school year, shall establish an on-line credit recovery program. Such program shall allow those students who are identified by certified personnel as in danger of failing to graduate to complete on-line coursework approved by the local or regional board of education for credit toward meeting the high school graduation requirement pursuant to section 10-221a, as amended by this act. Each school in the school district shall designate, from among existing staff, an on-line learning coordinator who shall administer and coordinate the on-line credit recovery program pursuant to this section.
Sec. 16. Subsection (a) of section 10-221r of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, [2011] 2013, and each school year thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall provide an advanced placement course program. For purposes of this section, "advanced placement course program" means a program that provides courses at the high school level for which an advanced placement examination is available through the College Board.
Sec. 17. Subsection (a) of section 10-151b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) The superintendent of each local or regional board of education shall continuously evaluate or cause to be evaluated each teacher, in accordance with guidelines established by the State Board of Education, pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, [for the development of evaluation programs] and such other guidelines as may be established by mutual agreement between the local or regional board of education and the teachers' representative chosen pursuant to section 10-153b. [, continuously evaluate or cause to be evaluated each teacher.] An evaluation pursuant to this subsection shall include, but need not be limited to, strengths, areas needing improvement, strategies for improvement and multiple indicators of student academic growth. Claims of failure to follow the established procedures of such evaluation programs shall be subject to the grievance procedure in collective bargaining agreements negotiated subsequent to July 1, 2004. The superintendent shall report the status of teacher evaluations to the local or regional board of education on or before June first of each year. For purposes of this section, the term "teacher" shall include each professional employee of a board of education, below the rank of superintendent, who holds a certificate or permit issued by the State Board of Education.
Sec. 18. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to examine issues relating to the changes to the high school graduation requirements pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-221a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, including, but not limited to, special programming needs, requirement waivers and the appropriate subject areas for courses pursuant to said subsection (c) of section 10-221a.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: (1) The Commissioners of Education, or the commissioner's designee, (2) one representative from each of the following associations, designated by the association, the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, Connecticut Federation of School Administrators, the Connecticut Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut, and (3) persons selected by the Commissioner of Education who shall include, but not be limited to, teachers and any other person the commissioner deems appropriate.
(c) All appointments to the task force shall be made no later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(d) The representative from the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents shall serve as the chairperson of the task force. Such chairperson shall schedule the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held no later than sixty days after the effective date of this section.
(e) 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.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2012, 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 terminate on the date that it submits such report or January 1, 2012, whichever is later.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage 10-10a(c) and (d)
Sec. 2 from passage 10-151b(c)
Sec. 3 from passage 10-66bb(a)
Sec. 4 from passage 10-66bb(c)
Sec. 5 from passage 10-66dd(d)
Sec. 6 from passage 10-66hh(a)
Sec. 7 from passage 10-221a(b) to (d)
Sec. 8 from passage 10-221a(j)
Sec. 9 from passage 10-5c(b)
Sec. 10 from passage PA 10-111, Sec. 18
Sec. 11 from passage 10-5e
Sec. 12 from passage 10-223e(g)(8)
Sec. 13 from passage 10-4s(b) and (c)
Sec. 14 from passage 10-4t
Sec. 15 from passage 10-223g
Sec. 16 from passage 10-221r(a)
Sec. 17 from passage 10-151b(a)
Sec. 18 from passage New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
10-10a(c) and (d)
Sec. 2
from passage
10-151b(c)
Sec. 3
from passage
10-66bb(a)
Sec. 4
from passage
10-66bb(c)
Sec. 5
from passage
10-66dd(d)
Sec. 6
from passage
10-66hh(a)
Sec. 7
from passage
10-221a(b) to (d)
Sec. 8
from passage
10-221a(j)
Sec. 9
from passage
10-5c(b)
Sec. 10
from passage
PA 10-111, Sec. 18
Sec. 11
from passage
10-5e
Sec. 12
from passage
10-223e(g)(8)
Sec. 13
from passage
10-4s(b) and (c)
Sec. 14
from passage
10-4t
Sec. 15
from passage
10-223g
Sec. 16
from passage
10-221r(a)
Sec. 17
from passage
10-151b(a)
Sec. 18
from passage
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To delay the implementation of certain mandates in public act 10-111; to make technical corrections to public act 10-111; and to create a task force to examine issues related to the changes in the high school graduation requirements.
[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.]