OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sHB-6882
AN ACT CONCERNING EDUCATION MANDATE RELIEF.
As Amended by House "A" (LCO 9024)
House Calendar No.: 362
Primary Analyst: DD 6/1/23
Contributing Analyst(s):
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: See Below
Municipal Impact: See Below
The Out Years
The bill makes various changes to education statutes, which are
described by section below.
Section 1 establishes a working group to review and identify
mandates on the State Department of Education and local and regional
school districts and make recommendations, by January 1, 2025, for any
mandates that can be repealed. This has no fiscal impact, as it is
anticipated that the working group can complete these requirements
with existing resources.
Section 2 results in a potential cost beginning in FY 24 to local and
regional school districts by expanding required training for school
personnel to include emergency response to a student having a seizure.
Any cost is anticipated to be minimal, associated with printing materials
and with overtime coverage for staff to attend training. It also makes a
clarifying change regarding school violence prevention training for
school personnel which has no fiscal impact, as it is not anticipated to
change the cost associated with such training.
Section 3 requires school districts to make available certain
information regarding their curriculum. This is a procedural change 2023HB-06882-R010860-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 5
with no fiscal impact.
Section 4 allows a public school student who is a father under age 17
to attend adult education classes. This has no fiscal impact as the
eligibility expansion is not anticipated to significantly increase the cost
of administering adult education programs.
Section 5 specifies the student eligibility for participation in remote
learning and extends the deadline for the State Department of Education
to submit a plan for a remote learning school by six months. This has no
fiscal impact as it is not anticipated to impact the cost of developing the
plan, if any.
To the extent that the bill limits what students are eligible to
participate in remote learning, any impact this has on the cost of
administering a remote learning school will depend on the plan
ultimately developed by SDE.
Section 6 requires local and regional boards of education to make
information relating to regular or special meetings available on the
Internet web site of such boards. This has no fiscal impact as it is
anticipated that local and regional boards of education can meet this
requirement with existing resources.
Section 7 has no fiscal impact. It requires the State Department of
Education to convene a family and community engagement council. The
amendment does not require that any members of the council be
reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
Section 8 requires SDE to conduct certain grant management
activities for the After School program grant. Correspondingly, the bill
increases, from 4% to 7.5%, the amount of After School program grant
funding that the State Department of Education may retain for program
administration. In FY 23, this would have resulted in an approximately
$200,000 increase in the amount SDE may have retained from $230,000
to $430,000, and a commensurate decrease in the amount of funds
provided to qualifying grant recipients. 2023HB-06882-R010860-FN.DOCX Page 3 of 5
Section 9 makes changes regarding the operation of the State
Education Resource Center (SERC) that have no fiscal impact as the
amendment does not change the level of any funding provided to SERC.
Section 10 delays, from FY 24 to FY 25, the cost to local and regional
school districts of providing free menstrual products in certain
restrooms. This does not change the overall cost of providing such
products.
Sections 11 to 28 make technical and conforming changes to the
education and early childhood statutes that result in no fiscal impact.
Sections 29 to 34 make several technical and conforming changes
regarding grants and other revenues to magnet schools and certain Sheff
programs, which have no fiscal impact. The changes are not anticipated
to increase the cost of providing these programs or to affect magnet
school tuition. Additionally, the bill includes minor changes to an
interstate compact, which result in no fiscal impact.
Sections 35 and 37 expand the age eligibility for School Readiness
programs from ages three and four, as well as children aged 5 not
eligible to enroll in school, to birth through four years of age, inclusive,
as well as those children aged 5 who are ineligible to enroll in school.
This precludes future savings to the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to
the extent that the eligibility expansion for the School Readiness
program results in the expenditure of funds that would have otherwise
lapsed. Town-based providers would experience a corresponding
revenue impact associated with the change in their School Readiness
grant, based on the number of children being served.
Section 36 changes School Readiness grant awards from annual to
biennial. While this does not change the total amount of funds
expended, it may alter the distribution of funds, resulting in a revenue
impact to town-based providers.
Section 38, which removes a provision detailing how certain
increases can be spent by providers, has no fiscal impact to the state. 2023HB-06882-R010860-FN.DOCX Page 4 of 5
Section 39 precludes future savings to the Office of Early Childhood
(OEC) by eliminating the sunset date of the Smart Start program. By
making the program permanent, OEC may incur future costs it
otherwise would not have had the program ended, while towns will
experience a corresponding revenue impact. The bill also potentially
changes the distribution of Smart Start funding to towns by eliminating
the option to give priority to plans that allocate spaces for children who
are eligible for free and reduced price lunches.
Section 40 results in a cost to the General Fund of at least $250,000 in
FY 24 and FY 25 to the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to create a
parent cabinet, including hiring one full-time employee to provide
administrative assistance to meet the requirements of the amendment.
Section 41 is a conforming change and has no fiscal impact.
Section 42 allows charter schools and regional educational service
centers (RESC) to join with other public school operators (e.g. local and
regional school districts) and towns for the purpose of providing group
health insurance plans to their employees. To the extent that this
expands the pool of employees that can enter into group health care
plans, there is a potential savings to municipalities and local and
regional school districts associated with reduced health care costs.
Sections 43 and 44 make technical changes regarding charter schools
and have no fiscal impact.
Section 45 requires the State Department of Education to employ at
least one curriculum coordinator. This results in costs to SDE of $143,844
in FY 24 ($100,717 in salary and $43,127 in fringe) and $147,440 in FY 25
($103,235 in salary and $44,205 in fringe).
House "A" strikes the underlying bill and results in the above
identified fiscal impact.
The Out Years: 2023HB-06882-R010860-FN.DOCX Page 5 of 5
The ongoing above identified fiscal impact will continue into the
future subject to inflation.