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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5321
February Session, 2022
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
SCHOOL PARAEDUCATOR ADVISORY COUNCIL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) For the school year 1
commencing July 1, 2023, and each school year thereafter, each 2
paraeducator employed by a local or regional board of education shall 3
participate in a program of professional development. Each local and 4
regional board of education shall make available, annually, at no cost to 5
its paraeducators, a program of professional development that is not 6
fewer than eighteen hours in length, of which a preponderance is in a 7
small group or individual instructional setting. Such program of 8
professional development shall (1) be a comprehensive, sustained and 9
intensive approach to improving paraeducators effectiveness in 10
increasing student knowledge achievement, (2) focus on refining and 11
improving various effective instruction methods that are shared 12
between and among paraeducators, (3) foster collective responsibility 13
for improved student performance, (4) be comprised of professional 14
learning that (A) is aligned with rigorous state student academic 15
achievement standards, (B) is conducted among paraeducators at the 16
school and facilitated by principals, coaches, mentors, distinguished 17
educators, as described in section 10-145s of the general statutes, or 18
other appropriate teachers, (C) occurs frequently on an individual basis 19 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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or among groups of paraeducators in a job-embedded process of 20
continuous improvement, and (D) includes a repository of best practices 21
for instruction methods developed by paraeducators within each school 22
that is continuously available to such paraeducators for comment and 23
updating, and (5) include training in culturally responsive pedagogy 24
and practice. Each program of professional development shall include 25
professional development activities in accordance with the provisions 26
of subsection (b) of this section. The principles and practices of social-27
emotional learning and restorative practices shall be integrated 28
throughout the components of such program of professional 29
development described in subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of this 30
subsection. 31
(b) Local and regional boards of education shall offer professional 32
development activities to paraeducators as part of the plan developed 33
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220a of the general statutes, as 34
amended by this act, or for any individual paraeducator. Such 35
professional development activities may be made available by a board 36
of education directly, through a regional educational service center or 37
cooperative arrangement with another board of education or through 38
arrangements with any professional development provider approved 39
by the Commissioner of Education and shall be consistent with any 40
goals identified by the paraeducators and the local or regional board of 41
education. 42
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 10-220a of the 2022 supplement to the 43
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 44
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 45
(b) Not later than a date prescribed by the commissioner, each local 46
and regional board of education shall establish a professional 47
development and evaluation committee. Such professional 48
development and evaluation committee shall consist of (1) at least one 49
teacher, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-144d, selected by the 50
exclusive bargaining representative for certified employees chosen 51
pursuant to section 10-153b, (2) at least one administrator, as defined in 52 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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subsection (a) of section 10-144e, selected by the exclusive bargaining 53
representative for certified employees chosen pursuant to section 10-54
153b, and (3) such other school personnel as the board deems 55
appropriate. The duties of such committees shall include, but not be 56
limited to, participation in the development or adoption of a teacher 57
evaluation and support program for the district, pursuant to section 10-58
151b, and the development, evaluation and annual updating of a 59
comprehensive local professional development plan for certified 60
employees of the district. Such plan shall: (A) Be directly related to the 61
educational goals prepared by the local or regional board of education 62
pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220, (B) on and after July 1, 2021, 63
be developed with full consideration of the priorities and needs related 64
to student social-emotional learning and restorative practices, in 65
accordance with the provisions of section 10-148a, and student academic 66
outcomes as determined by the State Board of Education, (C) provide 67
for the ongoing and systematic assessment and improvement of both 68
teacher evaluation and professional development of the professional 69
staff members of each such board, including personnel management 70
and evaluation training or experience for administrators, and (D) be 71
related to regular and special student needs and may include provisions 72
concerning career incentives and parent involvement. The State Board 73
of Education shall develop guidelines to assist local and regional boards 74
of education in determining the objectives of the plans and in 75
coordinating staff development activities with student needs and school 76
programs. For the school year commencing July 1, 2023, and each school 77
year thereafter, such committees shall develop, evaluate and annually 78
update a comprehensive local professional development plan for 79
paraeducators of the district in accordance with the provisions of this 80
subsection. 81
Sec. 3. Section 10-148b of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes 82
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 83
1, 2022): 84
On or before July 1, 2013, the Commissioner of Education shall create 85 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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a program of professional development for teachers, as defined in 86
section 10-144d, paraeducators and principals in scientifically-based 87
reading research and instruction, as defined in section 10-14u. Such 88
program of professional development shall (1) count towards the 89
professional development requirements pursuant to section 10-148a and 90
section 1 of this act, (2) be based on data collected from student reading 91
assessments, (3) provide differentiated and intensified training in 92
reading instruction for teachers and paraeducators, (4) outline how 93
mentor teachers will train teachers in reading instruction, (5) outline 94
how model classrooms will be established in schools for reading 95
instruction, (6) inform principals on how to evaluate classrooms and 96
teacher and paraeducator performance in scientifically-based reading 97
research and instruction, and (7) be job-embedded and local whenever 98
possible. In the case of any certified individual or paraeducator who is 99
required to complete the reading instruction survey, pursuant to section 100
10-145r, the program of professional development for such individual 101
or paraeducator shall be designed using the results of such survey, in 102
accordance with said section 10-145r. Not later than July 1, 2023, the 103
commissioner shall update such program of professional development 104
to include paraeducators. 105
Sec. 4. (Effective July 1, 2022) The Commissioner of Education shall 106
convene a working group to develop recommendations for the creation 107
of a system of professional certification for paraeducators. Such working 108
group shall include, but need not be limited to, the School Paraeducator 109
Advisory Council, established pursuant to section 10-155k of the general 110
statutes, representatives from each state-wide bargaining representative 111
organization that represents school paraprofessionals with instructional 112
responsibilities, and representatives designated by organizations or 113
associations representing local and regional boards of education, 114
regional educational service centers, superintendents and the interests 115
of students and paraeducators in the provision of special education 116
services. Not later than January 1, 2024, the commissioner shall submit 117
a report of its recommendations to the joint standing committee of the 118
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, 119 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 120
Sec. 5. Subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of section 10-76d of the 2022 121
supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 122
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 123
(10) (A) Each local and regional board of education responsible for 124
providing special education and related services to a child or pupil shall 125
notify the parent or guardian of a child who requires or who may 126
require special education, a pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor 127
or eighteen years of age or older who requires or who may require 128
special education or a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 129
10-94g, in writing, at least five school days before such board proposes 130
to, or refuses to, initiate or change the child's or pupil's identification, 131
evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free 132
appropriate public education to the child or pupil. 133
(B) Upon request by a parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent, 134
the responsible local or regional board of education shall provide such 135
parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent an opportunity to meet with 136
a member of the planning and placement team designated by such 137
board prior to the referral planning and placement team meeting at 138
which the assessments and evaluations of the child or pupil who 139
requires or may require special education is presented to such parent, 140
guardian, pupil or surrogate parent for the first time. Such meeting shall 141
be for the sole purpose of discussing the planning and placement team 142
process and any concerns such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate 143
parent has regarding the child or pupil who requires or may require 144
special education. 145
(C) Such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent shall (i) be given 146
at least five school days' prior notice of any planning and placement 147
team meeting conducted for such child or pupil, (ii) have the right to be 148
present at and participate in all portions of such meeting at which an 149
educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or 150
revised, (iii) have the right to have (I) advisors of such person's own 151 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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choosing and at such person's own expense, (II) the school 152
paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil, if any, and (III) such 153
child or pupil's birth-to-three service coordinator, if any, attend and 154
participate in all portions of such meeting at which an educational 155
program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised, and 156
(iv) have the right to have each recommendation made in such child or 157
pupil's birth-to-three individualized transition plan, as required by 158
section 17a-248e, if any, addressed by the planning and placement team 159
during such meeting at which an educational program for such child or 160
pupil is developed. 161
(D) Immediately upon the formal identification of any child as a child 162
requiring special education and at each planning and placement team 163
meeting for such child, the responsible local or regional board of 164
education shall inform the parent or guardian of such child or surrogate 165
parent or, in the case of a pupil who is an emancipated minor or eighteen 166
years of age or older, the pupil of (i) the laws relating to special 167
education, (ii) the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or 168
pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board 169
of Education relating to special education, including the right of a 170
parent, guardian or surrogate parent to (I) withhold from enrolling such 171
child in kindergarten, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-172
184, and (II) have advisors and the school paraprofessional assigned to 173
such child or pupil attend and participate in all portions of such meeting 174
at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, 175
reviewed or revised, in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 176
(C) of this subdivision, and (iii) any relevant information and resources 177
relating to individualized education programs created by the 178
Department of Education, including, but not limited to, information 179
relating to transition resources and services for high school students. If 180
such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil does not attend a 181
planning and placement team meeting, the responsible local or regional 182
board of education shall mail such information to such person. 183
(E) Each local and regional board of education shall have in effect at 184 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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the beginning of each school year an educational program for each child 185
or pupil who has been identified as eligible for special education. 186
(F) At each initial planning and placement team meeting for a child 187
or pupil, the responsible local or regional board of education shall 188
inform the parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil of (i) the laws 189
relating to physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to section 10-236b 190
and the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil under 191
such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education 192
relating to physical restraint and seclusion, and (ii) the right of such 193
parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil, during such meeting at 194
which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, to 195
have (I) such child or pupil's birth-to-three service coordinator attend 196
and participate in all portions of such meeting, and (II) each 197
recommendation made in the transition plan, as required by section 17a-198
248e, by such child or pupil's birth-to-three service coordinator 199
addressed by the planning and placement team. 200
(G) Upon request by a parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent, 201
the responsible local or regional board of education shall provide the 202
results of the assessments and evaluations used in the determination of 203
eligibility for special education for a child or pupil to such parent, 204
guardian, surrogate parent or pupil at least three school days before the 205
referral planning and placement team meeting at which such results of 206
the assessments and evaluations will be discussed for the first time. 207
(H) Each local or regional board of education shall monitor the 208
development of each child who, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 209
17a-248e, has been (i) referred for a registration on a mobile application 210
designated by the Commissioner of Early Childhood, in partnership 211
with such child's parent, guardian or surrogate parent, or (ii) provided 212
a form for such child's parent, guardian or surrogate parent to complete 213
and submit to such local or regional board of education that screens for 214
developmental and social-emotional delays using a validated screening 215
tool, such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Ages and Stages 216
Social-Emotional Questionnaire, or its equivalent. If such monitoring 217 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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results in suspecting a child of having a developmental delay, the board 218
shall schedule a planning and placement team meeting with such child's 219
parent, guardian or surrogate parent for the purposes of identifying 220
services for which such child may be eligible, including, but not limited 221
to, a preschool program under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 222
Act, 20 USC 1471 et seq. If a parent, guardian or surrogate parent of any 223
child referred for a registration on the mobile application or provided a 224
form to complete and submit, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 17a-225
248e, fails to complete such registration or complete and submit such 226
form after a period of six months from the date of such referral or 227
provision of such form, the board shall send a reminder, in the form and 228
manner determined by the board, to such parent, guardian or surrogate 229
parent to complete such registration or complete and submit such form. 230
The board shall send another reminder after a period of one year from 231
such referral or provision of such form if such registration remains 232
incomplete or such form is not submitted. 233
(I) Prior to any planning and placement team meeting for a child or 234
pupil in which an educational program for such child or pupil is 235
developed, reviewed or revised and the parent, guardian, pupil or 236
surrogate parent has requested that the school paraprofessional 237
assigned to such child or pupil attend such meeting, the responsible 238
local or regional board of education shall provide (i) adequate notice of 239
such meeting to such school paraprofessional so that such school 240
paraprofessional may adequately prepare for such meeting, and (ii) 241
training, upon request of such school paraprofessional, on the role of 242
such school paraprofessional at such meeting. Following such meeting, 243
such school paraprofessional shall be permitted to view such 244
educational program in order to be able to provide special education or 245
related services to such child or pupil in accordance with such 246
educational program. 247
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) The Department of Education 248
shall conduct an annual review of the health care plan options offered 249
by local and regional boards of education to paraeducators employed 250 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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by such boards. Such review shall examine the coverage levels, 251
premiums and out-of-pocket expenses charged to paraeducators in each 252
such health care plan, and (1) calculate whether the total cost of such 253
premiums and out-of-pocket expenses are greater than five per cent of 254
such paraeducator's annual salary, and (2) compare such coverage 255
levels, premiums and out-of-pocket expenses to the partnership plan, as 256
defined in section 3-123aaa of the general statutes. 257
(b) The department shall use the results of the review conducted 258
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to develop an annual report on 259
paraeducator health care plans. Not later than January 1, 2023, and 260
annually thereafter, the department shall submit such report to the joint 261
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 262
matters relating to appropriations, insurance and education, in 263
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 264
Sec. 7. Subsection (c) of section 10-220 of the 2022 supplement to the 265
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 266
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 267
(c) Annually, each local and regional board of education shall submit 268
to the Commissioner of Education a strategic school profile report for 269
each school and school or program of alternative education, as defined 270
in section 10-74j, under its jurisdiction and for the school district as a 271
whole. The superintendent of each local and regional school district 272
shall present the profile report at the next regularly scheduled public 273
meeting of the board of education after each November first. The profile 274
report shall provide information on measures of (1) student needs, (2) 275
school resources, including technological resources and utilization of 276
such resources and infrastructure, (3) student and school performance, 277
including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions and 278
expulsions, the number of truants, as defined in section 10-198a, and 279
chronically absent children, as defined in section 10-198c, (4) the number 280
of students enrolled in an adult high school credit diploma program, 281
pursuant to section 10-69, operated by a local or regional board of 282
education or a regional educational service center, (5) equitable 283 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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allocation of resources among its schools, (6) reduction of racial, ethnic 284
and economic isolation, (7) special education, [and] (8) school-based 285
arrests, as defined in section 10-233n, and (9) paraeducators, including 286
the number of paraeducators employed within each school and for the 287
school district as a whole, the job titles held by paraeducators, the hourly 288
rate of pay for each paraeducator, the total number of hours and days 289
worked for each paraeducator, the health care contributions as a 290
percentage of salary for each paraeducator, and the annual salary for 291
each paraeducator calculated by multiplying the number of hours 292
worked by such paraeducator's hourly rate of pay. For purposes of this 293
subsection, measures of special education include (A) special education 294
identification rates by disability, (B) rates at which special education 295
students are exempted from mastery testing pursuant to section 10-14q, 296
(C) expenditures for special education, including such expenditures as 297
a percentage of total expenditures, (D) achievement data for special 298
education students, (E) rates at which students identified as requiring 299
special education are no longer identified as requiring special education, 300
(F) the availability of supplemental educational services for students 301
lacking basic educational skills, (G) the amount of special education 302
student instructional time with nondisabled peers, (H) the number of 303
students placed out-of-district, and (I) the actions taken by the school 304
district to improve special education programs, as indicated by analyses 305
of the local data provided in subparagraphs (A) to (H), inclusive, of this 306
subdivision. The superintendent shall include in the narrative portion 307
of the report information about parental involvement and any measures 308
the district has taken to improve parental involvement, including, but 309
not limited to, employment of methods to engage parents in the 310
planning and improvement of school programs and methods to increase 311
support to parents working at home with their children on learning 312
activities. For purposes of this subsection, measures of truancy include 313
the type of data that is required to be collected by the Department of 314
Education regarding attendance and unexcused absences in order for 315
the department to comply with federal reporting requirements and the 316
actions taken by the local or regional board of education to reduce 317
truancy in the school district. Such truancy data shall be considered a 318 Substitute Bill No. 5321
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public record, as defined in section 1-200. 319
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2022 10-220a(b)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2022 10-148b
Sec. 4 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2022 10-76d(a)(10)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2022 10-220(c)
ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP