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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6880
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING ASSORTED REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS TO
THE EDUCATION STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (e) of section 10-220 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2023): 3
(e) Each local and regional board of education shall establish a 4
school district curriculum committee. The committee shall 5
recommend, develop, review and approve all curriculum for the local 6
or regional school district. Each local and regional board of education 7
shall make available all curriculum approved by the committee and all 8
associated curriculum materials in accordance with the requirements 9
of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, 20 USC 1232h. 10
Sec. 2. Section 10-215 of the general statutes is amended by adding 11
subsection (d) as follows (Effective July 1, 2023): 12
(NEW) (d) Each local or regional board of education shall post on its 13
Internet web site and in the school cafeteria or other central area of 14
food consumption of each school in the local or regional school district 15
a notice that the nutritional value of each school lunch, breakfast or 16
other such feeding provided by such board is in compliance with the 17
meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program and School 18 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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Breakfast Program established by the United States Department of 19
Agriculture. 20
Sec. 3. Section 10-73d of the general statutes is repealed and the 21
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 22
A public school student who is both under seventeen years of age 23
and a [mother] parent may request permission from the local or 24
regional board of education to attend adult education classes. The local 25
or regional board of education may, by a majority vote of the members 26
of the board present and voting at a regular or special meeting of the 27
board called for such purpose, assign such student to adult education 28
classes. 29
Sec. 4. Section 10-15k of the general statutes is repealed and the 30
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 31
(a) As used in this section: [, "remote learning"] 32
(1) "Remote learning" means instruction by means of one or more 33
Internet-based software platforms as part of a remote learning model; 34
and 35
(2) "Eligible student" means a student who resides in the state, but is 36
unable to attend school in-person due to a medical condition or 37
vaccination status. 38
(b) The Department of Education shall develop a plan for the 39
creation and implementation of a state-wide remote learning school 40
that offers grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, and provides 41
remote learning to students. In the course of developing such plan, the 42
department shall (1) consider the findings and recommendations of the 43
report created by the Connecticut Remote Learning Commission 44
pursuant to section 10-15j, (2) review remote learning schools and 45
models being implemented in other states, and (3) estimate the number 46
of eligible students. [who reside in Connecticut that may be eligible to 47
enroll in such state-wide remote learning school.] The department 48 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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shall use, to the extent permissible under federal guidelines, funds 49
received from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental 50
Appropriations Act, P.L. 116-260, as amended from time to time, to 51
develop such plan. 52
(c) Any state-wide remote learning school that may be created 53
under such plan shall (1) be maintained by and under the direction 54
and control of the State Board of Education, (2) provide in each school 55
year not less than one hundred eighty days of actual school sessions 56
and nine hundred hours of actual school work for grades kindergarten 57
to twelve, inclusive, provided not more than seven hours of actual 58
school work in any school day shall count toward the total required for 59
the school year, (3) offer coursework and a curriculum that is rigorous, 60
aligned with curriculum guidelines approved by the State Board of 61
Education, and in accordance with the state-wide subject matter 62
content standards, adopted by the state board pursuant to section 10-4, 63
(4) grant a diploma, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-5, 64
to any student enrolled in such state-wide remote learning school who 65
has satisfactorily completed the high school graduation requirements 66
described in section 10-221a, and (5) be created with consideration 67
given to best practices in remote learning, technological capabilities of 68
students throughout the state and equity. 69
(d) The department shall draft a request for proposals for any items 70
required to create and implement a state-wide remote learning school. 71
(e) Not later than [July 1, 2023] January 1, 2024, the department shall 72
submit the plan, the draft request for proposals and any 73
recommendations for legislation related to the implementation of such 74
plan to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 75
cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations, in 76
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. 77
Sec. 5. Section 10-220 of the general statutes is amended by adding 78
subsection (g) as follows (Effective July 1, 2023): 79 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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(NEW) (g) Each local or regional board of education conducting a 80
regular or special meeting of such board shall make available for 81
public inspection the agenda for the meeting or any associated 82
documents that may be reviewed by members of the board at such 83
meeting and post such agenda and documents on the Internet web site 84
of such board. 85
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) The Commissioner of 86
Education shall appoint a parent advisory committee and a teacher 87
advisory committee to include the perspective of each committee in the 88
development and implementation of policies by the Department of 89
Education. Each committee shall have the following duties: (1) Advise 90
the commissioner and the administrators and staff of the department, 91
(2) hold meetings at least quarterly, of which at least two annually 92
shall be in person, (3) provide recommendations on the topics, 93
determined in consultation with department administrators, related to 94
improving elementary and secondary education, including, but not 95
limited to, teacher recruitment, special education, testing and 96
assessment, equitable distribution of teachers, diversity among 97
teachers, school safety and social and emotional learning, (4) submit 98
annual reports summarizing the work of such committee to the 99
department, and (5) consult with department administrators, as 100
needed, on the annual report or any recommendations provided 101
pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection. 102
(b) The parent advisory committee and the teacher advisory 103
committee shall each consist of not fewer than ten members. The 104
Commissioner of Education shall appoint the members of each 105
committee from applications submitted to the Department of 106
Education for the purpose of serving on either such committee, in the 107
form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, with the goal of 108
appointing a membership to each committee that is representative of 109
the diversity of teachers and students in the state and in areas of 110
expertise designated by department administrators, in consultation 111
with any existing parent advisory committee and teacher advisory 112 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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committee. 113
(c) The members of the teacher advisory committee shall be regular 114
or special education teachers in the state, not less than five of whom 115
shall also have been members of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year 116
Council in any year as a teacher of the year, finalist or semifinalist. The 117
members of the parent advisory committee shall include 118
representation for urban, suburban and rural school districts and for 119
schools providing an elementary school, middle school and high 120
school education. The commissioner shall appoint only those 121
individuals as members of each committee who have (1) an 122
understanding of current issues in public education, (2) experience 123
working in educational policy, (3) (A) exceptional instructional 124
practice with an ability to engage students as a teacher, or (B) 125
demonstrated a history of holding leadership roles within schools or 126
advocacy groups as a parent, and (4) submitted an application to the 127
department's Talent Office for membership on the parent advisory 128
committee or the teacher advisory committee. 129
(d) For the initial appointments made to the parent advisory group 130
and the teacher advisory group, not fewer than five members of each 131
advisory group shall be appointed for a term of one year from the date 132
of appointment and the remaining five members of each advisory 133
group shall be appointed for a term of two years from the date of 134
appointment. The members appointed to each advisory group in each 135
subsequent year thereafter shall be appointed for a term of two years 136
from the date of appointment. Any member may be reappointed for 137
more than one term, provided such member reapplies for each new 138
term. Members shall continue to serve until their successors are 139
appointed. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term 140
shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term by the 141
Commissioner of Education from the existing pool of applicants for 142
such committee. 143
(e) The members of the parent advisory group and the teacher 144
advisory group shall serve without compensation, except the 145 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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Department of Education shall, within the limits of available funds, 146
reimburse (1) such members for expenses necessarily incurred in the 147
performance of their duties, and (2) the local or regional board of 148
education that employs a member of the teacher advisory group for 149
payments to substitute teachers incurred as a result of such member 150
performing necessary duties for such committee. 151
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 10-220a of the general statutes is 152
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 153
1, 2023): 154
(a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-155
service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil 156
personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or 157
professional educator certificate. Such program shall provide such 158
teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) 159
the nature and the relationship of alcohol and drugs, as defined in 160
subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, to health and personality 161
development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health 162
and mental health risk reduction education that includes, but need not 163
be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and 164
the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, 165
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as 166
defined in section 19a-581, violence, teen dating violence, domestic 167
violence and child abuse, (3) school violence prevention, conflict 168
resolution, the prevention of and response to youth suicide and the 169
identification and prevention of and response to bullying, as defined in 170
subsection (a) of section 10-222d, except that those boards of education 171
that implement any evidence-based model approach that is approved 172
by the Department of Education and is consistent with subsection (c) 173
of section 10-145a, sections 10-222d, 10-222g and 10-222h, subsection 174
(g) of section 10-233c and sections 1 and 3 of public act 08-160, shall not 175
be required to provide in-service training on the identification and 176
prevention of and response to bullying, (4) cardiopulmonary 177
resuscitation and other emergency life saving procedures, (5) the 178 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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requirements and obligations of a mandated reporter, (6) the detection 179
and recognition of, and evidence -based structured literacy 180
interventions for, students with dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d, 181
(7) culturally responsive pedagogy and practice, including, but not 182
limited to, the video training module relating to implicit bias and anti-183
bias in the hiring process in accordance with the provisions of section 184
10-156hh, [and] (8) the principles and practices of social-emotional 185
learning and restorative practices, and (9) emergency response to 186
students who experience a seizure in a school, including, but not 187
limited to, the recognition of the signs and symptoms of seizures, the 188
appropriate steps for seizure first aid, information about seizure action 189
plans for students and, for those authorized to administer medication 190
under section 10-212a, the administration of seizure rescue medication 191
or prescribed electrical stimulation using a Vagus Nerve Stimulator 192
magnet. Each local or regional board of education may allow any 193
paraprofessional or noncertified employee to participate, on a 194
voluntary basis, in any in-service training program provided pursuant 195
to this section. 196
Sec. 8. Subsection (e) of section 10-16x of the general statutes is 197
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 198
1, 2023): 199
(e) The Department of Education shall, [provide grant recipients 200
with technical assistance, evaluation, program monitoring, 201
professional development and accreditation support] in collaboration 202
with regional educational service centers, support grant recipients by 203
(1) monitoring and evaluating programs and activities, (2) conducting 204
a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of programs and 205
implementing risk assessments, (3) providing technical assistance and 206
training to eligible applicants, and (4) ensuring program activities are 207
aligned with state academic standards. The department may retain up 208
to [four] seven and one-half per cent of the amount appropriated for 209
the grant program for purposes of this subsection. 210
Sec. 9. Section 10-212k of the general statutes is repealed and the 211 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 212
On and after September 1, [2023] 2024, each local and regional board 213
of education shall provide free menstrual products, as defined in 214
section 18-69e, in women's restrooms, all-gender restrooms and at least 215
one men's restroom, which restrooms are accessible to students in 216
grades three to twelve, inclusive, in each school under the jurisdiction 217
of such boards and in a manner that does not stigmatize any student 218
seeking such products, pursuant to guidelines established by the 219
Commissioner of Public Health under section 19a-131l. To carry out 220
the provisions of this section, the local and regional boards of 221
education may (1) accept donations of menstrual products and grants 222
from any source for the purpose of purchasing such products, and (2) 223
partner with a nonprofit or community-based organization. 224
Sec. 10. Subdivision (21) of section 10-183b of the general statutes is 225
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 226
1, 2023): 227
(21) "Public school" means any day school conducted within or 228
without this state under the orders and superintendence of a duly 229
elected school committee, a board of education, the State Board of 230
Education, the Office of Early Childhood, the Board of Regents for 231
Higher Education, or any of its constituent units, The University of 232
Connecticut Board of Trustees, the board of governors or any of its 233
constituent units, the Technical Education and Career System, the E. O. 234
Smith School, the Children's Center and its successors, the State 235
Education Resource Center established pursuant to section 10-4q of the 236
2014 supplement to the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to 237
January 1, 2013, the State Education Resource Center established 238
pursuant to section 10-357a, joint activities of boards of education 239
authorized by subsection (b) of section 10-158a and (A) any institution 240
supported by the state at which teachers are employed or any 241
incorporated secondary school not under the orders and 242
superintendence of a duly elected school committee or board of 243
education but located in a town not maintaining a high school and 244 Substitute Bill No. 6880
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providing free tuition to pupils of the town in which it is located, and 245
which has been approved by the State Board of Education under the 246
provisions of part II of chapter 164, or (B) on and after July 1, 2023, any 247
school operated by an interdistrict magnet school operator described in 248
section 10-264s, provided [that] such institution, [or such] secondary 249
school or school is classified as a public school by the retirement board. 250
Sec. 11. (Effective July 1, 2023) The Teachers' Retirement Board shall 251
classify each school operated by Goodwin University Magnet Schools, 252
Inc., and Goodwin University Educational Services, Inc., as a public 253
school, as defined in subdivision (21) of section 10-183b of the general 254
statutes, as amended by this act, and shall admit each teacher, as 255
defined in subdivision (28) of section 10-183b of the general statutes, 256
employed by Goodwin University Magnet Schools, Inc., and Goodwin 257
University Educational Services, Inc., into the Connecticut teachers' 258
retirement system. 259
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 10-220(e)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 10-215(d)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 10-73d
Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 10-15k
Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 10-220(g)
Sec. 6 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2023 10-220a(a)
Sec. 8 July 1, 2023 10-16x(e)
Sec. 9 July 1, 2023 10-212k
Sec. 10 July 1, 2023 10-183b(21)
Sec. 11 July 1, 2023 New section
APP Joint Favorable Subst.