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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6557
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING SO CIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) For the school year 1
commencing July 1, 2021, and each school year thereafter, each local and 2
regional board of education shall administer a universal mental health 3
and resiliency screening to all students for the purpose of identifying 4
students in need of interventions and support, provided for the school 5
years commencing July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022, such screening shall 6
include a stress and trauma assessment related to the COVID-19 7
pandemic. 8
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) For the school year 9
commencing July 1, 2021, and each school year thereafter, each local and 10
regional board of education shall, within available resources, maintain 11
the following staffing ratios for mental health and social-emotional 12
support staff for the school district: (1) At least one school counselor for 13
every two hundred fifty students in the school district, (2) at least one 14
school social worker for every two hundred fifty students in the school 15
district, (3) at least one family therapist for every two hundred fifty 16
students in the school district, (4) at least one school psychologist for 17
every five hundred students in the school district, and (5) a 18
paraeducator to student ratio recommended by a nationally recognized 19 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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organization with expertise in paraeducator effectiveness. 20
(b) If the Commissioner of Education determines that (1) any of the 21
ratios described in subsection (a) of this section are inadequate to 22
properly address the number of students requiring the mental health, 23
social-emotional, behavioral support or special education programs and 24
services provided by school counselors, school social workers, school 25
psychologists, family therapists or paraeducators, or (2) a local or 26
regional board of education does not have sufficient resources to 27
maintain any of the ratios described in subsection (a) of this section, then 28
the commissioner may require a local or regional board of education to 29
adjust any such ratio for the school district. 30
(c) A local or regional board of education that is required to increase 31
the number of school counselors, school social workers, school 32
psychologists, family therapists or paraeducators pursuant to this 33
section may apply to the Department of Education for a grant to assist 34
in the hiring of additional mental health and social-emotional support 35
staff. 36
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) The Department of Education, 37
in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction 38
Services, the Department of Children and Families, the Office of Early 39
Childhood and the Department of Public Health, shall establish a state-40
wide social-emotional support program that provides support and 41
assistance to local and regional boards of education for mental health, 42
social-emotional, behavioral support, trauma support and special 43
education programs and services. Such support and assistance shall 44
include, but need not be limited to, (1) training and recruiting mental 45
health and social-emotional support staff and deploying them to school 46
districts, (2) providing grants to school districts for the hiring of mental 47
health and social-emotional support staff, pursuant to subsection (c) of 48
section 2 of this act, (3) assisting boards in the development and 49
implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs, in 50
accordance with the guidelines adopted pursuant to section 10-203c of 51
the general statutes, (4) building on existing school and community 52 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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collaborations that support student mental health and well-being, such 53
as community school models, family resource centers, health clinics, 54
child care that is available from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and year-round 55
use of school facilities, (5) developing or enhancing state, regional and 56
local support networks for mental health and trauma support services 57
through interagency agreements, local action plans and model 58
programs, (6) improving the knowledge and skill of educators and other 59
school personnel in order to develop social-emotional learning and 60
restorative practices competencies and capacities, (7) creating 61
opportunities for educators to collaborate, share support and problem 62
solve through team planning time and professional learning 63
communities, (8) providing resources for state-wide and local efforts to 64
engage parents and families to support the development of student 65
social and emotional growth at home and in the community, and (9) 66
providing opportunities for families to discuss topics relating to social-67
emotional learning, restorative practices, resiliency and ways to ensure 68
racial equity in schools. 69
(b) The Department of Education may collaborate with the Social 70
Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative, 71
established pursuant to section 10-222q of the general statutes, and the 72
national Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning to 73
implement the provisions of this section. 74
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) Each local and regional board of 75
education shall develop and implement a comprehensive school 76
counseling program for the school district. Such program shall be 77
developed in accordance with the guidelines adopted pursuant to 78
section 10-203c of the general statutes and provide proactive social-79
emotional instruction to develop student competencies in self-80
awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship skills and 81
decision-making skills. 82
Sec. 5. (Effective July 1, 2021) Not later than October 1, 2021, the 83
Department of Education shall develop student social-emotional 84
learning standards for grades four to twelve, inclusive. Such standards 85 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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shall be designed for a multitiered system of support that is culturally 86
relevant and responsive, emphasizes school connectedness and includes 87
restorative practices. Such standards shall be made available on the 88
department's Internet web site. 89
Sec. 6. Subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of section 10-223e of the 90
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 91
thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 92
(3) For the school year commencing July 1, 2015, and each school year 93
thereafter, the Department of Education shall prepare a state-wide 94
performance management and support plan, consistent with federal law 95
and regulation. Such plan shall (A) identify districts in need of 96
improvement, (B) classify schools as category one, two, three, four or 97
five schools based on the accountability index, and (C) identify focus 98
schools. On and after July 1, 2021, the state-wide performance 99
management and support plan shall include provisions related to social-100
emotional learning. 101
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2022, 102
the Social Emotional Learning and School Climate Advisory 103
Collaborative, established pursuant to section 10-222q of the general 104
statutes, shall convene a working group to (1) review sections 10-222d 105
to 10-222p, inclusive, of the general statutes relating to bullying and safe 106
school climate plans, (2) make recommendations concerning (A) 107
amendments to said sections 10-222d to 10-222p, inclusive, (B) the 108
inclusion of restorative practices in safe school climate plans, and (C) 109
state-wide adoption of the National School Climate Standards, and (3) 110
provide technical assistance and support to local and regional boards of 111
education in adopting and implementing the Connecticut Model School 112
Climate Policy, policy number 5131.914. 113
Sec. 8. Section 10-233m of the general statutes is repealed and the 114
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 115
Each local or regional board of education that assigns a school 116 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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resource officer to any school under the jurisdiction of such board shall 117
enter into a memorandum of understanding with a local law 118
enforcement agency regarding the role and responsibility of such school 119
resource officer. Such memorandum of understanding shall include 120
provisions addressing daily interactions between students and school 121
personnel with school resource officers and shall include a graduated 122
response model for student discipline. On and after July 1, 2021, each 123
such memorandum of understanding shall include a provision that 124
requires school resource officers to complete the same social-emotional 125
learning and restorative practices training provided to teachers and 126
administrators of the school. For the purposes of this section, "school 127
resource officer" means a sworn police officer of a local law enforcement 128
agency who has been assigned to a school pursuant to an agreement 129
between the local or regional board of education and the chief of police 130
of a local law enforcement agency. 131
Sec. 9. Subsection (a) of section 10-148a of the general statutes is 132
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 133
2021): 134
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, [2019] 2021, and each 135
school year thereafter, each certified employee shall participate in a 136
program of professional development. Each local and regional board of 137
education shall make available, annually, at no cost to its certified 138
employees, a program of professional development that is not fewer 139
than eighteen hours in length, of which a preponderance is in a small 140
group or individual instructional setting. Such program of professional 141
development shall (1) be a comprehensive, sustained and intensive 142
approach to improving teacher and administrator effectiveness in 143
increasing student knowledge achievement, (2) focus on refining and 144
improving various effective teaching methods that are shared between 145
and among educators, (3) foster collective responsibility for improved 146
student performance, (4) be comprised of professional learning that (A) 147
is aligned with rigorous state student academic achievement standards, 148
(B) is conducted among educators at the school and facilitated by 149 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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principals, coaches, mentors, distinguished educators, as described in 150
section 10-145s, or other appropriate teachers, (C) occurs frequently on 151
an individual basis or among groups of teachers in a job-embedded 152
process of continuous improvement, and (D) includes a repository of 153
best practices for teaching methods developed by educators within each 154
school that is continuously available to such educators for comment and 155
updating, and (5) include training in culturally responsive pedagogy 156
and practice. Each program of professional development shall include 157
professional development activities in accordance with the provisions 158
of subsection (b) of this section. The principles and practices of social-159
emotional learning and restorative practices shall be integrated 160
throughout the components of such program of professional 161
development described in subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of this 162
subsection. 163
Sec. 10. Subsection (b) of section 10-220a of the general statutes is 164
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 165
2021): 166
(b) Not later than a date prescribed by the commissioner, each local 167
and regional board of education shall establish a professional 168
development and evaluation comm ittee. Such professional 169
development and evaluation committee shall consist of (1) at least one 170
teacher, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-144d, selected by the 171
exclusive bargaining representative for certified employees chosen 172
pursuant to section 10-153b, (2) at least one administrator, as defined in 173
subsection (a) of section 10-144e, selected by the exclusive bargaining 174
representative for certified employees chosen pursuant to section 10-175
153b, and (3) such other school personnel as the board deems 176
appropriate. The duties of such committees shall include, but not be 177
limited to, participation in the development or adoption of a teacher 178
evaluation and support program for the district, pursuant to section 10-179
151b, and the development, evaluation and annual updating of a 180
comprehensive local professional development plan for certified 181
employees of the district. Such plan shall: (A) Be directly related to the 182 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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educational goals prepared by the local or regional board of education 183
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220, as amended by this act, (B) 184
on and after July 1, [2011] 2021, be developed with full consideration of 185
the priorities and needs related to student social-emotional learning and 186
restorative practices, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-187
148a, as amended by this act, and student academic outcomes as 188
determined by the State Board of Education, [and] (C) provide for the 189
ongoing and systematic assessment and improvement of both teacher 190
evaluation and professional development of the professional staff 191
members of each such board, including personnel management and 192
evaluation training or experience for administrators, [shall] and (D) be 193
related to regular and special student needs and may include provisions 194
concerning career incentives and parent involvement. The State Board 195
of Education shall develop guidelines to assist local and regional boards 196
of education in determining the objectives of the plans and in 197
coordinating staff development activities with student needs and school 198
programs. 199
Sec. 11. Subsection (b) of section 10-220 of the general statutes is 200
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 201
2021): 202
(b) The board of education of each local or regional school district 203
shall, with the participation of parents, students, school administrators, 204
teachers, citizens, local elected officials and any other individuals or 205
groups such board shall deem appropriate, prepare a statement of 206
educational goals for such local or regional school district. The 207
statement of goals shall be consistent with state-wide goals pursuant to 208
subsection (c) of section 10-4 and include goals for the integration of 209
principles and practices of social-emotional learning and restorative 210
practices in the program of professional development for the school 211
district, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-148a, as 212
amended by this act, and career placement for students who do not 213
pursue an advanced degree immediately after graduation. Each local or 214
regional board of education shall annually establish student objectives 215 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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for the school year which relate directly to the statement of educational 216
goals prepared pursuant to this subsection and which identify specific 217
expectations for students in terms of skills, knowledge and competence. 218
Sec. 12. Section 10-155k of the general statutes is repealed and the 219
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 220
On and after July 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Education shall 221
establish a School Paraprofessional Advisory Council, which on and 222
after July 1, 2020, shall be known as the School Paraeducator Advisory 223
Council, consisting of (1) one school paraprofessional from each state-224
wide bargaining representative organization that represents school 225
paraprofessionals with instructional responsibilities, (2) one 226
representative from each of the exclusive bargaining units for certified 227
employees, chosen pursuant to section 10-153b, (3) the most recent 228
recipient of the Connecticut Paraprofessional of the Year Award, (4) two 229
representatives from the regional educational service centers, appointed 230
by the Commissioner of Education, and (5) a school administrator, 231
appointed by the Connecticut Federation of School Administrators. The 232
council shall hold quarterly meetings and advise, at least quarterly, the 233
Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee, of the 234
needs for (A) professional development and the training of 235
paraprofessionals and the effectiveness of the content and the delivery 236
of existing training for such paraprofessionals, (B) appropriate staffing 237
strategies for paraprofessionals, and (C) other relevant issues relating to 238
paraprofessionals. The council shall report, annually, in accordance 239
with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the recommendations given to 240
the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, pursuant to the 241
provisions of this section, to the joint standing committee of the General 242
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education. 243
Sec. 13. (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than January 1, 2022, the 244
School Paraeducator Advisory Council, established pursuant to section 245
10-155k of the general statutes, as amended by this act, shall conduct a 246
study concerning the following: (1) Appropriate minimum employment 247
standards, including pay rates, health care coverage, retirement benefits 248 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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and professional development opportunities for paraeducators that 249
focus on maximizing the success of paraeducators in the classroom; (2) 250
safety issues relating to paraeducators who work with students who 251
have behavioral issues, including the availability of appropriate safety 252
equipment for paraeducators at each school; (3) issues relating to the 253
assignment of substitute teaching duties to paraeducators, including 254
emergency situations when a paraeducator is asked to serve as a 255
substitute teacher; and (4) issues relating to the duties of paraeducators 256
who work with students who have individualized education programs. 257
(b) Not later than January 1, 2022, the council shall develop proposals 258
for the creation of a pathway for continued career and professional 259
development, including, but not limited to, (1) paraeducator certificate 260
and apprenticeship programs that offer course credits that apply to 261
transferrable associate degree programs; (2) associate degree programs 262
that (A) build upon and do not duplicate the courses and competencies 263
of paraeducator certificate programs, (B) incorporate field experiences, 264
(C) are aligned with the standards and competencies for teachers, and 265
(D) are transferrable to a bachelor's degree in education and teacher 266
certification programs; and (3) bachelor's degree programs that lead to 267
teacher certification that build upon and do not duplicate the courses 268
and competencies of transferrable associate degrees. 269
(c) The council shall submit the study described in subsection (a) of 270
this section and the proposals described in subsection (b) of this section, 271
and any recommendations for legislation to the joint standing 272
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 273
relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 274
of the general statutes. 275
Sec. 14. Subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section 10-222k of the 276
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 277
thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 278
(c) (1) For the school year commencing July 1, 2012, and each school 279
year thereafter, the principal of each school shall establish a committee 280 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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or designate at least one existing committee in the school to be 281
responsible for developing and fostering a safe school climate and 282
addressing issues relating to bullying in the school. Such committee 283
shall include at least one parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the 284
school appointed by the school principal, and for the school year 285
commencing July 1, 2021, and each school year thereafter, such 286
committee shall also include school personnel, including, but not 287
limited to, at least one teacher selected by the exclusive bargaining 288
representative for certified employees chosen pursuant to section 1-289
153b, and medical and mental health personnel assigned to such school. 290
Sec. 15. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) Not later than January 1, 2022, 291
the State Board of Education, in collaboration with the Social Emotional 292
Learning and School Climate Advisory Collaborative, established 293
pursuant to section 10-222q of the general statutes, shall develop or 294
adopt model curricular units integrating strategies that promote social-295
emotional learning. Such curricular units shall include culturally 296
responsive pedagogy and promote strategies to address the needs of 297
students who have experienced trauma. The state board shall 298
disseminate such curricular units to local and regional boards of 299
education and make such curricular units available on its Internet web 300
site. 301
Sec. 16. (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) The sum of ten million dollars is 302
appropriated to the Department of Education, from the General Fund, 303
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, for the purpose of implementing 304
the state-wide social-emotional support program established pursuant 305
to section 3 of this act. 306
(b) The sum of ten million dollars is appropriated to the Department 307
of Education, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 308
2023, for the purpose of implementing the state-wide social-emotional 309
support program established pursuant to section 3 of this act. 310 Substitute Bill No. 6557
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 6 July 1, 2021 10-223e(b)(3)
Sec. 7 from passage New section
Sec. 8 July 1, 2021 10-233m
Sec. 9 July 1, 2021 10-148a(a)
Sec. 10 July 1, 2021 10-220a(b)
Sec. 11 July 1, 2021 10-220(b)
Sec. 12 July 1, 2021 10-155k
Sec. 13 from passage New section
Sec. 14 July 1, 2021 10-222k(c)(1)
Sec. 15 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 16 July 1, 2021 New section
ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP