Substitute House Bill No. 5279
Public Act No. 22-100
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-16z of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022):
(a) There is established the Early Childhood Cabinet. The cabinet
shall consist of: (1) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the
commissioner's designee, (2) the Commissioner of Education, or the
commissioner's designee, (3) the Commissioner of Social Services, or the
commissioner's designee, (4) the president of the Connecticut State
Colleges and Universities, or the president's designee, (5) the
Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee, (6) the
Commissioner of Developmental Services, or the commissioner's
designee, (7) the Commissioner of Children and Families, or the
commissioner's designee, (8) the executive director of the Commission
on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity or the executive
director's designee, (9) the project director of the Connecticut Head Start
State Collaboration Office, (10) a parent or guardian of a child who
attends or attended a school readiness program appointed by the
minority leader of the House of Representatives, (11) a representative of
a local provider of early childhood education appointed by the minority Substitute House Bill No. 5279
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leader of the Senate, (12) a representative of the Connecticut Family
Resource Center Alliance appointed by the majority leader of the House
of Representatives, (13) a representative of a state-funded child care
center appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, (14) two
appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom
is a member of a board of education for a town designated as an alliance
district, as defined in section 10-262u, and one of whom is a parent who
has a child attending a school in an educational reform district, as
defined in section 10-262u, (15) two appointed by the president pro
tempore of the Senate, one of whom is a representative of an association
of early education and child care providers and one of whom is a
representative of a public elementary school with a prekindergarten
program, (16) [eight] ten appointed by the Governor, one of whom is a
representative of the Connecticut Head Start Association, one of whom
is a representative of the business community in this state, one of whom
is a representative of the philanthropic community in this state, one of
whom is a representative of the Connecticut State Employees
Association, one of whom is an administrator of the child care
development block grant pursuant to the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990, one of whom is responsible for administering
grants received under section 1419 of Part B of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1419, as amended from time to time,
one of whom is responsible for administering the provisions of Title I of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 USC 6301 et seq., [and]
one of whom is responsible for coordinating education services to
children and youth who are homeless, one of whom is a licensed family
child care home provider and a member of a staffed family child care
network identified by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, and one of
whom is a parent recommended by a parent advisory group that has
been appointed by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, (17) the
Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's
designee, (18) the Lieutenant Governor, or the Lieutenant Governor's
designee, (19) the Commissioner of Housing, or the commissioner's Substitute House Bill No. 5279
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designee, and (20) the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction
Services, or the commissioner's designee.
(b) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall serve as a
cochairperson of the cabinet. The other cochairperson of the cabinet
shall be appointed from among its members by the Governor. The
cabinet shall meet at least quarterly. Members shall not be compensated
for their services, [. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive
meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during
any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the cabinet]
except the following members, who are parents or guardians, may,
within available appropriations, be compensated for any time and travel
related to meetings of the cabinet: (1) The parent or guardian of a child
who attends or attended a school readiness program and was appointed
by the minority leader of the House of Representatives under
subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of this section, (2) the parent who has
a child attending a school in an educational reform district, as defined
in section 10-262u, and was appointed by the speaker of the House of
Representatives under subdivision (14) of subsection (a) of this section,
and (3) the parent who was recommended by a parent advisory group
and appointed by the Governor under subdivision (16) of subsection (a)
of this section.
(c) Within available resources, the Early Childhood Cabinet shall (1)
advise the Office of Early Childhood, established pursuant to section 10-
500, (2) not later than December 1, 2009, and annually thereafter,
develop an annual plan of action that assigns the appropriate state
agency to complete the tasks specified in the federal Head Start Act of
2007, P.L. 110-134, as amended from time to time, and (3) not later than
March 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, submit an annual state-wide
strategic report, pursuant to said federal Head Start Act, in accordance
with the provisions of section 11-4a, addressing the progress such
agencies have made toward the completion of such tasks outlined under Substitute House Bill No. 5279
Public Act No. 22-100 4 of 7
said federal Head Start Act and this subsection to the Governor and the
joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance
of matters relating to education and human services.
(d) The Early Childhood Cabinet shall be within the Office of Early
Childhood for administrative purposes only.
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 17b-749k of the 2022 supplement to
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective from passage):
(b) The Commissioner of Early Childhood shall, within available
appropriations, require any relative who provides child care services to
a child and who receives a child care subsidy from the Office of Early
Childhood, to submit to a check of (1) the National Sex Offender Public
Website maintained by the United States Department of Justice and the
registry established and maintained pursuant to section 54-257, (2) the
state child abuse registry established pursuant to section 17a-101k, and
(3) the [Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communicati on
Teleprocessing System] Connecticut Criminal History Request System
maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public
Protection. If such check reveals that the name of any such relative
appears in such databases, on said registry or in said system, the
commissioner may require such relative to submit to state and national
criminal history records checks conducted in accordance with section
29-17a.
Sec. 3. Section 10-520b of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
The Office of Early Childhood, upon receipt of a proper application
and in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Early Childhood,
shall issue an early childhood teacher credential to any person who
holds (1) an associate degree with a concentration in early childhood Substitute House Bill No. 5279
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education from an institution of higher education that is regionally
accredited, provided such associate degree program is approved by (A)
the Board of Regents for Higher Education or the Office of Higher
Education, and (B) the Office of Early Childhood, or (2) a bachelor's
degree with a concentration in early childhood education from an
institution of higher education that is regionally accredited, provided
such bachelor's degree program is approved by (A) the Board of Regents
for Higher Education or Office of Higher Education, and (B) the Office
of Early Childhood. [Any early childhood teacher credential issued
pursuant to subdivision (1) of this section shall be valid until June 30,
2021.] For purposes of this section, "concentration in early childhood
education" has the same meaning as provided in section 10-16p, as
amended by this act.
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 10-16p of the 2022 supplement to the
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022):
(a) As used in sections 10-16o to 10-16r, inclusive, 10-16u, 17b-749a
and 17b-749c:
(1) "School readiness program" means a nonsectarian program that
(A) meets the standards set by the Office of Early Childhood pursuant
to subsection (b) of this section and the requirements of section 10-16q,
and (B) provides a developmentally appropriate learning experience of
not less than four hundred fifty hours and one hundred eighty days for
eligible children, except as provided in subsection (d) of section 10-16q;
(2) "Eligible children" means children three and four years of age and
children five years of age who are not eligible to enroll in school
pursuant to section 10-15c, or who are eligible to enroll in school and
will attend a school readiness program pursuant to section 10-16t;
(3) "Priority school" means a school in which forty per cent or more Substitute House Bill No. 5279
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of the lunches served are served to students who are eligible for free or
reduced price lunches pursuant to federal law and regulations,
excluding such a school located in a priority school district pursuant to
section 10-266p or in a former priority school district receiving a grant
pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and, on and after July 1, 2001,
excluding such a school in a transitional school district receiving a grant
pursuant to section 10-16u;
(4) "Severe need school" means a school in a priority school district
pursuant to section 10-266p or in a former priority school district in
which forty per cent or more of the lunches served are served to students
who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches;
(5) "Accredited" means accredited by the National Association for the
Education of Young Children, National Association for Family Child
Care, a Head Start on-site program review instrument or a successor
instrument pursuant to federal regulations, or otherwise meeting such
criteria as may be established by the commissioner, unless the context
otherwise requires;
(6) "Year-round" means [fifty] forty-eight weeks per year, except as
provided in subsection (d) of section 10-16q;
(7) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Early Childhood;
(8) "Office" means the Office of Early Childhood;
(9) "Seeking accreditation" means a school readiness program seeking
accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young
Children, National Association for Family Child Care or a Head Start
on-site program review instrument or successor instrument pursuant to
federal regulations, or attempting to meet criteria as may be established
by the commissioner; and
(10) "Concentration in early childhood education" means a program Substitute House Bill No. 5279
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of study in early childhood education, including, but not limited to,
early childhood education, child study, child development or human
growth and development.