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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 977
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING VI RTUAL LEARNING.
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
"virtual learning" means the provision of instruction by means of one or 2
more Internet-based software platforms as part of an in-person or 3
remote learning model that is in accordance with the uniform virtual 4
learning standards developed by the Department of Education pursuant 5
to this section. 6
(b) (1) Not later than July 1, 2021, the Department of Education shall 7
develop uniform standards for virtual learning. Such uniform standards 8
shall be used by local and regional boards of education for the 9
authorized provision of virtual learning, and shall be developed with 10
consideration given to best practices, technological capabilities and 11
equity. Such standards shall (A) include a requirement that any virtual 12
learning provided by a local or regional board of education be in 13
accordance with the provisions of sections 10-15 and 10-16 of the general 14
statutes, as amended by this act, (B) be rigorous, aligned with 15
curriculum guidelines approved by the State Board of Education, and in 16
accordance with the state-wide subject matter content standards, 17
adopted by the state board pursuant to section 10-4 of the general 18
statutes, and (C) require any local or regional board of education that 19 Substitute Bill No. 977
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wants to implement virtual learning when public school sessions may 20
otherwise be cancelled for reasons of inclement weather or otherwise, to 21
develop a plan for how and when such virtual learning will be provided. 22
(2) Not later than July 1, 2022, the department shall revise the uniform 23
standards for virtual learning, developed pursuant to subdivision (1) of 24
this subsection, to incorporate the findings of the comprehensive audit 25
conducted pursuant to section 2 of this act. 26
(3) On and after July 1, 2023, the department shall annually review 27
and may revise as necessary the uniform standards for virtual learning. 28
(c) The Department of Education shall periodically review whether 29
the uniform standards for virtual learning are being satisfied by a local 30
or regional board of education that is implementing virtual learning. 31
(d) Not later than July 1, 2021, the department shall develop 32
guidelines for the provision of training in virtual learning offered as part 33
of a program of professional development, pursuant to section 10-148a 34
of the general statutes, as amended by this act, or as part of an in-service 35
training program, pursuant to section 10-220a of the general statutes, as 36
amended by this act. Such guidelines shall be used by local and regional 37
boards of education, and shall be developed, and updated as necessary, 38
with consideration given to best practices, technological capabilities and 39
equity. 40
(e) The department shall make the uniform standards for virtual 41
learning and the guidelines for the provision of training in virtual 42
learning available on its Internet web site. 43
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: 44
(1) "Virtual learning" has the same meaning as provided in section 1 45
of this act; and 46
(2) "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the 47
World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, 48 Substitute Bill No. 977
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and any related mutation thereof recognized by the World Health 49
Organization as a communicable respiratory disease. 50
(b) The Department of Education shall conduct a comprehensive 51
audit of the virtual learning provided by local and regional boards of 52
education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during the school years 53
commencing July 1, 2019, and July 1, 2020. 54
(c) Such comprehensive audit shall include, but need not be limited 55
to, an examination of (1) whether and how local and regional boards of 56
education initially provided virtual learning during the beginning of the 57
COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the technological capabilities or 58
limitations at such time, (2) the curriculum used as part of virtual 59
learning and whether students were able to complete the grade level 60
curriculums, (3) the level of preparation or training in virtual learning 61
that educators received prior to and during the provision of virtual 62
learning during such school years, including the nature of such training 63
and whether it was offered as part of a program of professional 64
development, pursuant to section 10-148a of the general statutes, as 65
amended by this act, or as part of an in-service training program, 66
pursuant to section 10-220a of the general statutes, as amended by this 67
act, and (4) the level of improvement, if any, of the provision of virtual 68
learning from the school year commencing July 1, 2019, to the school 69
year commencing July 1, 2020. 70
(d) Following the completion of such comprehensive audit, the 71
department shall develop a report that uses the results of such 72
comprehensive audit to (1) evaluate the efficacy of virtual learning, and 73
hybrid learning models, and the potential to leverage technology for 74
teaching in other scenarios and rethinking the delivery of instruction, 75
(2) identify a system of metrics to hold local and regional boards of 76
education accountable for virtual learning access and equity, and (3) 77
review and make recommendations regarding ongoing public 78
education requirements, including what defines a "school day", by 79
aligning technology and how virtual learning may be optimally 80
integrated into the program of study and the provision of public 81 Substitute Bill No. 977
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education. 82
(e) Not later than February 1, 2022, the department shall submit such 83
comprehensive audit and report, and any recommendations for 84
legislation, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 85
having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with 86
the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 87
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 10-148a of the general statutes is 88
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 89
passage): 90
(a) For the school year commencing July 1, 2019, and each school year 91
thereafter, each certified employee shall participate in a program of 92
professional development. Each local and regional board of education 93
shall make available, annually, at no cost to its certified employees, a 94
program of professional development that is not fewer than eighteen 95
hours in length, of which a preponderance is in a small group or 96
individual instructional setting. Such program of professional 97
development shall (1) be a comprehensive, sustained and intensive 98
approach to improving teacher and administrator effectiveness in 99
increasing student knowledge achievement, (2) focus on refining and 100
improving various effective teaching methods that are shared between 101
and among educators, (3) foster collective responsibility for improved 102
student performance, (4) be comprised of professional learning that (A) 103
is aligned with rigorous state student academic achievement standards, 104
(B) is conducted among educators at the school and facilitated by 105
principals, coaches, mentors, distinguished educators, as described in 106
section 10-145s, or other appropriate teachers, (C) occurs frequently on 107
an individual basis or among groups of teachers in a job-embedded 108
process of continuous improvement, and (D) includes a repository of 109
best practices for teaching methods developed by educators within each 110
school that is continuously available to such educators for comment and 111
updating, [and] (5) include training in culturally responsive pedagogy 112
and practice, and (6) include training in the provision of virtual learning, 113
in accordance with the guidelines developed pursuant to section 1 of 114 Substitute Bill No. 977
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this act. Each program of professional development shall include 115
professional development activities in accordance with the provisions 116
of subsection (b) of this section. 117
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 10-220a of the general statutes is 118
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 119
passage): 120
(a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-121
service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil 122
personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or 123
professional educator certificate. Such program shall provide such 124
teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) 125
the nature and the relationship of alcohol and drugs, as defined in 126
subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, to health and personality 127
development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health 128
and mental health risk reduction education that includes, but need not 129
be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and the 130
relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, sexually 131
transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as defined in 132
section 19a-581, violence, teen dating violence, domestic violence and 133
child abuse, (3) school violence prevention, conflict resolution, the 134
prevention of and response to youth suicide and the identification and 135
prevention of and response to bullying, as defined in subsection (a) of 136
section 10-222d, except that those boards of education that implement 137
any evidence-based model approach that is approved by the 138
Department of Education and is consistent with subsection (c) of section 139
10-145a, sections 10-222d, 10-222g and 10-222h, subsection (g) of section 140
10-233c and sections 1 and 3 of public act 08-160, shall not be required 141
to provide in-service training on the identification and prevention of 142
and response to bullying, (4) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other 143
emergency life saving procedures, (5) the requirements and obligations 144
of a mandated reporter, (6) the detection and recognition of, and 145
evidence-based structured literacy interventions for, students with 146
dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d, [and] (7) culturally responsive 147 Substitute Bill No. 977
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pedagogy and practice, and (8) include training in the provision of 148
virtual learning, in accordance with the guidelines developed pursuant 149
to section 1 of this act. Each local or regional board of education may 150
allow any paraprofessional or noncertified employee to participate, on 151
a voluntary basis, in any in-service training program provided pursuant 152
to this section. 153
Sec. 5. Section 10-16 of the general statutes is repealed and the 154
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 155
Each school district shall provide in each school year no less than one 156
hundred and eighty days of actual school sessions for grades 157
kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, nine hundred hours of actual school 158
work for full-day kindergarten and grades one to twelve, inclusive, and 159
four hundred and fifty hours of half-day kindergarten, provided school 160
districts shall not count more than seven hours of actual school work in 161
any school day towards the total required for the school year. Virtual 162
learning, as defined in section 1 of this act, shall be considered an actual 163
school session for purposes of this section. If weather conditions result 164
in an early dismissal or a delayed opening of school, a school district 165
which maintains separate morning and afternoon half-day kindergarten 166
sessions may provide either a morning or afternoon half-day 167
kindergarten session on such day. 168
Sec. 6. Section 10-15 of the general statutes is repealed and the 169
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 170
Public schools including kindergartens shall be maintained in each 171
town for at least one hundred eighty days of actual school sessions 172
during each year, and for the school year commencing July 1, 2014, and 173
each school year thereafter, in accordance with the provisions of section 174
10-66q. Virtual learning, as defined in section 1 of this act, shall be 175
considered an actual school session for purposes of this section. When 176
public school sessions are cancelled for reasons of inclement weather or 177
otherwise, the rescheduled sessions shall not be held on Saturday or 178
Sunday. Public schools may conduct weekend education programs to 179 Substitute Bill No. 977
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provide supplemental and remedial services to students. A local or 180
regional board of education for a school that has been designated as a 181
low achieving school pursuant to subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) 182
of subsection (e) of section 10-223e, or a category four school or a 183
category five school pursuant to said section 10-223e, may increase the 184
number of actual school sessions during each year, and may increase the 185
number of hours of actual school work per school session in order to 186
improve student performance and remove the school from the list of 187
schools designated as a low achieving school maintained by the State 188
Board of Education. The State Board of Education (1) may authorize the 189
shortening of any school year for a school district, a school or a portion 190
of a school on account of an unavoidable emergency, and (2) may 191
authorize implementation of scheduling of school sessions to permit full 192
year use of facilities which may not offer each child one hundred eighty 193
days of school sessions within a given school year, but which assures an 194
opportunity for each child to average a minimum of one hundred eighty 195
days of school sessions per year during thirteen years of educational 196
opportunity in the elementary and secondary schools. Notwithstanding 197
the provisions of this section and section 10-16, as amended by this act, 198
the State Board of Education may, upon application by a local or 199
regional board of education, approve for any single school year, in 200
whole or in part, a plan to implement alternative scheduling of school 201
sessions which assures at least four hundred fifty hours of actual school 202
work for nursery schools and half-day kindergartens and at least nine 203
hundred hours of actual school work for full-day kindergartens and 204
grades one to twelve, inclusive. 205
Sec. 7. Section 10-198b of the general statutes is repealed and the 206
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 207
On or before July 1, 2012, the State Board of Education shall define 208
"excused absence" and "unexcused absence", and on or before January 209
1, 2016, the State Board of Education shall define "disciplinary absence" 210
for use by local and regional boards of education for the purposes of 211
carrying out the provisions of section 10-198a, reporting truancy, 212 Substitute Bill No. 977
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pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-220, and calculating the district 213
chronic absenteeism rate and the school chronic absenteeism rate 214
pursuant to section 10-198c. On or before July 1, 2021, the State Board of 215
Education shall amend the definition of "excused absence" and 216
"unexcused absence" to address virtual learning, as defined in section 1 217
of this act, school sessions. 218
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Sec. 3 from passage 10-148a(a)
Sec. 4 from passage 10-220a(a)
Sec. 5 from passage 10-16
Sec. 6 from passage 10-15
Sec. 7 from passage 10-198b
ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP