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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7082
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E INCLUSION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN
STUDIES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-16b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) In the public schools the program of instruction offered shall 3
include at least the following subject matter, as taught by legally 4
qualified teachers, the arts; career education; consumer education; 5
health and safety, including, but not limited to, human growth and 6
development, nutrition, first aid, including cardiopulmonary 7
resuscitation training in accordance with the provisions of section 10-8
16qq, disease prevention and cancer awareness, including, but not 9
limited to, age and developmentally appropriate instruction in 10
performing self-examinations for the purposes of screening for breast 11
cancer and testicular cancer, community and consumer health, 12
physical, mental and emotional health, including youth suicide 13
prevention, substance abuse prevention, including instruction relating 14
to opioid use and related disorders, safety, which shall include the safe 15
use of social media, as defined in section 9-601, and may include the 16
dangers of gang membership, and accident prevention; language arts, 17
including reading, writing, grammar, speaking and spelling; 18
mathematics; physical education; science, which may include the 19 Substitute Bill No. 7082
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climate change curriculum described in subsection (d) of this section; 20
social studies, including, but not limited to, citizenship, economics, 21
geography, government, history and Holocaust and genocide 22
education and awareness in accordance with the provisions of section 23
10-18f; African-American studies in accordance with the provisions of 24
section 2 of this act; computer programming instruction; and in 25
addition, on at least the secondary level, one or more world languages 26
and vocational education. For purposes of this subsection, world 27
languages shall include American Sign Language, provided such 28
subject matter is taught by a qualified instructor under the supervision 29
of a teacher who holds a certificate issued by the State Board of 30
Education. For purposes of this subsection, the "arts" means any form 31
of visual or performing arts, which may include, but not be limited to, 32
dance, music, art and theatre. 33
(b) If a local or regional board of education requires its pupils to 34
take a course in a world language, the parent or guardian of a pupil 35
identified as deaf or hard of hearing may request in writing that such 36
pupil be exempted from such requirement and, if such a request is 37
made, such pupil shall be exempt from such requirement. 38
(c) Each local and regional board of education shall on September 1, 39
1982, and annually thereafter at such time and in such manner as the 40
Commissioner of Education shall request, attest to the State Board of 41
Education that such local or regional board of education offers at least 42
the program of instruction required pursuant to this section, and that 43
such program of instruction is planned, ongoing and systematic. 44
(d) The State Board of Education shall make available curriculum 45
materials and such other materials as may assist local and regional 46
boards of education in developing instructional programs pursuant to 47
this section. The State Board of Education, within available 48
appropriations and utilizing available resource materials, shall assist 49
and encourage local and regional boards of education to include: (1) 50
Holocaust and genocide education and awareness; (2) the historical 51
events surrounding the Great Famine in Ireland; (3) African-American 52 Substitute Bill No. 7082
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[history] studies; (4) Puerto Rican history; (5) Native American history; 53
(6) personal financial management, including, but not limited to, 54
financial literacy as developed in the plan provided under section 10-55
16pp; (7) training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of 56
automatic external defibrillators; (8) labor history and law, including 57
organized labor, the collective bargaining process, existing legal 58
protections in the workplace, the history and economics of free market 59
capitalism and entrepreneurialism, and the role of labor and capitalism 60
in the development of the American and world economies; (9) climate 61
change consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards; (10) 62
topics approved by the state board upon the request of local or 63
regional boards of education as part of the program of instruction 64
offered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and (11) instruction 65
relating to the Safe Haven Act, sections 17a-57 to 17a-61, inclusive. The 66
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall be available 67
to each local and regional board of education for the development of 68
curriculum on climate change as described in this subsection. 69
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) For the school year 70
commencing July 1, 2019, and each school year thereafter, each local 71
and regional board of education shall include African-American 72
studies as part of the curriculum for the school district, pursuant to 73
section 10-16b of the general statutes, as amended by this act. In 74
developing and implementing the African -American studies 75
curriculum, the board may utilize existing and appropriate public or 76
private materials, personnel and other resources, including the 77
curriculum materials made available by the State Board of Education 78
pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-16b of the general statutes, as 79
amended by this act. 80
(b) A local or regional board of education may accept gifts, grants 81
and donations, including in-kind donations, designated for the 82
development and implementation of the African-American studies 83
curriculum under this section. 84
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 10-221a of the general statutes is 85 Substitute Bill No. 7082
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 86
1, 2019): 87
(c) Commencing with classes graduating in 2023, and for each 88
graduating class thereafter, no local or regional board of education 89
shall permit any student to graduate from high school or grant a 90
diploma to any student who has not satisfactorily completed a 91
minimum of twenty-five credits, including not fewer than: (1) Nine 92
credits in the humanities, including civics and the arts; (2) nine credits 93
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; (3) one credit in 94
physical education and wellness; (4) one credit in health and safety 95
education, as described in section 10-16b, as amended by this act; (5) 96
one credit in world languages, subject to the provisions of subsection 97
(g) of this section; and (6) a one credit mastery-based diploma 98
assessment. At least one credit, which may count towards any of the 99
requirements described in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of this 100
subsection shall be in African-American studies. 101
Sec. 4. Subsection (g) of section 10-221a of the general statutes is 102
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 103
1, 2019): 104
(g) Only courses taken in grades nine to twelve, inclusive, and that 105
are in accordance with the state-wide subject matter content standards, 106
adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-4, shall 107
satisfy the graduation requirements set forth in this section, except that 108
a local or regional board of education may grant a student credit (1) 109
toward meeting the high school graduation requirements upon the 110
successful demonstration of mastery of the subject matter content 111
described in this section achieved through educational experiences and 112
opportunities that provide flexible and multiple pathways to learning, 113
including cross-curricular graduation requirements, career and 114
technical education, virtual learning, work-based learning, service 115
learning, dual enrollment and early college, courses taken in middle 116
school, internships and student-designed independent studies, 117
provided such demonstration of mastery is in accordance with such 118 Substitute Bill No. 7082
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state-wide subject matter content standards; (2) toward meeting a 119
specified course requirement upon the successful completion in grade 120
seven or eight of any course, the primary focus of which corresponds 121
directly to the subject matter of a specified course requirement in 122
grades nine to twelve, inclusive; (3) toward meeting the high school 123
graduation requirement upon the successful completion of a world 124
language course (A) in grade six, seven or eight, (B) through on-line 125
coursework, or (C) offered privately through a nonprofit provider, 126
provided such student achieves a passing grade on an examination 127
prescribed, within available appropriations, by the Commissioner of 128
Education and such credits do not exceed four; (4) toward meeting the 129
high school graduation requirement upon achievement of a passing 130
grade on a subject area proficiency examination identified and 131
approved, within available appropriations, by the Commissioner of 132
Education, regardless of the number of hours the student spent in a 133
public school classroom learning such subject matter; (5) toward 134
meeting the high school graduation requirement upon the successful 135
completion of coursework during the school year or summer months 136
at an institution accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher 137
Education or Office of Higher Education or regionally accredited. One 138
three-credit semester course, or its equivalent, at such an institution 139
shall equal one-half credit for purposes of this section; (6) toward 140
meeting the high school graduation requirement upon the successful 141
completion of on-line coursework, provided the local or regional board 142
of education has adopted a policy in accordance with this subdivision 143
for the granting of credit for on-line coursework. Such a policy shall 144
ensure, at a minimum, that (A) the workload required by the on-line 145
course is equivalent to that of a similar course taught in a traditional 146
classroom setting, (B) the content is rigorous and aligned with 147
curriculum guidelines approved by the State Board of Education, 148
where appropriate, (C) the course engages students and has interactive 149
components, which may include, but are not limited to, required 150
interactions between students and their teachers, participation in on-151
line demonstrations, discussion boards or virtual labs, (D) the program 152
of instruction for such on-line coursework is planned, ongoing and 153 Substitute Bill No. 7082
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systematic, and (E) the courses are (i) taught by teachers who are 154
certified in the state or another state and have received training on 155
teaching in an on-line environment, or (ii) offered by institutions of 156
higher education that are accredited by the Board of Regents for 157
Higher Education or Office of Higher Education or regionally 158
accredited; [or] (7) toward meeting the high school graduation 159
requirement upon the successful completion of the academic 160
advancement program, pursuant to section 10-5c; or (8) toward 161
meeting the high school graduation requirement upon the successful 162
completion of the course in African-American studies developed 163
pursuant to section 5 of this act. 164
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than July 1, 2020, the 165
Department of Education shall develop the curriculum for a course in 166
African-American studies. Such course shall count as one credit for 167
purposes of the high school graduation requirements pursuant to 168
section 10-221a of the general statutes, as amended by this act. In 169
developing and implementing the curriculum for the course in 170
African-American studies, the department may utilize existing and 171
appropriate public or private materials, personnel and other resources, 172
including the curriculum materials made available pursuant to 173
subsection (d) of section 10-16b of the general statutes, as amended by 174
this act. 175
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than July 1, 2020, 176
the State Board of Education shall develop and adopt a model 177
curriculum for grades kindergarten to eight, inclusive. Such model 178
curriculum shall be in accordance with the provisions of section 10-16b 179
of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and include African-180
American studies within and among various subject matter areas. The 181
state board shall make such model curriculum available on the Internet 182
web site of the Department of Education. 183
(b) For the school year commencing July 1, 2020, and each school 184
year thereafter, the Department of Education shall provide, upon 185
request of a local or regional board of education, technical assistance 186 Substitute Bill No. 7082
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and training to assist in the implementation of the model curriculum 187
for grades kindergarten to eight, inclusive. 188
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 10-16b
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 10-221a(c)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 10-221a(g)
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Sec. 6 from passage New section
ED Joint Favorable Subst.