Researcher: JM Page 1 4/13/23
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1
AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSPARENCY IN EDUCATION.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§§ 1-3 — REVIEW OF CHART OF ACCOUNTS
Requires SDE, starting by January 1, 2024, to annually review of each school district’s
chart of accounts for the previous fiscal year; requires SDE to prepare a report for each
school board using the chart of accounts that includes information in certain categories;
requires SDE to submit the chart of accounts to the Education and Appropriations
committees by July 1, 2023
§§ 4 & 5 — NEW BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER REQUIRED
TRAINING
Requires SDE to provide, and newly elected school board members to take, training on the
responsibilities and obligations of being a school board member
§ 6 — FIELD EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENT TEACHERS
Removes a requirement that student teacher field experience be divided between different
groups of school districts categorized by DRG status
§ 7 — ALLIANCE DISTRICTS
Modifies the alliance district program by, among other things, removing the limit on new
districts and specifically allowing alliance funds to be used on new family resource centers
§ 8 — PATHWAYS IN TECHNOLOGY EARLY COLLE GE HIGH
SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANT
Requires SDE to create a grant for new or expanded pathways in technology early college
high school programs in alliance districts
§ 9 — LIMITS ON SALE OF CERTAIN FOODS IN SCHOOL
Prohibits the sale of food in school if the name or brand on the packaging is similar to that
of a product sold outside of school but the nutritional value is different
§ 10 — WHOLESOME SCH OOL MEALS PILOT PROGRAM
Requires SDE to administer a wholesome school meals pilot program to award five grants
to alliance districts to embed a professional chef in the district to assist school meal
programs
BACKGROUND
§§ 1-3 — REVIEW OF CHART OF ACCOUNTS
Requires SDE, starting by January 1, 2024, to annually review of each school district’s
chart of accounts for the previous fiscal year; requires SDE to prepare a report for each
school board using the chart of accounts that includes information in certain categories; 2023SB-00001-R000551-BA.DOCX
Researcher: JM Page 2 4/13/23
requires SDE to submit the chart of accounts to the Education and Appropriations
committees by July 1, 2023
The bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE), starting
by January 1, 2024, to annually review each local or regional board of
education’s (i.e., “school board”) chart of accounts for the previous fiscal
year, which current law generally requires each school board to file with
SDE (see below). Following the review, SDE must prepare for each
school board a report that includes the school district’s financial
information for the following categories:
1. expense function (e.g., instruction, support services, operation
and maintenance, transportation, etc.);
2. expense object (e.g., salaries, benefits, purchased services,
supplies, etc.);
3. education type;
4. pre-k flag (presumably, the pre-k code used by SDE’s Education
Financial System);
5. allocation; and
6. funding source.
Within each category, the financial information must be
disaggregated by each SDE education financial system code.
The bill requires the report and the chart of accounts for each school
board to be made available on the SDE website.
By law, SDE must develop and implement a uniform system of
accounting for school revenues and expenditures that includes a chart
of accounts for use at the school and school district level. The chart of
accounts generally must include all amounts and sources of revenue
and cash or real property donations, that in aggregate total $500 or more,
that a board of education, regional education service center (RESC),
charter school, or charter management organization receives. 2023SB-00001-R000551-BA.DOCX
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Current law also requires school boards, RESCs, and state charter
schools to implement this uniform system by filing annual financial
reports. The bill sets a new deadline by requiring that the first annual
financial reports apply to FY 24, essentially waiving the requirement for
FY 23 reports. It also makes a corresponding change requiring SDE to
submit the chart of accounts to the Education and Appropriations
committees by July 1, 2023.
The bill changes references in the related law to specify that the
receipts, expenditures, and statistics are submitted by filing the chart of
accounts. And as under current law, the bill allows any revisions of the
information to be submitted by December 31, but it also specifies that
this must be done using the chart of accounts. The bill also eliminates a
provision that the education commissioner can waive the penalty
(between $1,000 and $10,000) for good cause.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except the provision on SDE’s
annual review of each school board’s chart of accounts and reports for
each school district is effective July 1, 2023.
§§ 4 & 5 — NEW BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER REQUIRED
TRAINING
Requires SDE to provide, and newly elected school board members to take, training on the
responsibilities and obligations of being a school board member
The bill requires SDE to develop a training program that at least
includes the role and responsibilities of a school board member, the
duties and obligations of a board of education, and school district
budgeting and education finance. SDE must begin offering the annual
training by July 1, 2023, and first-time elected school board members
must complete the training at a time and in a way SDE determines, but
within one year after assuming office.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
§ 6 — FIELD EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENT TEACH ERS
Removes a requirement that student teacher field experience be divided between different
groups of school districts categorized by DRG status
By law, teacher preparation programs must require students in their 2023SB-00001-R000551-BA.DOCX
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programs to perform clinical experience, field experience, or student
teaching during four semesters of the program. Current law requires
this experience to be performed in two separate categories of school
districts. The categories are determined by District Reference Groups
(DRGs), which is a method of sorting school districts by lettered groups
“A” through “I,” with “A” being the group of school districts that is the
top performing academically and “I” being the lowest.
The bill eliminates the requirement that the clinical, field, or student
teaching experience occur in two categories: one from the DRGs in the
category that includes from “A” to “E” and one from the DRGs “F” to
“I.”
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
§ 7 — ALLIANCE DISTRICTS
Modifies the alliance district program by, among other things, removing the limit on new
districts and specifically allowing alliance funds to be used on new family resource centers
Under current law, the education commissioner has designated 36
alliance districts for five years, beginning with FY 23. The designation
applies to (1) the 33 school districts with the lowest accountability index
(AI) scores and (2) three districts that were designated in previous years
but may not now be among the 33 with the lowest scores (see
Background).
The bill removes a limit on the number of alliance districts by
allowing the education commissioner to designate additional school
districts as alliance districts without a limit. The bill also removes the
five-year term on the designation.
The alliance program generally requires the comptroller to withhold
from an alliance district town any increase in education cost sharing
(ECS) funds that exceeds the amount the town received in 2012 or, for
districts designated last year, the amount of the ECS funds over the FY
22 amount. The comptroller transfers the money to the education
commissioner to withhold until she approves the district’s alliance
district application and plan to improve academic performance. The bill
makes a conforming change for newly designated alliance districts, 2023SB-00001-R000551-BA.DOCX
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requiring the comptroller to withhold any increase in ECS funds
received over the amount the town received in the fiscal year prior to
the alliance designation.
The bill also expands the items that alliance funding can be spent on
to include establishing a family resource center in each elementary
school under the school board’s jurisdiction. Family resource centers
provide child care services, remedial educational and literacy services,
families-in-training programs, and support services to parents receiving
temporary family assistance or other parents in need.
By law, alliance districts must spend their alliance funds (1) according
to the plan submitted with the application; (2) on the minority candidate
certification, retention, and residency program; (3) on ECS spending
requirements; and (4) for any other items allowed under SDE
guidelines.
Background — Accountability Index Scores
By law, the “accountability index score” for a school district or an
individual school is the score resulting from multiple weighted
measures that (1) include the mastery test scores (i.e., the performance
index score) and high school graduation rates and (2) may include
academic growth over time, attendance and chronic absenteeism,
postsecondary education and career readiness, enrollment in and
graduation from higher education institutions and postsecondary
education programs, civics and arts education, and physical fitness
(CGS § 10-223e(a)).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
§ 8 — PATHWAYS IN TE CHNOLOGY EARLY COLLE GE HIGH
SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANT
Requires SDE to create a grant for new or expanded pathways in technology early college
high school programs in alliance districts
The bill requires SDE to create a grant for new or expanded pathways
in technology early college high school programs in alliance districts.
Under the bill a “pathways in technology early college high school
program” is an instructional program in which students in grades nine 2023SB-00001-R000551-BA.DOCX
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to 12, inclusive, complete high school and college-level coursework
while also engaging in industry-guided workforce development.
Starting with FY 2024, SDE must annually issue a request for
proposals to alliance district school boards to (1) enhance an existing
pathways in technology early college high school program or (2)
establish a new public-private partnership (i.e., a relationship between
an alliance district board of education, a community college, and a
private entity to create a pathways in technology early college high
school program).
The department must review the proposals and award a grant to two
school boards for the costs associated with establishing a new public-
private partnership or enhancing a pathway in technology early college
high school program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
§ 9 — LIMITS ON SALE OF CERTAIN FOODS IN SCHOOL
Prohibits the sale of food in school if the name or brand on the packaging is similar to that
of a product sold outside of school but the nutritional value is different
The bill prohibits the sale of food in a public school (or to a board of
education) if the name or branding on the food packaging offered in the
school is the same or similar as on the packaging offered outside of the
school in the general market place, but the nutritional value is different.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
§ 10 — WHOLESOME SCHOOL M EALS PILOT PROGRAM
Requires SDE to administer a wholesome school meals pilot program to award five grants
to alliance districts to embed a professional chef in the district to assist school meal
programs
For FYs 24 to 26, the bill requires SDE to administer a wholesome
school meals pilot program that awards five grants to embed a
professional chef in five alliance districts. The chef must help school
meal programs build food service staff capacity, improve meal quality,
increase diner satisfaction, streamline operations, and establish a
financially viable school meal program. 2023SB-00001-R000551-BA.DOCX
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The bill requires SDE to partner with an organization that specializes
in placing chefs for the pilot program’s purposes.
Under the bill, an alliance district may apply for the grant by October
1, 2023, on an application the department sets.
Application Review and Grant Awards
The bill requires SDE to review each application and award five
grants. Each grant recipient must receive an annual $150,000 grant in
each year of the pilot. The grant must be spent on the wholesome meals
pilot program.
Report to the Legislature
By January 1, 2027, SDE must report on the school meals pilot
program to the Education and Appropriations committees.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sHB 5003, favorably reported out by the Education Committee,
revises the alliance district program by lowing the number designated
from 36 to 20 and renames them educational reform districts.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Education Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 28 Nay 16 (03/24/2023)