OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-14
AN ACT ASSISTING SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN IMPROVING
EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES.
AMENDMENT
LCO No.: 5112
File Copy No.: 547
Senate Calendar No.: 321
Primary Analyst: DD 5/3/24
Contributing Analyst(s): SB, LD (NF)
Reviewer: JS
OFA Fiscal Note
See Fiscal Note Details
The amendment establishes the Early Start CT program, which
results in the fiscal impact described by section below.
Section 26 results in annual cost to OEC beginning in FY 26 of
approximately $265,000 (and associated fringe benefits of
approximately $110,000) to hire three staff for contract management for
the Early Start CT program.
Section 27 results in a potential cost to OEC and potential revenue
gain to municipalities beginning in FY 26 associated with establishing
local governance partners to assist in the provision of early care and
education. The amendment requires each local governance partner to
conduct a data-driven needs assessment and to hire a staff liaison to
assist in implementing the provisions of this section. The extent of the
cost to the state and revenue gain to municipalities is dependent on the
amount of funding allocated to municipalities or school districts by the
state.
Section 28 may result in a fiscal impact to OEC beginning in FY 26
related to establishing a sliding fee scale for families enrolled in an early
care and education program under Early Start CT. OEC is required to 2024SB-00014-R00LCO05112-FNA.DOCX Page 2 of 2
model the sliding scale on the sliding fee scale used in the childcare
subsidy program. To the extent this varies from current sliding fee
scales, it is anticipated that OEC would be responsible for the
differential cost to subsidize the program.
Section 29 may preclude future savings beginning in FY 26 by
allowing OEC to retain up to $2 million of allocated unexpended funds
for professional development initiatives that may not have otherwise
been spent.
Section 40 eliminates the cap on grants beginning in FY 25 for
operating expenses under Smart Start. To the extent boards of education
exceed the current annual cap of $300,000, OEC will incur additional
costs with a corresponding revenue gain to boards of education.
The amendment also (1) expands the duties of the Office of Dyslexia
and Reading Disabilities and the Center for Literacy Research and
Reading Success; and (2) creates two one-time reporting requirements
of the State Department of Education (SDE). This has no fiscal impact. It
is anticipated SDE can meet these additional duties with existing
resources.
Lastly, the amendment makes several technical, clarifying and
conforming changes regarding: (1) high school diplomas; (2) funding of
magnet schools; (3) the State Department of Education's role in
promoting student familiarity with local farms; (4) special education
services for students transitioning out of the public school system; and
(5) the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System. These
changes have no fiscal impact.
The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely
for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General
Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of
informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is
consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any
specific department.