CT
Connecticut House Bill HB06881

Connecticut 2023 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06881 Compare Versions

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55 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6881
66 January Session, 2023
77 LCO No. 5554
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1010 Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
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1313 Introduced by:
1414 (ED)
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1919 AN ACT CONCERNING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE EDUCATION
2020 STATUTES RELATED TO EDUCATOR COMPENSATION AND
2121 PARAEDUCATORS.
2222 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
2323 Assembly convened:
2424
2525 Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 10-148d of the general statutes is 1
2626 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2727 2023): 3
2828 (a) For the school year commencing July 1, [2022] 2023, and each 4
2929 school year thereafter, each paraeducator employed by a local or 5
3030 regional board of education shall participate in a program of 6
3131 professional development. Each local and regional board of education 7
3232 shall make available, annually, at no cost to its paraeducators, a 8
3333 program of professional development that is not fewer than eighteen 9
3434 hours in length, of which a preponderance is in a small group or 10
3535 individual instructional setting. Such program of professional 11
3636 development shall (1) be a comprehensive, sustained and intensive 12
3737 approach to improving paraeducators effectiveness in increasing 13
3838 student knowledge achievement, (2) focus on refining and improving 14 Raised Bill No. 6881
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4444 various effective instruction methods that are shared between and 15
4545 among paraeducators, (3) foster collective responsibility for improved 16
4646 student performance, (4) be comprised of professional learning that (A) 17
4747 is aligned with rigorous state student academic achievement standards, 18
4848 (B) is conducted among paraeducators at the school and facilitated by 19
4949 principals, coaches, mentors, distinguished educators, as described in 20
5050 section 10-145s, or other appropriate teachers, (C) occurs frequently on 21
5151 an individual basis or among groups of paraeducators in a job-22
5252 embedded process of continuous improvement, and (D) includes a 23
5353 repository of best practices for instruction methods developed by 24
5454 paraeducators within each school that is continuously available to such 25
5555 paraeducators for comment and updating, and (5) include training in 26
5656 culturally responsive pedagogy and practice. Each program of 27
5757 professional development shall include professional development 28
5858 activities in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this 29
5959 section. The [principles and practices of social-emotional learning and 30
6060 restorative practices shall be integrated throughout the] components of 31
6161 such program of professional development described in subdivisions (1) 32
6262 to (5), inclusive, of this subsection shall integrate the principles and 33
6363 practices of social-emotional learning and restorative practices 34
6464 throughout, but may not otherwise include mandated trainings such as 35
6565 trainings regarding blood-borne pathogens, the policies and procedures 36
6666 of the Department of Children and Families and sexual harassment. 37
6767 Sec. 2. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 10-220a of the general statutes 38
6868 are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 39
6969 1, 2023): 40
7070 (b) Not later than a date prescribed by the commissioner, each local 41
7171 and regional board of education shall establish a professional 42
7272 development and evaluation committee. Such professional 43
7373 development and evaluation committee shall consist of (1) at least one 44
7474 teacher, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-144d, selected by the 45
7575 exclusive bargaining representative for certified employees chosen 46
7676 pursuant to section 10-153b, (2) at least one administrator, as defined in 47
7777 subsection (a) of section 10-144e, selected by the exclusive bargaining 48 Raised Bill No. 6881
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8383 representative for certified employees chosen pursuant to section 10-49
8484 153b, [and] (3) at least one paraeducator selected by any exclusive 50
8585 bargaining representative for paraeducators, and (4) such other school 51
8686 personnel as the board deems appropriate. The duties of such 52
8787 committees shall include, but not be limited to, participation in the 53
8888 development or adoption of a teacher evaluation and support program 54
8989 for the district, pursuant to section 10-151b, and the development, 55
9090 evaluation and annual updating of a comprehensive local professional 56
9191 development plan for certified employees of the district. Such plan shall: 57
9292 (A) Be directly related to the educational goals prepared by the local or 58
9393 regional board of education pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220, 59
9494 (B) on and after July 1, 2021, be developed with full consideration of the 60
9595 priorities and needs related to student social-emotional learning and 61
9696 restorative practices, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-62
9797 148a, and student academic outcomes as determined by the State Board 63
9898 of Education, (C) provide for the ongoing and systematic assessment 64
9999 and improvement of both teacher evaluation and professiona l 65
100100 development of the professional staff members of each such board, 66
101101 including personnel management and evaluation training or experience 67
102102 for administrators, and (D) be related to regular and special student 68
103103 needs and may include provisions concerning career incentives and 69
104104 parent involvement. The State Board of Education shall develop 70
105105 guidelines to assist local and regional boards of education in 71
106106 determining the objectives of the plans and in coordinating staff 72
107107 development activities with student needs and school programs. For the 73
108108 school year commencing July 1, 2022, and each school year thereafter, 74
109109 such committees shall develop, evaluate and annually update a 75
110110 comprehensive local professional development plan for paraeducators 76
111111 of the district in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. 77
112112 (c) (1) The Department of Education, in cooperation with one or more 78
113113 regional educational service centers, is authorized to provide institutes 79
114114 annually for Connecticut educators. Such institutes shall serve as model 80
115115 programs of professional development and shall be taught by 81
116116 exemplary Connecticut teachers and administrators and by other 82 Raised Bill No. 6881
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122122 qualified individuals as selected by the Department of Education. The 83
123123 Department of Education shall charge fees for attending such institutes 84
124124 provided such fees shall be based on the actual cost of such institutes. 85
125125 (2) Not later than January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the 86
126126 Department of Education shall (A) in collaboration with the School 87
127127 Paraeducator Advisory Council, develop or update guidance and best 88
128128 practices for programs of professional development provided for 89
129129 paraeducators, and (B) distribute such guidance and best practices to 90
130130 each local and regional board of education. 91
131131 Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 10-10a of the general statutes is 92
132132 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 93
133133 2023): 94
134134 (c) The state-wide public school information system shall: 95
135135 (1) Track and report data relating to student, teacher and school and 96
136136 district performance growth and make such information available to 97
137137 local and regional boards of education for use in evaluating educational 98
138138 performance and growth of teachers and students enrolled in public 99
139139 schools in the state. Such information shall be collected or calculated 100
140140 based on information received from local and regional boards of 101
141141 education and other relevant sources. Such information shall include, 102
142142 but not be limited to: 103
143143 (A) In addition to performance on state-wide mastery examinations 104
144144 pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, data relating to students shall 105
145145 include, but not be limited to, (i) the primary language spoken at the 106
146146 home of a student, (ii) student transcripts, (iii) student attendance and 107
147147 student mobility, (iv) reliable, valid assessments of a student's readiness 108
148148 to enter public school at the kindergarten level, and (v) data collected, if 109
149149 any, from the preschool experience survey, described in section 10-515; 110
150150 (B) Data relating to teachers shall include, but not be limited to, (i) 111
151151 teacher credentials, such as master's degrees, teacher preparation 112
152152 programs completed and certification levels and endorsement areas, (ii) 113 Raised Bill No. 6881
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158158 teacher assessments, such as whether a teacher is deemed highly 114
159159 qualified pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110, or 115
160160 deemed to meet such other designations as may be established by 116
161161 federal law or regulations for the purposes of tracking the equitable 117
162162 distribution of instructional staff, (iii) the presence of substitute teachers 118
163163 in a teacher's classroom, (iv) class size, (v) numbers relating to 119
164164 absenteeism in a teacher's classroom, and (vi) the presence of a teacher's 120
165165 aide. The department shall assign a unique teacher identifier to each 121
166166 teacher prior to collecting such data in the public school information 122
167167 system; 123
168168 (C) Data relating to schools and districts shall include, but not be 124
169169 limited to, (i) school population, (ii) annual student graduation rates, 125
170170 (iii) annual teacher retention rates, (iv) school disciplinary records, such 126
171171 as data relating to suspensions, expulsions and other disciplinary 127
172172 actions, (v) the percentage of students whose primary language is not 128
173173 English, (vi) the number of and professional credentials of support 129
174174 personnel, (vii) information relating to instructional technology, such as 130
175175 access to computers, and (viii) disaggregated measures of school-based 131
176176 arrests pursuant to section 10-233n; and 132
177177 (D) Data related to paraeducators shall include, but not be limited to, 133
178178 (i) total number of paraeducators employed in each school district, (ii) 134
179179 assigned job title, (iii) hourly rate of pay, (iv) number of working days 135
180180 and hours, (v) health care contributions as a percentage of salary, and 136
181181 (vi) annual salary calculated by multiplying working hours and hourly 137
182182 rate of pay. The department shall assign a unique paraeducator 138
183183 identifier to each paraeducator prior to collecting such data in the public 139
184184 school information system. 140
185185 (2) Collect data relating to student enrollment in and graduation from 141
186186 institutions of higher education for any student who had been assigned 142
187187 a unique student identifier pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, 143
188188 provided such data is available. 144
189189 (3) Develop means for access to and data sharing with the data 145 Raised Bill No. 6881
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195195 systems of public institutions of higher education in the state. 146
196196 Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) Not later than December 1, 2023, 147
197197 and annually thereafter, the Department of Education shall post on the 148
198198 department's Internet web site and submit, in accordance with the 149
199199 provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 150
200200 committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 151
201201 relating to education a report concerning the staffing level of 152
202202 paraeducators in schools. Such report shall include, but need not be 153
203203 limited to, for each school district in the state (1) the number of vacancies 154
204204 for paraeducator positions, (2) paraeducator to student staffing ratios, 155
205205 and (3) the impact of such vacancies on students and student learning. 156
206206 Sec. 5. Subparagraph (I) of subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of section 157
207207 10-76d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is 158
208208 substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 159
209209 (I) Prior to any planning and placement team meeting for a child or 160
210210 pupil in which an educational program for such child or pupil is 161
211211 developed, reviewed or revised, if the parent, guardian, pupil or 162
212212 surrogate parent has requested that the school paraprofessional 163
213213 assigned to such child or pupil attend such meeting, then the 164
214214 responsible local or regional board of education shall provide (i) 165
215215 adequate notice of such meeting to such school paraprofessional so that 166
216216 such school paraprofessional may adequately prepare for such meeting, 167
217217 and (ii) training, upon request of such school paraprofessional, on the 168
218218 role of such school paraprofessional at such meeting. Following such 169
219219 meeting, such school paraprofessional, or any other paraprofessional 170
220220 who is providing special education or related services to such child, 171
221221 shall review such educational program with a supervisor, as needed, 172
222222 and be permitted to view such educational program in order to be able 173
223223 to provide special education or related services to such child or pupil in 174
224224 accordance with such educational program. 175
225225 Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: 176
226226 (1) "Resident student" means each student counted toward the 177 Raised Bill No. 6881
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232232 calculation of a town's entitlement to an equalization aid grant pursuant 178
233233 to section 10-262h of the general statutes; 179
234234 (2) "Teacher" has the same meaning provided in section 10-151 of the 180
235235 general statutes; and 181
236236 (3) "Paraeducator" means an employee of a local or regional board of 182
237237 education who assists teachers or other professional educators in the 183
238238 delivery of instructional and related services to students. 184
239239 (b) The Comptroller shall establish a grant program to supplement 185
240240 the salaries of educators and paraeducators in the state for the fiscal 186
241241 years ending June 30, 2024, and June 30, 2025. Not later than September 187
242242 first of each fiscal year, the Comptroller shall pay to each town 188
243243 maintaining public schools according to law a percentage of the total 189
244244 appropriation for such purpose equal to each town's proportional share 190
245245 of the total state-wide equalization aid grants received by such town 191
246246 during such fiscal year pursuant to section 10-262h of the general 192
247247 statutes. 193
248248 (c) Not later than five days after the receipt of a grant payment 194
249249 pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, each town shall pay a 195
250250 proportional share of such grant payment to (1) the local board of 196
251251 education in an amount equal to the proportion of total resident 197
252252 students that is enrolled in schools governed by such board, and (2) any 198
253253 regional board of education in which a resident student is enrolled in an 199
254254 amount equal to the proportion of total resident students that is enrolled 200
255255 in school governed by such board. 201
256256 (d) Each local or regional board of education that receives any portion 202
257257 of the grant payment pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, shall use 203
258258 such grant payment to supplement the salaries of each teacher and each 204
259259 paraeducator employed by such board. The amount paid to each teacher 205
260260 and paraeducator shall be subject to collective bargaining provided each 206
261261 teacher salary is not less than three and one quarter times and each 207
262262 paraeducator salary is not less than three and three quarters times the 208
263263 current federal poverty level for a family of two. Contracts for teachers 209 Raised Bill No. 6881
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269269 and paraeducators may be reopened exclusively for the purpose of this 210
270270 subsection subject to the provisions of sections 10-153a to 10-153n, 211
271271 inclusive, of the general statutes, except, upon mutual agreement of the 212
272272 parties such negotiations may (1) include other conditions of 213
273273 employment, and (2) be excluded from the binding arbitration 214
274274 provisions of section 10-153f of the general statutes. No amount of the 215
275275 grant payment may be used to supplant the teacher and paraeducator 216
276276 salary included in such board's budget for such fiscal year. 217
277277 Sec. 7. (Effective from passage) The sum of six hundred million dollars 218
278278 is appropriated to the office of the Comptroller from the General Fund, 219
279279 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, for the grant program 220
280280 established pursuant to section 6 of this act. 221
281281 Sec. 8. (Effective July 1, 2024) An amount equal to twenty per cent of 222
282282 the discretionary budget surplus of the General Fund is appropriated to 223
283283 the office of the Comptroller from the General Fund, for the fiscal year 224
284284 ending June 30, 2025, for the grant program established pursuant to 225
285285 section 6 of this act. 226
286286 Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Any contract negotiated on and 227
287287 after the effective date of this section for the compensation of (1) 228
288288 teachers, as defined in section 10-151 of the general statutes, shall 229
289289 maintain a minimum scheduled annual salary in an amount not less 230
290290 than three and one quarter times the federal poverty limit for a family 231
291291 of two, (2) paraeducators, as defined in section 6 of this act, and 232
292292 collectively bargained pursuant to sections 10-153a to 10-153n, inclusive, 233
293293 of the general statutes, shall maintain a minimum scheduled annual 234
294294 salary in an amount not less than three and three quarters times the 235
295295 federal poverty limit for a family of two. Contracts for teachers and 236
296296 paraeducators may be reopened exclusively for the purpose of this 237
297297 section subject to the provisions of sections 10-153a to 10-153n, inclusive, 238
298298 of the general statutes, except, upon mutual agreement of the parties 239
299299 such negotiations may include other conditions of employment. 240
300300 Sec. 10. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Each local or regional board of 241 Raised Bill No. 6881
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306306 education that employs a paraeducator, as defined in section 6 of this 242
307307 act, shall employ such paraeducator for not fewer than twenty hours a 243
308308 week. The Commissioner of Education may waive the requirement set 244
309309 forth in this section if the commissioner finds that extraordinary 245
310310 circumstances, in the commissioner's discretion, require employing a 246
311311 paraeducator for fewer than twenty hours a week for period not to 247
312312 exceed one school year. 248
313313 Sec. 11. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Notwithstanding 249
314314 subdivision (1) of subsection (i) of section 5-259 of the general statutes, 250
315315 each local or regional board of education shall offer the Municipal 251
316316 Employee Health Insurance Plan, established pursuant to subsection (i) 252
317317 of section 5-259 of the general statutes, to any paraeducator employed 253
318318 by such board. Each paraeducator who elects such coverage shall (1) be 254
319319 eligible to participate in such plan for a full calendar year, (2) pay the 255
320320 employee's share of the premium for such coverage subject to the 256
321321 provisions of subsection (b) of this section, and (3) may opt to receive a 257
322322 salary over a twelve month period to facilitate the payment of the 258
323323 employee's share of the premium for such coverage. 259
324324 (b) The portions of the premium for the coverage offered pursuant to 260
325325 subsection (a) of this section to be paid by the employer and the 261
326326 employee shall be subject to collective bargaining between the 262
327327 authorized representative of the local or regional board of education 263
328328 and the employee organization that represents paraeducators. 264
329329 (c) The Comptroller shall annually pay to each local or regional board 265
330330 of education not less than fifty per cent of the cost to such board for the 266
331331 coverage offered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. 267
332332 Sec. 12. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Notwithstanding any 268
333333 provision of the general statutes, each local and regional board of 269
334334 education shall pay for each paraeducator, as defined in section 6 of this 270
335335 act, employed by such board the full employee contribution required 271
336336 pursuant to the Municipal Employees Retirement System or any other 272
337337 retirement system in which such board participates, provided such 273 Raised Bill No. 6881
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343343 payment shall not exceed the amount of the full employee contribution 274
344344 required pursuant to the Municipal Employees Retirement System. 275
345345 (b) The Comptroller shall annually pay to each local or regional board 276
346346 of education not less than fifty per cent of the cost to such board for the 277
347347 payment of the employee contribution for retirement benefits pursuant 278
348348 to subsection (a) of this section. 279
349349 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
350350 sections:
351351
352352 Section 1 July 1, 2023 10-148d(a)
353353 Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 10-220a(b) and (c)
354354 Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 10-10a(c)
355355 Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 New section
356356 Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 10-76d(a)(10)(I)
357357 Sec. 6 from passage New section
358358 Sec. 7 from passage New section
359359 Sec. 8 July 1, 2024 New section
360360 Sec. 9 from passage New section
361361 Sec. 10 from passage New section
362362 Sec. 11 from passage New section
363363 Sec. 12 from passage New section
364364
365365 Statement of Purpose:
366366 To (1) exclude mandated trainings from professional development
367367 programs for paraeducators, (2) include a paraeducator on professional
368368 development and evaluation committees, (3) require the collection of
369369 data concerning paraeducators on the state-wide public school
370370 information system, (4) require an annual report on paraeducator
371371 staffing levels, (5) require paraeducators to review a student's
372372 individualized education program with a supervisor, as needed, (6)
373373 require the establishment of a grant program to supplement teacher and
374374 paraeducator salaries, (7) establish a minimum salary for teachers and
375375 paraeducators, (8) require boards of education to (A) offer the Municipal
376376 Employee Health Insurance Plan to paraeducators, and (B) pay the
377377 employee contribution required under a retirement system for
378378 paraeducators, and (9) require the state to pay not less than fifty per cent
379379 of the cost to boards of education for providing the Municipal Employee
380380 Health Insurance Plan and for paying the employee contribution for
381381 retirement benefits. Raised Bill No. 6881
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387387 [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
388388 that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
389389 underlined.]
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