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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6583
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4294
Referred to Committee on HIGHER EDUCATION AND
EMPLOYMENT ADVANCEMENT
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT REQUIRING INDEPENDENT INSTITUTION S OF HIGHER
EDUCATION TO SUBMIT CLOSURE PLANS TO THE OFFICE OF
HIGHER EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10a-34e of the general statutes is amended by 1
adding subsections (c) and (d) as follows (Effective July 1, 2021): 2
(NEW) (c) Not later than January 1, 2022, each independent 3
institution of higher education shall submit to the Office of Higher 4
Education a closure plan, which shall include, but need not be limited 5
to, (1) how such institution will respond to a natural disaster, pandemic, 6
data security threat or other catastrophic event, and (2) how such 7
institution will manage student records, continuity of education for 8
enrolled students and student financial aid and refunds. An 9
independent institution of higher education that is regionally accredited 10
may comply with the requirements of this subsection by submitting to 11
said office the same closure plan that the institution submitted to the 12
regional accreditation agency. If an independent institution of higher 13
education updates its closure plan, then such institution shall submit 14 Raised Bill No. 6583
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such updated closure plan not later than thirty days after the governing 15
board of such institution approves such updated closure plan. 16
(NEW) (d) Any independent institution of higher education that 17
plans to close permanently shall submit a written notice to the Office of 18
Higher Education not later than thirty days after the governing board of 19
such institution authorizes such closure. Such written notice shall 20
include, but need not be limited to, (1) the planned date of termination 21
of operations; (2) the planned date and location for the transfer of 22
student records; (3) the name and address of the organization that will 23
receive and maintain student records; (4) the name and contact 24
information of the designated office or official who will manage 25
transcript requests; (5) the arrangement for the continued education of 26
enrolled students through the facilitation of a teach-out, as defined in 27
section 10a-22m, or other means; (6) evidence of communication with 28
the United States Department of Education and said office regarding the 29
management of student refunds, state or federal grants and scholarships 30
and state loans; and (7) if such institution is regionally accredited, 31
evidence of communication with the regional accreditation agency 32
regarding such closure. 33
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 10a-34e
Statement of Purpose:
To require independent institutions of higher education in the state to
submit to the Office of Higher Education a closure plan and, if an
institution plans to close, a written notice regarding the arrangements
for such closure.
[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.]