OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS Legislative Office Building, Room 5200 Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200 http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa sHB-6880 AN ACT CONCERNING ASSORTED REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS TO THE EDUCATION STATUTES. As Amended by House "A" (LCO 8376) House Calendar No.: 361 Primary Analyst: DD 5/24/23 Contributing Analyst(s): OFA Fiscal Note State Impact: Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Higher Ed., Off. GF - Cost 75,000 75,000 Higher Ed., Off. GF – Potential Cost See Below See Below Office of Early Childhood GF – Potential Cost None See Below State Comptroller - Fringe Benefits 1 GF - Cost 32,115 32,115 Note: GF=General Fund Municipal Impact: Municipalities Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Local and Regional School Districts Potential Cost Minimal Minimal The Out Years The bill makes several changes to various education statutes resulting in (1) costs to the Office of Higher Education, and (2) potential costs to the Office of Early Childhood and local and regional school districts. The amendment also makes several changes which have no fiscal 1 The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 42.82% of payroll in FY 24. 2023HB-06880-R02-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 5 impact. The fiscal impact of each section is described below. Section 1 specifies that the edTPA preservice performance assessment tool shall only be used as an accountability tool, and not to deny an application for the issuance of an initial educator certificate. This has no fiscal impact. Section 2 allows the State Board of Labor Relations to issue cease and desist orders when a local or regional school district or collective bargaining unit alleges that a prohibited practice has occurred, under certain circumstances, beginning in FY 24. This is a procedural change that has no fiscal impact. Section 3 changes the kindergarten entry age of 5 from January to September beginning in FY 25 which would likely impact the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) expenditures on child care and school readiness programs to the extent that OEC is required to provide continuity of services for those children impacted by the provisions of the bill. For reference, the preschool rate for School Readiness and Child Day Care programs is approximately $8,900 per child per year. Section 4 requires local and regional school districts to incorporate play-based learning into instructional time for kindergarten and preschool students, and to permit such instruction by teachers of grades one through five, beginning in FY 25. There is a potential minimal cost to the extent that this requires purchase of any materials or supplies needed to facilitate play-based learning. Section 5 expands professional development requirements for educators to include play-based learning and, for principals and vice principals, to include management of school personnel and methods for engaging school personnel with the goals of the school. There is a potential, minimal cost beginning in FY 25 to districts associated with the purchase of any materials relevant to the new trainings established by the amendment. 2023HB-06880-R02-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 5 Section 6 requires, beginning in FY 24, local and regional school districts to develop exit surveys and administer them to teachers who resign voluntarily. Section 7 requires districts to submit the results of these surveys, and associated attrition rates, to the State Department of Education. These provisions have no fiscal impact as it is anticipated that districts can complete the requirement with existing resources. Section 8 expands membership of the Connecticut Advisory Council for Teacher Professional Standards. This has no fiscal impact as members are not compensated. Section 9 establishes a task force to study the per pupil equity of funding of the Teachers' Retirement System. This has no fiscal impact as legislative task force members are not compensated. Section 10 expands professional development for paraprofessionals to include social and emotional learning, and specifies that such professional development cannot include certain mandatory trainings. This has no fiscal impact, as it is not anticipated to change the cost to local or regional school districts of providing professional development for paraprofessionals. Section 11 requires the professional development and evaluation committee for each local and regional school district to include at least one paraeducator. This has no fiscal impact. It also requires the State Department of Education to annually develop or update guidance and best practices for professional development for paraeducators and to distribute those best practices to local and regional school districts. This has no fiscal impact as it is anticipated that SDE can meet this requirement with existing resources. Section 12 requires a paraprofessional who is working with a child receiving special education services to review the child's educational program with a supervisor, as needed, after any planning and placement team meeting. This procedural change has no fiscal impact. Sections 13, 15 to 18 make several changes regarding teacher 2023HB-06880-R02-FN.DOCX Page 4 of 5 certification, permits, and endorsements. These changes have no fiscal impact as they are not anticipated to change any costs to districts associated with educator staff or revenue to SDE regarding fees. Section 14 requires the Office of Higher Education (OHE) to hire one full-time employee for the existing alternate route to the certification program and to expand the program. This is anticipated to result in a personnel cost to OHE of approximately $75,000 annually beginning in FY 24 for a full-time Senior Consultant position with corresponding fringe benefits of $32,115. Additionally, expanding the program would result in a cost to OHE. The scope of the programmatic costs would be dependent on how the agency expands the program. Section 19 makes changes to the purchase of service statutes in the Teachers’ Retirement System that may result in additional purchases of credited service than permitted under current law. Since the additional credited service permitted under the amendment must be purchased by the member at the full actuarial cost this provision is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact to the state. Sections 20 and 21 make changes to the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) statutes, including requiring the Teachers’ Retirement Board to classify schools operated by Goodwin University Magnet Schools and Goodwin University Educational Service as public schools, that are not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact. Teachers in schools operated by Goodwin University Magnet Schools and Goodwin University Educational Service currently participate in the TRS through the LEARN Regional Educational Services Center. Section 22 makes a technical change regarding the impact of the formation of regional school districts on teacher rights and benefits, which has no fiscal impact. Sections 23 to 27 make several changes regarding teacher evaluation and support. Section 25 requires local and regional school districts to 2023HB-06880-R02-FN.DOCX Page 5 of 5 conduct trainings at least annually for teacher evaluators (instead of biennially), which results in a potential minimal cost beginning in FY 24 associated with the purchase of training materials. The bill makes other minor changes regarding teacher evaluation and support that have no fiscal impact. House "A" strikes the underlying bill and results in the above identified fiscal impact. The Out Years: The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.