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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6556
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4302
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT ADDRESSING ISSUES CREATED BY THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC ON PUBLIC E DUCATION IN CONNECTICUT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Learning loss" means any specific or general loss of knowledge 2
and skills, or to reversals in academic progress due to extended gaps or 3
discontinuities in a student's education related to the COVID-19 4
pandemic; and 5
(2) "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the 6
World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, 7
and any related mutation thereof recognized by the World Health 8
Organization as a communicable respiratory disease. 9
(b) For the school years commencing July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022, 10
inclusive, the Department of Education shall collect and evaluate 11
student performance data on the state-wide mastery examination, 12
administered pursuant to section 10-14n of the general statutes, for the 13
purpose of identifying and measuring the existence and severity of 14 Raised Bill No. 6556
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learning loss and student disengagement in public schools as a result of 15
the COVID-19 pandemic. Such evaluation shall include an examination 16
of which students are most impacted by learning loss and student 17
disengagement, where such students are attending school, and the 18
nature and severity of the learning loss. 19
(c) Not later than October 1, 2021, the department shall develop 20
learning loss and student disengagement mitigation strategies for use 21
by local and regional boards of education. Such strategies shall include, 22
but need not be limited to, in-school interventions and opportunities for 23
small group instruction, tutoring services for individual or small groups 24
of students, expanded afterschool and summer academic instruction 25
and enrichment programs, and community-based learning pods. Any 26
such strategy shall include periodic assessments to track student 27
academic progress and to make any necessary changes to the provision 28
of such strategy based on the results of such periodic assessments. 29
(d) The department shall provide resources and technical assistance 30
to local and regional boards of education to extend the school day or 31
school year for the purpose of increasing student learning time and 32
addressing the immediate academic needs of students who have 33
experienced learning loss. Such resources shall include, but need not be 34
limited to, technical support to analyze and determine how to 35
restructure the school day or school year, matching funds for additional 36
school personnel, and partnering with the exclusive bargaining 37
representative for certified teachers chosen pursuant to section 10-153b 38
of the general statutes to negotiate the parameters of such extended 39
school day or school year. 40
(e) Not later than July 1, 2021, the department shall define "student 41
engagement" for purposes of mitigating learning loss and student 42
disengagement and improving academic growth and school 43
connectedness. 44
(f) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter until 45
January 1, 2024, the department shall submit a state-wide learning loss 46 Raised Bill No. 6556
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and student disengagement report to the joint standing committee of the 47
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, 48
in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 49
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-151b of the general statutes is 50
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 51
passage): 52
(a) The superintendent of each local or regional board of education 53
shall annually evaluate or cause to be evaluated each teacher, and for 54
the school year commencing July 1, 2013, and each school year 55
thereafter, such annual evaluations shall be the teacher evaluation and 56
support program adopted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The 57
superintendent may conduct additional formative evaluations toward 58
producing an annual summative evaluation. An evaluation pursuant to 59
this subsection shall include, but need not be limited to, strengths, areas 60
needing improvement, strategies for improvement and multiple 61
indicators of student academic growth, except for the school years 62
commencing July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022, inclusive, an evaluation 63
pursuant to this subsection shall not include the use of multiple 64
indicators of student academic growth. Claims of failure to follow the 65
established procedures of such teacher evaluation and support program 66
shall be subject to the grievance procedure in collective bargaining 67
agreements negotiated subsequent to July 1, 2004. In the event that a 68
teacher does not receive a summative evaluation during the school year, 69
such teacher shall receive a "not rated" designation for such school year. 70
The superintendent shall report (1) the status of teacher evaluations to 71
the local or regional board of education on or before June first of each 72
year, and (2) the status of the implementation of the teacher evaluation 73
and support program, including the frequency of evaluations, aggregate 74
evaluation ratings, the number of teachers who have not been evaluated 75
and other requirements as determined by the Department of Education, 76
to the Commissioner of Education on or before September fifteenth of 77
each year. For purposes of this section, the term "teacher" shall include 78
each professional employee of a board of education, below the rank of 79
superintendent, who holds a certificate or permit issued by the State 80 Raised Bill No. 6556
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Board of Education. 81
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2022, 82
and June 30, 2023, each local or regional board of education for an 83
alliance district, as defined in section 10-262u of the general statutes, 84
shall offer the summer learning program described in section 4 of this 85
act in order to mitigate student learning loss, as defined in section 1 of 86
this act, and student disengagement. 87
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The Department of 88
Education, in consultation with the after school committee established 89
pursuant to section 10-16v of the general statutes, may, within available 90
appropriations, administer a grant program to provide grants to local 91
and regional boards of education, municipalities and not-for-profit 92
organizations that are exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of 93
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding 94
internal revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to 95
time, for summer learning programs that provide direct services and for 96
entities that provide support to summer learning programs. For 97
purposes of this section, "summer learning program" means a program 98
that (1) provides a minimum of two hundred forty hours of educational, 99
enrichment and recreational activities during the summer recess period 100
for public schools and includes small group instruction in literacy and 101
math for children in grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, and (2) 102
has a parental involvement component. 103
(b) (1) Applications for grants pursuant to subsection (a) of this 104
section shall be filed biennially with the Commissioner of Education at 105
such time and in such manner as the commissioner prescribes. As part 106
of the application, an applicant shall submit a plan for the expenditure 107
of grant funds. 108
(2) Eligibility for grants pursuant to this section shall be determined 109
for a two-year period and shall be based on the applicant's plan for 110
expenditure of grant funds. Prior to the payment of funds to the grant 111
recipient for the second year of the grant, the grant recipient shall report 112 Raised Bill No. 6556
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to the Department of Education on performance outcomes of the 113
program and file an expenditure report pursuant to subsection (f) of this 114
section. The report concerning performance outcomes shall include, but 115
need not be limited to, measurements of the impact on student 116
achievement, including grade-level reading ability and the behavior of 117
student participants. 118
(c) The Department of Education and the after school committee 119
established pursuant to section 10-16v of the general statutes shall 120
develop and apply an appropriate evaluation process to measure the 121
effectiveness of the grant program established pursuant to this section. 122
(d) For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section, the 123
Department of Education may accept funds from private sources and 124
from any state agency that is a member of the after school committee 125
established pursuant to section 10-16v of the general statutes. 126
(e) The Department of Education shall, in collaboration with regional 127
educational service centers, support grant recipients by (1) monitoring 128
and evaluating programs and activities, (2) conducting a comprehensive 129
evaluation of the effectiveness of programs and implementing risk 130
assessments, (3) providing technical assistance and training to eligible 131
applicants, and (4) ensuring program activities are aligned with state 132
academic standards. The department may retain up to seven and one-133
half per cent of the amount appropriated for the grant program for 134
purposes of this subsection. 135
(f) Grant recipients shall file expenditure reports with the 136
Commissioner of Education in accordance with subdivision (2) of 137
subsection (b) of this section and at such other times and in such manner 138
as the commissioner prescribes. Grant recipients shall refund (1) any 139
unexpended amounts at the close of the program for which the grant 140
was awarded, and (2) any amounts not expended in accordance with 141
the approved grant application. Any unexpended funds appropriated 142
for purposes of this section shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year 143
but shall be available for expenditure under this section during the next 144 Raised Bill No. 6556
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succeeding fiscal year. 145
(g) Not later than March 15, 2023, and biennially thereafter, the 146
Department of Education shall report, in accordance with the provisions 147
of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee 148
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 149
education on performance outcomes of recipients of grants under this 150
section. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, 151
measurements of the impact on student achievement, including grade-152
level reading ability, the social-emotional learning and behavior of 153
student participants, and the mitigation of learning loss, as defined in 154
section 1 of this act. 155
Sec. 5. Subsection (e) of section 10-16x of the general statutes is 156
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 157
passage): 158
(e) [The Department of Education shall provide grant recipients with 159
technical assistance, evaluation, program monitoring, professional 160
development and accreditation support.] The Department of Education 161
shall, in collaboration with regional educational service centers, support 162
grant recipients by (1) monitoring and evaluating programs and 163
activities, (2) conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the 164
effectiveness of programs and implementing risk assessments, (3) 165
providing technical assistance and training to eligible applicants, and (4) 166
ensuring program activities are aligned with state academic standards. 167
The department may retain up to [four] seven and one-half per cent of 168
the amount appropriated for the grant program for purposes of this 169
subsection. 170
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 10-145 of the general statutes is 171
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 172
passage): 173
(a) No teacher, supervisor, administrator, special service staff 174
member or school superintendent, except as provided for in section 10-175
157, shall be employed in any of the schools of any local or regional 176 Raised Bill No. 6556
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board of education unless such person possesses an appropriate state 177
certificate, nor shall any such person be entitled to any salary unless 178
such person can produce such certificate dated prior to or on the first 179
day of employment, except as provided for in section 10-157; provided 180
nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the board of 181
education from prescribing qualifications additional to those prescribed 182
by the regulations of the State Board of Education and provided nothing 183
in this subsection shall be construed to prevent any local or regional 184
board of education from contracting with a licensed drivers' school 185
approved by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for the behind-the-186
wheel instruction of a driver instruction course, to be given by driving 187
instructors licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles. No person 188
shall be employed in any of the schools of any local or regional board of 189
education as a substitute teacher unless such person (1) holds a 190
bachelor's degree, provided the Commissioner of Education may waive 191
such requirement for good cause upon the request of a superintendent 192
of schools, except for the school years commencing July 1, 2020, and July 193
1, 2021, (A) holds at least an associate degree if such person will be in 194
the same assignment for more than ten school days, or (B) has obtained 195
a high school diploma or its equivalent if such person will be in the same 196
assignment for ten or fewer school days, and (2) is on a list maintained 197
by the local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (f) of 198
section 10-222c. 199
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 10-151b(a)
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 from passage New section
Sec. 5 from passage 10-16x(e)
Sec. 6 from passage 10-145(a)
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Statement of Purpose:
To address issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
provision of public education in the state by requiring the identification
and mitigation of student learning loss and student disengagement,
prohibiting the use of student performance data in teacher performance
evaluations for three school years, requiring the offering of summer
learning programs in alliance districts, creating a summer learning
program grant, and providing flexibility in the hiring of substitute
teachers during the pandemic.
[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.]