General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1015
January Session, 2017 *_____SB01015ED____032717____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 1015
January Session, 2017
*_____SB01015ED____032717____*
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PROCESS FOR WAIVING STATE EDUCATION MANDATES FOR CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2017) (a) For the school year commencing July 1, 2017, and each school year thereafter, any local or regional board of education for a town (1) whose total equalization aid grant amount for the fiscal year that the town is entitled to receive under the provisions of section 10-262h of the general statutes is less than three per cent of the town's budgeted appropriation for education for such fiscal year, or (2) that declines to receive all equalization aid grant payments, pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-262i of the general statutes, may request the Commissioner of Education to waive any provision of title 10 of the general statutes over which the State Board of Education has jurisdiction, or any regulation adopted by the state board, except a local or regional board of education shall not request or be granted a waiver of the provisions of part I of chapter 166, chapters 169 and 172, sections 10-14n to 10-14w, inclusive, 10-15, 10-16, 10-16b, 10-76d, 10-186, 10-221a, 10-221d, 10-223e, 10-226a to 10-226h, inclusive, 10-233c and 10-233d of the general statutes or any requirement of federal law. Any such waiver request shall be made in a manner and form prescribed by the commissioner and shall demonstrate how the granting of such waiver would ensure the protection of sound educational practices, the health and safety of students and school personnel, and equal opportunities for learning.
(b) The commissioner shall review each waiver request and may grant such waiver request unless the commissioner determines that such waiver request does not ensure the protection of sound educational practices, the health and safety of students and school personnel, and equal opportunities for learning. The commissioner shall submit a monthly report to the State Board of Education that includes any waiver requests granted by the commissioner.
(c) The State Board of Education shall review the report submitted by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The state board may revoke a waiver granted by the commissioner if the state board determines that such waiver is not based on sound educational practices, endangers the health and safety of students or school personnel, or compromises equal opportunities for learning.
(d) The state board shall include a description of each waiver granted pursuant to this section in the report submitted to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education pursuant to section 10-4 of the general statutes.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2019, the state board shall submit a report and any recommendations concerning the continuation of the commissioner's authority to grant waivers pursuant to this section 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.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2017 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2017
New section
ED Joint Favorable Subst.
ED
Joint Favorable Subst.