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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 172
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1476
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCAT ION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of section 10-145b of the 1
2020 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 2
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 3
(2) Each professional educator certificate shall be valid for [five] ten 4
years and continued every [five] ten years thereafter. 5
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-145b of the 2020 supplement to the 6
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 7
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 8
(a) The State Board of Education, upon receipt of a proper 9
application, shall issue an initial educator certificate to any person who 10
(1) holds a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree from an institution 11
of higher education that is regionally accredited or has received an 12
equivalent accreditation, and (2) has completed (A) an educator 13
preparation program approved by the State Board of Education or the 14 Raised Bill No. 172
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appropriate governing body in the state in which the institution of 15
higher education is located, or (B) an alternate route to certification 16
program approved by the State Board of Education or the appropriate 17
governing body in the state in which such alternate route to certification 18
program is located, and satisfies the requirements for a temporary 19
ninety-day certificate, pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, or a 20
resident teacher certificate, pursuant to section 10-145m. In addition, on 21
and after July 1, 2018, each applicant shall have completed a subject area 22
major as defined by the State Board of Education, except (i) as provided 23
in section 10-145l, or (ii) where an applicant achieves a satisfactory 24
evaluation on an appropriate State Board of Education approved subject 25
area assessment or has completed advanced coursework in a relevant 26
subject area. Each such initial educator certificate shall be valid for three 27
years, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, and may be 28
extended by the Commissioner of Education [for an additional year] (I) 29
for good cause upon the request of the superintendent in whose school 30
district such person is employed or upon the request of the assessment 31
team reviewing such person's performance, or (II) upon application by 32
a person who holds, but has not served under, such initial educator 33
certificate, for the period in which such person does not serve under 34
such certificate, provided such person satisfied all preparation and 35
eligibility requirements at the time such initial educator certificate was 36
issued. 37
Sec. 3. Subsection (g) of section 10-221a of the 2020 supplement to the 38
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 39
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 40
(g) Only courses taken in grades nine to twelve, inclusive, and that 41
are in accordance with the state-wide subject matter content standards, 42
adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-4, shall 43
satisfy the graduation requirements set forth in this section, except that 44
a local or regional board of education may grant a student credit toward 45
meeting (1) [toward meeting] the high school graduation [requirements] 46
requirement upon the successful demonstration of mastery of the 47
subject matter content described in this section achieved through 48 Raised Bill No. 172
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educational experiences and opportunities that provide flexible and 49
multiple pathways to learning, including cross-curricular graduation 50
requirements, career and technical education, virtual learning, work-51
based learning, service learning, dual enrollment and early college, 52
courses taken in middle school, internships and student-designed 53
independent studies, provided such demonstration of mastery is in 54
accordance with such state-wide subject matter content standards; (2) 55
[toward meeting] a specified course requirement upon the successful 56
completion in grade seven or eight of any course, the primary focus of 57
which corresponds directly to the subject matter of a specified course 58
requirement in grades nine to twelve, inclusive; (3) [toward meeting] 59
the high school graduation requirement upon the successful completion 60
of a world language course (A) in grade six, seven or eight, (B) through 61
on-line coursework, or (C) offered privately through a nonprofit 62
provider, provided such student achieves a passing grade on an 63
examination prescribed, within available appropriations, by the 64
Commissioner of Education and such credits do not exceed four; (4) 65
[toward meeting] the high school graduation requirement upon 66
achievement of a passing grade on a subject area proficiency 67
examination identified and approved, within available appropriations, 68
by the Commissioner of Education, regardless of the number of hours 69
the student spent in a public school classroom learning such subject 70
matter; (5) [toward meeting] the high school graduation requirement 71
upon the successful completion of coursework during the school year or 72
summer months at an institution accredited by the Board of Regents for 73
Higher Education or Office of Higher Education or regionally 74
accredited. One three-credit semester course, or its equivalent, at such 75
an institution shall equal one-half credit for purposes of this section; or 76
(6) [toward meeting] the high school graduation requirement upon the 77
successful completion of on-line coursework, provided the local or 78
regional board of education has adopted a policy in accordance with this 79
subdivision for the granting of credit for on-line coursework. Such a 80
policy shall ensure, at a minimum, that (A) the workload required by 81
the on-line course is equivalent to that of a similar course taught in a 82
traditional classroom setting, (B) the content is rigorous and aligned 83 Raised Bill No. 172
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with curriculum guidelines approved by the State Board of Education, 84
where appropriate, (C) the course engages students and has interactive 85
components, which may include, but are not limited to, required 86
interactions between students and their teachers, participation in on-87
line demonstrations, discussion boards or virtual labs, (D) the program 88
of instruction for such on-line coursework is planned, ongoing and 89
systematic, and (E) the courses are (i) taught by teachers who are 90
certified in the state or another state and have received training on 91
teaching in an on-line environment, or (ii) offered by institutions of 92
higher education that are accredited by the Board of Regents for Higher 93
Education or Office of Higher Education or regionally accredited. [; or 94
(7) toward meeting the high school graduation requirement upon the 95
successful completion of the academic advancement program, pursuant 96
to section 10-5c.] 97
Sec. 4. Section 10-148b of the general statutes is repealed and the 98
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 99
[(a)] On or before July 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Education shall 100
create a program of professional development for teachers, as defined 101
in section 10-144d, and principals in scientifically-based reading 102
research and instruction, as defined in section 10-14u. Such program of 103
professional development shall (1) count towards the professional 104
development requirements pursuant to section 10-148a, (2) be based on 105
data collected from student reading assessments, (3) provide 106
differentiated and intensified training in reading instruction for 107
teachers, (4) outline how mentor teachers will train teachers in reading 108
instruction, (5) outline how model classrooms will be established in 109
schools for reading instruction, (6) inform principals on how to evaluate 110
classrooms and teacher performance in scientifically-based reading 111
research and instruction, and (7) be job-embedded and local whenever 112
possible. In the case of any certified individual who is required to 113
complete the reading instruction survey, pursuant to section 10-145r, the 114
program of professional development for such individual shall be 115
designed using the results of such survey, in accordance with said 116
section 10-145r. 117 Raised Bill No. 172
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[(b) The Commissioner of Education shall annually review the 118
professional development required under section 10-148a for certified 119
employees who hold a professional educator certificate with an early 120
childhood nursery through grade three or an elementary endorsement 121
and who hold a position requiring such an endorsement. The 122
commissioner shall assess whether such professional development 123
meets the state goals for student academic achievement through 124
implementation of the common core state standards adopted by the 125
State Board of Education, research-based interventions in reading and 126
the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as 127
amended from time to time. The commissioner shall submit such review 128
to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 129
cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the 130
provisions of section 11-4a.] 131
Sec. 5. Subsection (c) of section 10-95 of the 2020 supplement to the 132
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 133
thereof (Effective July 1, 2020): 134
(c) [The board and the Commissioner of Education shall jointly 135
recommend a candidate for superintendent of the Technical Education 136
and Career System who shall be appointed as superintendent by the 137
State Board of Education. Such] The superintendent of the Technical 138
Education and Career System shall be appointed in accordance with the 139
provisions of section 10-95q. The superintendent shall be responsible for 140
the operation and administration of the system. The board may enter 141
into cooperative arrangements with local and regional boards of 142
education, private occupational schools, institutions of higher 143
education, job training agencies and employers in order to provide 144
general education, vocational, technical, technological or postsecondary 145
education or work experience. The superintendent, in conjunction with 146
the commissioner, may arrange for training to be provided to the board 147
at such times, and on such matters, as are deemed appropriate to assist 148
the board in the conduct of its business. 149
Sec. 6. Subsection (b) of section 10-95s of the 2020 supplement to the 150 Raised Bill No. 172
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general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 151
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 152
(b) The board shall be responsible for approving policies relating to 153
the management and operation of the schools within and programs 154
offered by the Technical Education and Career System. The board shall 155
advise the superintendent of the Technical Education and Career 156
System and the executive director of the Technical Education and Career 157
System on matters relating to vocational, technical, technological and 158
postsecondary education and training. The board may create any 159
advisory boards or appoint any committees as it deems necessary for 160
the efficient conduct of its business. The executive director, in 161
conjunction with the superintendent, may arrange for training to be 162
provided to the board at such times, and on such matters, as are deemed 163
appropriate to assist the board in the conduct of its business. 164
Sec. 7. Section 10-66rr of the general statutes is repealed and the 165
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 166
On and after July 1, 2015, the State Board of Education shall require 167
members of the governing council of a state or local charter school and 168
members of a charter management organization to submit to a records 169
check of the Department of Children and Families child abuse and 170
neglect registry, established pursuant to section 17a-101k, and to state 171
and national criminal history records checks before the state board 172
grants initial certificates of approval for charters pursuant to section 10-173
66bb, or before such members may be hired by the governing council of 174
a state or local charter school or charter management organization. The 175
governing council of a state or local charter school shall require each 176
contractor doing business with a state or local charter school, who 177
performs a service involving direct student contact, to submit to a 178
records check of the Department of Children and Families child abuse 179
and neglect registry, established pursuant to section 17a-101k, and to 180
state and national criminal history records checks before such contractor 181
begins to perform such service. [Any criminal history records checks 182
required under this section shall be conducted in accordance with 183 Raised Bill No. 172
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section 29-17a.] 184
Sec. 8. Sections 10-3b, 10-5c and 10-10d of the general statutes are 185
repealed. (Effective July 1, 2020) 186
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2020 10-145b(h)(2)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2020 10-145b(a)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2020 10-221a(g)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2020 10-148b
Sec. 5 July 1, 2020 10-95(c)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2022 10-95s(b)
Sec. 7 from passage 10-66rr
Sec. 8 July 1, 2020 Repealer section
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the recommendations of the Department of Education.
[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.]