LCO No. 4177 1 of 6
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 932
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4177
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E STAFF QUALIFICATIONS
REQUIREMENT FOR EARL Y CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR S.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 10-16p of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2019): 3
(b) (1) The office shall be the lead agency for school readiness. For 4
purposes of this section and section 10-16u, school readiness program 5
providers eligible for funding from the office shall include local and 6
regional boards of education, regional educational service centers, 7
family resource centers and providers of child care centers, as defined 8
in section 19a-77, Head Start programs, preschool programs and other 9
programs that meet [such] any standards established by the 10
commissioner. The office shall establish standards for school readiness 11
programs. The standards may include, but need not be limited to, 12
guidelines for staff-child interactions, curriculum content, including 13
preliteracy development, lesson plans, [parent] parental involvement, 14
staff qualifications and training, transition to school and 15 Raised Bill No. 932
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administration. The office shall develop age-appropriate 16
developmental skills and goals for children attending such programs. 17
The commissioner, in consultation with the president of the 18
Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, the Commissioners of 19
Education and Social Services and other appropriate entities, shall 20
develop a professional development program for the staff of school 21
readiness programs. 22
(2) For purposes of this section: 23
(A) Prior to July 1, [2020] 2022, "staff qualifications" means that for 24
each early childhood education program accepting state funds for 25
infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such program's 26
child care program or school readiness program, there is in each 27
classroom an individual who has at least the following: (i) A childhood 28
development associate credential or an equivalent credential issued by 29
an organization approved by the commissioner and twelve credits or 30
more in early childhood education or child development, as 31
determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut 32
State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the 33
commissioner, from an institution of higher education (I) accredited by 34
the Board of Regents for Higher Education or Office of Higher 35
Education, and (II) regionally accredited; (ii) an associate degree with 36
twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child 37
development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of 38
the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with 39
the commissioner, from such an institution; (iii) a four-year degree 40
with twelve credits or more in early childhood education or child 41
development, as determined by the commissioner or the president of 42
the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with 43
the commissioner, from such an institution; (iv) certification pursuant 44
to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education 45
or special education; (v) an associate degree with a concentration in 46
early childhood education from an institution of higher education that 47
is regionally accredited; or (vi) a bachelor's degree with a concentration 48
in early childhood education from an institution of higher education 49 Raised Bill No. 932
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that is regionally accredited; 50
(B) From July 1, [2020] 2022, until June 30, [2023] 2025, "staff 51
qualifications" means that for each early childhood education program 52
accepting state funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces 53
associated with such program's child care program or school readiness 54
program, (i) at least fifty per cent of those individuals with the primary 55
responsibility for a classroom of children (I) hold certification pursuant 56
to section 10-145b with an endorsement in early childhood education 57
or early childhood special education, (II) have been issued an early 58
childhood teacher credential, pursuant to section 10-520b, (III) hold at 59
least [a bachelor's] an associate degree with a concentration in early 60
childhood education from an institution of higher education that is 61
regionally accredited, or (IV) satisfy the requirements of subdivision 62
(3), (4) or (5) of this subsection, and (ii) such remaining individuals 63
with the primary responsibility for a classroom of children hold an 64
associate degree with a concentration in early childhood education 65
from an institution of higher education that is regionally accredited; 66
[and] 67
(C) From July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2029, "staff qualifications" 68
means that for each early childhood education program accepting state 69
funds for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such 70
program's child care program or school readiness program, (i) at least 71
fifty per cent of those individuals with the primary responsibility for a 72
classroom of children (I) hold certification pursuant to section 10-145b 73
with an endorsement in early childhood education or early childhood 74
special education, (II) have been issued an early childhood teacher 75
credential, pursuant to section 10-520b, (III) hold at least a bachelor's 76
degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an 77
institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, or (IV) 78
satisfy the requirements of subdivision (3), (4) or (5) of this subsection, 79
and (ii) such remaining individuals with the primary responsibility for 80
a classroom of children hold an associate degree with a concentration 81
in early childhood education from an institution of higher education 82
that is regionally accredited; and 83 Raised Bill No. 932
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[(C)] (D) On and after July 1, [2023] 2029, "staff qualifications" means 84
that for each early childhood education program accepting state funds 85
for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such 86
program's child care program or school readiness program, one 87
hundred per cent of those individuals with the primary responsibility 88
for a classroom of children (i) hold certification pursuant to section 10-89
145b with an endorsement in early childhood education or early 90
childhood special education, (ii) have been issued an early childhood 91
teacher credential, pursuant to subdivision (2) of section 10-520b, (iii) 92
hold at least a bachelor's degree with a concentration in early 93
childhood education from an institution of higher education that is 94
regionally accredited, or (iv) satisfy the requirements of subdivision 95
(3), (4) or (5) of this subsection. 96
(3) Any individual with a bachelor's degree in early childhood 97
education or child development or a bachelor's degree and twelve 98
credits or more in early childhood education or child development, 99
who, on or before June 30, 2015, is employed by an early childhood 100
education program that accepts state funds for infant, toddler and 101
preschool spaces associated with such program's child care program or 102
school readiness program shall be considered to meet the staff 103
qualifications required under subparagraphs (B), [and] (C) and (D) of 104
subdivision (2) of this subsection. No such early childhood education 105
program shall terminate any such individual from employment for 106
purposes of meeting the staff qualification requirements set forth in 107
subparagraph (B), [or] (C) or (D) of subdivision (2) of this subsection. 108
(4) Any individual with an associate degree or a bachelor's degree in 109
early childhood education or child development or an associate degree 110
or a bachelor's degree and twelve credits or more in early childhood 111
education or child development from an institution of higher 112
education that is regionally accredited, other than an associate degree 113
or a bachelor's degree with a concentration in early childhood 114
education, may submit documentation concerning such degree for 115
review and assessment by the office as to whether such degree has a 116
sufficient concentration in early childhood education so as to satisfy 117 Raised Bill No. 932
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the requirements set forth in subparagraphs (B), [and] (C) and (D) of 118
subdivision (2) of this subsection. 119
(5) Any individual with an associate degree with twelve credits or 120
more in early childhood education or child development, as 121
determined by the commissioner or the president of the Connecticut 122
State Colleges and Universities, after consultation with the 123
commissioner, from an institution of higher education (A) accredited 124
by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or Office of Higher 125
Education, and (B) regionally accredited, who has been employed in 126
the same early childhood education program that accepts state funds 127
for infant, toddler and preschool spaces associated with such 128
program's child care program or school readiness program since 1995 129
shall be considered to meet the staff qualifications required under 130
subparagraphs (B), [and] (C) and (D) of subdivision (2) of this 131
subsection until June 30, 2025. On and after July 1, 2025, such 132
individual shall hold a childhood development associate credential or 133
an equivalent credential, described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision 134
(2) of this subsection, or otherwise meet the staff qualifications 135
required under [subparagraph (C)] subparagraphs (C) and (D) of 136
subdivision (2) of this subsection. Any such individual who terminates 137
his or her employment with such early childhood education program 138
on or before June 30, 2025, and accepts a position at another early 139
childhood education program accepting state funds for spaces 140
associated with such program's child care program or school readiness 141
program shall submit documentation of such individual's progress 142
toward meeting the staff qualification requirements set forth in 143
subparagraph (B), [or] (C) or (D) of subdivision (2) of this subsection in 144
a manner determined by the office. 145
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 10-16p(b)
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Statement of Purpose:
To make revisions to and extend the dates of the staff qualifications
requirement for early childhood educators.
[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.]