Substitute Senate Bill No. 935
Public Act No. 19-61
AN ACT REQUIRING THE OFFICE OF EARLY CHIL DHOOD TO
DEVELOP A PROPOSED E ARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCA TOR
COMPENSATION SCHEDUL E.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Early childhood education program" means any child care or
school readiness program that accepts state funds for infant, toddler
and preschool spaces associated with such program;
(2) "Employee" means any person who is employed by an early
childhood education program and meets the applicable staff
qualifications requirement, as defined in section 10-16p of the general
statutes;
(3) "Compensation" means the salary, wages, benefits and other
forms of valuable consideration earned by and provided to an
employee in remuneration for services rendered; and
(4) "Compensation schedule" means a list or lists specifying a series
of compensation steps and ranges.
(b) The Office of Early Childhood shall establish, after notice and Substitute Senate Bill No. 935
Public Act No. 19-61 2 of 3
opportunity for public comment, a proposed early childhood educator
compensation schedule for employees of early childhood education
programs.
(c) (1) The office shall consider the following factors in developing
the proposed early childhood educator compensation schedule: (A)
Level of education, (B) training in early childhood education or child
development, (C) relevant employment experience, including the
number of years an individual has been employed in an early
childhood education program, (D) compensation levels for certified
teachers employed in a preschool program operated by a local or
regional board of education or regional educational service center, and
(E) cost of living in the state.
(2) In developing the proposed early childhood educator
compensation schedule, the office may (A) consider the findings and
recommendations provided in "A Plan to Assist Early Education State
Funded Providers to Degree Attainment and Increased Compensation"
created by the office, pursuant to section 4 of public act 15-134, to
create a standardized salary scale and incentive package for early
childhood educators, (B) utilize state and federal funding, and (C)
examine existing programs that address early childhood educator
compensation and staff retention through financial incentives, such as
bonuses for degree or course completion.
(3) The office shall establish a recommended minimum salary for
employees as part of the proposed early childhood educator
compensation schedule.
(d) Not later than January 1, 2021, the office shall submit the
proposed early childhood educator compensation schedule and a
report to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations
and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance with the provisions of Substitute Senate Bill No. 935
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section 11-4a of the general statutes. Such report shall include: (1) Any
recommendations for legislation relating to state-wide implementation
of the proposed early childhood educator compensation schedule, (2)
an estimate of the cost of implementing the proposed early childhood
educator compensation schedule state-wide, (3) an analysis of the
effect of the state-wide implementation of the proposed early
childhood educator compensation schedule on the number of available
preschool seats, and (4) an explanation of how the proposed early
childhood educator compensation schedule will be included in any
quality rating and improvement system developed by the office,
pursuant to subdivision (15) of subsection (b) of section 10-500 of the
general statutes.