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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 7195
AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR
PARAEDUCATORS.
SUMMARY
Under state and federal law, employees who work at an educational
institution are ineligible to receive unemployment benefits for a school
break (i.e. between two successive academic years, between two regular
terms, or during a customary vacation or holiday recess) if they have a
“reasonable assurance” to work for any educational institution once
courses resume (i.e. in the next academic year or term or period after the
vacation or recess).
This bill generally codifies federal guidelines for determining
whether a school employee has reasonable assurance of returning once
courses resume (although it focuses on paraeducators). It also requires
school districts, at least 10 days before the end of an academic year or
term, to give the Department of Labor (DOL) lists of their paraeducators
who have and do not have reasonable assurance of returning to work
for them once courses resume. More specifically, the bill applies to
school districts, regional education service centers, the governing
authority for a state charter school, and an endowed or incorporated
academy approved by the State Board of Education (collectively
referred to as “school districts”).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
REASONABLE ASSURANCE DETERMINATION
The bill requires the DOL commissioner to determine, on a case-by-
case basis, that all of the following factors are present to establish a
paraeducator’s ineligibility for unemployment benefits because he or
she has reasonable assurance to return once courses resume:
1. the school district made a written, oral, or implied offer to 2025HB-07195-R000524-BA.DOCX
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employ the paraeducator once courses resume;
2. the offer was made by an authorized school district employee;
3. the offer is for (a) services in the same capacity the paraeducator
performed before the break and (b) at least 90% of the wages or
salary paid to the paraeducator, in total, by every educational
institution he or she worked for before the break;
4. the offer does not depend on factors within the school district’s
control, including course programming, available funding
allocation, program modifications, or facility availability; and
5. it is highly probable that the paraeducator will work in the same
capacity once courses resume, based on the totality of the
circumstances, including funding availability, past enrollment
levels, the paraeducator’s seniority level, and the nature of the
offer’s contingencies.
PARAEDUCATOR LISTS
The bill requires school districts to submit two employee lists to DOL,
in a way the commissioner sets, at least 10 days before the end of an
academic year or term.
The first must list employees, including their names and Social
Security numbers, who worked as a paraeducator for the school and do
not have reasonable assurance of working in the same capacity once
courses resume.
The second list must contain employees who worked as a
paraeducator and have reasonable assurance of working in the same
capacity once courses resume. It must also describe how each
paraeducator was given reasonable assurance, including (1) whether the
offer was written, oral, or implied; (2) the nature of any offer
contingencies; and (3) the information about the offer communicated to
the paraeducator.
The bill allows the commissioner to consider the information on these 2025HB-07195-R000524-BA.DOCX
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lists when making reasonable assurance determinations, but unless it is
accompanied by additional evidence, it cannot be conclusive evidence
of reasonable assurance in any case.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 9 Nay 4 (03/18/2025)