Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB07216 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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3		-	LCO 1 of 6
	3	+	LCO No. 6279 1 of 7
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5		-	General Assembly ~~Substitute~~ Bill No. 7216
	5	+	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7216
6	6		January Session, 2025
	7	+	LCO No. 6279
7	8
	9	+
	10	+	Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
	11	+
	12	+
	13	+	Introduced by:
	14	+	(ED)
8	15
9	16
10	17
11	18
12	19		AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
13	20		TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND CAREER SYSTEM.
14	21		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
15	22		Assembly convened:
16	23
17	24		Section 1. Section 10-95r of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
18	25		following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
19	26		(a) The Technical Education and Career System shall be under the 3
20	27		direction of the executive director of the Technical Education and Career 4
21	28		System, whose appointment shall be made by the Governor. Such 5
22	29		appointment shall be in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-5 6
23	30		to 4-8, inclusive. Any person appointed to be the executive director shall 7
24	31		have experience with educational systems. The executive director of the 8
25	32		Technical Education and Career System shall be responsible for the 9
26	33		operation, supervision and administration and the financial 10
27	34		accountability and oversight of the Technical Education and Career 11
28	35		System in matters relating to the central office, system-wide 12
29	36		management and other noneducational matters. The executive director 13
30	37		shall organize the Technical Education and Career System into such 14
31	38		bureaus, divisions and other units as may be necessary for the efficient 15
	39	+	Raised Bill No. 7216
	40	+
	41	+
	42	+
	43	+	LCO No. 6279 2 of 7
	44	+
32	45		conduct of the business of the system, and may, from time to time, 16
33	46		create, abolish, transfer or consolidate within the system any bureau, 17
34	47		division or other unit as may be necessary for the efficient conduct of 18
35		-	the business of the system. The executive director may appoint, and may 19 Substitute Bill No. 7216
36		-
37		-
38		-	LCO 2 of 6
39		-
	48	+	the business of the system. The executive director may appoint, and may 19
40	49		prescribe the duties of any subordinates, agents and employees as he or 20
41	50		she finds necessary in the conduct of the system. 21
42	51		(b) The executive director shall review and approve all contracts for 22
43	52		the Technical Education and Career System. 23
44	53		(c) The executive director may enter into cooperative arrangements 24
45		-	with local and regional boards of education, [private career schools] a 25
46		-	nonprofit training institute in the state that provides training in the 26
47		-	building trades to underserved populations, institutions of higher 27
48		-	education, job training agencies and employers in order to provide (1) 28
49		-	general education, (2) vocational, technical, technological or 29
50		-	postsecondary education, and (3) work experience. 30
51		-	(d) The executive director may, upon approval of the board, accept 31
52		-	gifts, grants and donations on behalf of the system, including, but not 32
53		-	limited to, in-kind donations, designated for the purchase of equipment 33
54		-	or materials, the hiring of teachers at a technical education and career 34
55		-	school or the acquisition of real property and the construction of 35
56		-	facilities, except no employee of the system may accept any gift, grant 36
57		-	or donation as an individual, or on behalf of the system, that is for 37
58		-	personal use. Any gift, grant or donation accepted on behalf of the 38
59		-	system shall be in accordance with the state code of ethics for public 39
60		-	officials set forth in chapter 10. The executive director shall submit 40
61		-	quarterly reports to the Office of Policy and Management concerning all 41
62		-	gifts, grants or donations received pursuant to this subsection. 42
63		-	(e) The executive director shall ensure that the superintendent of the 43
64		-	Technical Education and Career System establishes a master schedule 44
65		-	for the Technical Education and Career System and may amend such 45
66		-	master schedule from time to time. 46
67		-	(f) The executive director shall communicate directly with the 47
68		-	Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management when requesting the 48
69		-	creation or filling of staff positions included in the operating budget for 49
70		-	the Technical Education and Career System. When reviewing such 50
71		-	requests, priority shall be given to any request for instructional staff, as 51 Substitute Bill No. 7216
	54	+	with local and regional boards of education, private career schools, 25
	55	+	institutions of higher education, job training agencies and employers in 26
	56	+	order to provide (1) general education, (2) vocational, technical, 27
	57	+	technological or postsecondary education, and (3) work experience. 28
	58	+	(d) The executive director may, upon approval of the board, accept 29
	59	+	gifts, grants and donations on behalf of the system, including, but not 30
	60	+	limited to, in-kind donations, designated for the purchase of equipment 31
	61	+	or materials, the hiring of teachers at a technical education and career 32
	62	+	school or the acquisition of real property and the construction of 33
	63	+	facilities, except no employee of the system may accept any gift, grant 34
	64	+	or donation as an individual, or on behalf of the system, that is for 35
	65	+	personal use. Any gift, grant or donation accepted on behalf of the 36
	66	+	system shall be in accordance with the state code of ethics for public 37
	67	+	officials set forth in chapter 10. The executive director shall submit 38
	68	+	quarterly reports to the Office of Policy and Management concerning all 39
	69	+	gifts, grants or donations received pursuant to this subsection. 40
	70	+	(e) The executive director shall ensure that the superintendent of the 41
	71	+	Technical Education and Career System establishes a master schedule 42
	72	+	for the Technical Education and Career System and may amend such 43
	73	+	master schedule from time to time. 44
	74	+	(f) The executive director shall communicate directly with the 45
	75	+	Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management when requesting the 46
	76	+	Raised Bill No. 7216
72	77
73	78
74		-	LCO 3 of 6
75	79
76		-	identified in the statement of staffing needs submitted by the 52
77		-	superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System pursuant 53
78		-	to section 10-99g, and every effort shall be made to avoid interruption 54
79		-	to instructional time during such review. The secretary shall review and 55
80		-	approve a request for the filling of instructional staff positions not later 56
81		-	than thirty days after the date the statement of staffing needs is 57
82		-	submitted for such positions by the superintendent. 58
83		-	(g) If the New England Association of Schools and Colleges places a 59
84		-	technical education and career school on probation or otherwise notifies 60
85		-	the superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System that a 61
86		-	technical education and career school is at risk of losing its accreditation, 62
87		-	the executive director shall notify the Commissioner of Education and 63
88		-	the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 64
89		-	cognizance of matters relating to education of such placement or 65
90		-	problems relating to accreditation. 66
91		-	Sec. 2. Section 10a-174 of the general statutes is repealed and the 67
92		-	following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 68
93		-	(a) As used in this section: 69
94		-	(1) "Award" means the greater of: (A) The unpaid portion, if any, of a 70
95		-	qualifying student's eligible institutional costs after subtracting his or 71
96		-	her financial aid, or (B) a minimum award of five hundred dollars for a 72
97		-	full-time student or three hundred dollars for a part-time student; 73
98		-	(2) "Eligible institutional costs" means the tuition and required fees 74
99		-	incurred each semester by an individual student that are established by 75
100		-	the Board of Regents for Higher Education for the regional community-76
101		-	technical colleges or the Connecticut Technical Education and Career 77
102		-	System for adult education programs; 78
103		-	(3) "Financial aid" means the sum of all scholarships, grants and 79
104		-	federal, state and institutional aid received by a qualifying student. 80
105		-	"Financial aid" does not include any federal, state or private student 81
106		-	loans received by a qualifying student; 82 Substitute Bill No. 7216
	80	+	LCO No. 6279 3 of 7
	81	+
	82	+	creation or filling of staff positions included in the operating budget for 47
	83	+	the Technical Education and Career System. When reviewing such 48
	84	+	requests, priority shall be given to any request for instructional staff, as 49
	85	+	identified in the statement of staffing needs submitted by the 50
	86	+	superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System pursuant 51
	87	+	to section 10-99g, and every effort shall be made to avoid interruption 52
	88	+	to instructional time during such review. The secretary shall review and 53
	89	+	approve a request for the filling of instructional staff positions not later 54
	90	+	than thirty days after the date the statement of staffing needs is 55
	91	+	submitted for such positions by the superintendent. 56
	92	+	(g) If the New England Association of Schools and Colleges places a 57
	93	+	technical education and career school on probation or otherwise notifies 58
	94	+	the superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System that a 59
	95	+	technical education and career school is at risk of losing its accreditation, 60
	96	+	the executive director shall notify the Commissioner of Education and 61
	97	+	the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 62
	98	+	cognizance of matters relating to education of such placement or 63
	99	+	problems relating to accreditation. 64
	100	+	Sec. 2. Section 10a-174 of the general statutes is repealed and the 65
	101	+	following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 66
	102	+	(a) As used in this section: 67
	103	+	(1) "Award" means the greater of: (A) The unpaid portion, if any, of a 68
	104	+	qualifying student's eligible institutional costs after subtracting his or 69
	105	+	her financial aid, or (B) a minimum award of five hundred dollars for a 70
	106	+	full-time student or three hundred dollars for a part-time student; 71
	107	+	(2) "Eligible institutional costs" means the tuition and required fees 72
	108	+	incurred each semester by an individual student that are established by 73
	109	+	the Board of Regents for Higher Education for the regional community-74
	110	+	technical colleges or the Connecticut Technical Education and Career 75
	111	+	System for adult education programs; 76
	112	+	Raised Bill No. 7216
107	113
108	114
109		-	LCO 4 of 6
110	115
111		-	(4) "Qualifying student" means any person who (A) graduated from 83
112		-	a public or nonpublic high school, (B) enrolls as a full-time or part-time 84
113		-	student for [the fall semester of 2020, or] any semester [thereafter,] at a 85
114		-	regional community-technical college in a program leading to a degree 86
115		-	or certificate or at a technical education and career school in an adult 87
116		-	education program, (C) is classified as an in-state student pursuant to 88
117		-	section 10a-29, (D) is making satisfactory academic progress while 89
118		-	enrolled at a regional community-technical college or technical 90
119		-	education and career school, (E) has completed the Free Application for 91
120		-	Federal Student Aid, and (F) has accepted all available financial aid or 92
121		-	is a transition program student; 93
122		-	(5) "Full-time student" means a student who is enrolled at a regional 94
123		-	community-technical college or a technical education and career school 95
124		-	and (A) is carrying twelve or more credit hours in a semester, or (B) has 96
125		-	a learning disability documented with the regional community-97
126		-	technical college or technical education and career school in which he or 98
127		-	she is enrolled and is enrolled in the maximum number of credit hours 99
128		-	that is feasible for such student to attempt in a semester, as determined 100
129		-	by such student's academic advisor; 101
130		-	(6) "Semester" means the fall or spring semester of an academic year. 102
131		-	"Semester" does not include a summer semester or session; 103
132		-	(7) "Part-time student" means a student who is enrolled at a regional 104
133		-	community-technical college or a technical education and career school 105
134		-	and is carrying not less than six but fewer than twelve credit hours in a 106
135		-	semester; and 107
136		-	(8) "Transition program student" means any person who (A) is a 108
137		-	resident of this state, (B) has not graduated from high school, (C) is 109
138		-	enrolled in a transition program pursuant to such person's 110
139		-	individualized education program, and (D) enrolls in one or more 111
140		-	courses at a regional community-technical college or a technical 112
141		-	education and career school. 113
142		-	(b) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall (1) establish and 114 Substitute Bill No. 7216
	116	+	LCO No. 6279 4 of 7
	117	+
	118	+	(3) "Financial aid" means the sum of all scholarships, grants and 77
	119	+	federal, state and institutional aid received by a qualifying student. 78
	120	+	"Financial aid" does not include any federal, state or private student 79
	121	+	loans received by a qualifying student; 80
	122	+	(4) "Qualifying student" means any person who (A) graduated from 81
	123	+	a public or nonpublic high school, (B) enrolls as a full-time or part-time 82
	124	+	student for [the fall semester of 2020, or] any semester [thereafter,] at a 83
	125	+	regional community-technical college in a program leading to a degree 84
	126	+	or certificate or at a technical education and career school in an adult 85
	127	+	education program, (C) is classified as an in-state student pursuant to 86
	128	+	section 10a-29, (D) is making satisfactory academic progress while 87
	129	+	enrolled at a regional community-technical college or technical 88
	130	+	education and career school, (E) has completed the Free Application for 89
	131	+	Federal Student Aid, and (F) has accepted all available financial aid or 90
	132	+	is a transition program student; 91
	133	+	(5) "Full-time student" means a student who is enrolled at a regional 92
	134	+	community-technical college or a technical education and career school 93
	135	+	and (A) is carrying twelve or more credit hours in a semester, or (B) has 94
	136	+	a learning disability documented with the regional community-95
	137	+	technical college or technical education and career school in which he or 96
	138	+	she is enrolled and is enrolled in the maximum number of credit hours 97
	139	+	that is feasible for such student to attempt in a semester, as determined 98
	140	+	by such student's academic advisor; 99
	141	+	(6) "Semester" means the fall or spring semester of an academic year. 100
	142	+	"Semester" does not include a summer semester or session; 101
	143	+	(7) "Part-time student" means a student who is enrolled at a regional 102
	144	+	community-technical college or a technical education and career school 103
	145	+	and is carrying not less than six but fewer than twelve credit hours in a 104
	146	+	semester; and 105
	147	+	(8) "Transition program student" means any person who (A) is a 106
	148	+	resident of this state, (B) has not graduated from high school, (C) is 107
	149	+	Raised Bill No. 7216
143	150
144	151
145		-	LCO 5 of 6
146	152
147		-	administer, in consultation with the superintendent of the Technical 115
148		-	Education and Career System, a debt-free [community college] 116
149		-	education program to make awards to qualifying students each 117
150		-	semester, (2) adopt rules, procedures and forms necessary to implement 118
151		-	the debt-free [community college] education program, and (3) submit a 119
152		-	report outlining such rules, procedures and forms, in accordance with 120
153		-	the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the 121
154		-	General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 122
155		-	education. Awards made to qualifying students pursuant to the debt-123
156		-	free [community college] education program shall be designated as the 124
157		-	"Mary Ann Handley Award". 125
158		-	(c) [For the fall semester of 2020, and each] Each semester [thereafter,] 126
159		-	the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall make awards to 127
160		-	qualifying students within available appropriations. An award shall be 128
161		-	available to a qualifying student for the first seventy-two credit hours 129
162		-	earned by the qualifying student at a regional community-technical 130
163		-	college or at an adult education program at a technical education and 131
164		-	career school, provided the qualifying student meets and continues to 132
165		-	meet the requirements of this section. The board shall not use an award 133
166		-	to supplant any financial aid, including, but not limited to, state or 134
167		-	institutional aid, otherwise available to a qualifying student. 135
168		-	(d) Not later than November 1, [2024] 2025, and March 1, [2025] 2026, 136
169		-	and each semester thereafter, the Board of Regents for Higher Education 137
170		-	shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the 138
171		-	joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance 139
172		-	of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement 140
173		-	and appropriations and the budgets of the state agencies regarding the 141
174		-	debt-free community college program, including, but not limited to, (1) 142
175		-	the number of qualifying students enrolled at the regional community-143
176		-	technical colleges and the Technical Education and Career System 144
177		-	during each semester, (2) the number of qualifying students receiving 145
178		-	minimum awards and the number of qualifying students receiving 146
179		-	awards for the unpaid portion of eligible institutional costs, (3) the 147
180		-	average number of credit hours the qualifying students enrolled in each 148 Substitute Bill No. 7216
	153	+	LCO No. 6279 5 of 7
	154	+
	155	+	enrolled in a transition program pursuant to such person's 108
	156	+	individualized education program, and (D) enrolls in one or more 109
	157	+	courses at a regional community-technical college or a technical 110
	158	+	education and career school. 111
	159	+	(b) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall (1) establish and 112
	160	+	administer, in consultation with the superintendent of the Technical 113
	161	+	Education and Career System, a debt-free [community college] 114
	162	+	education program to make awards to qualifying students each 115
	163	+	semester, (2) adopt rules, procedures and forms necessary to implement 116
	164	+	the debt-free [community college] education program, and (3) submit a 117
	165	+	report outlining such rules, procedures and forms, in accordance with 118
	166	+	the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the 119
	167	+	General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher 120
	168	+	education. Awards made to qualifying students pursuant to the debt-121
	169	+	free [community college] education program shall be designated as the 122
	170	+	"Mary Ann Handley Award". 123
	171	+	(c) [For the fall semester of 2020, and each] Each semester [thereafter,] 124
	172	+	the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall make awards to 125
	173	+	qualifying students within available appropriations. An award shall be 126
	174	+	available to a qualifying student for the first seventy-two credit hours 127
	175	+	earned by the qualifying student at a regional community-technical 128
	176	+	college or at an adult education program at a technical education and 129
	177	+	career school, provided the qualifying student meets and continues to 130
	178	+	meet the requirements of this section. The board shall not use an award 131
	179	+	to supplant any financial aid, including, but not limited to, state or 132
	180	+	institutional aid, otherwise available to a qualifying student. 133
	181	+	(d) Not later than November 1, [2024] 2025, and March 1, [2025] 2026, 134
	182	+	and each semester thereafter, the Board of Regents for Higher Education 135
	183	+	shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the 136
	184	+	joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance 137
	185	+	of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement 138
	186	+	and appropriations and the budgets of the state agencies regarding the 139
	187	+	Raised Bill No. 7216
181	188
182	189
183		-	LCO 6 of 6
184	190
185		-	semester and the average number of credit hours the qualifying 149
186		-	students completed each semester, (4) the average amount of the award 150
187		-	made to qualifying students under this section for the unpaid portion of 151
188		-	eligible institutional costs, and (5) the completion rates of qualifying 152
189		-	students receiving awards under this section by college or school and 153
190		-	degree or certificate program. 154
191		-	(e) For the fall semester of 2025, and each semester thereafter, the 155
192		-	superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System shall 156
193		-	submit to the Board of Regents for Higher Education, in the form and 157
194		-	manner prescribed by the board, the number of qualifying students 158
195		-	enrolled in the system's adult education programs for such semester, the 159
196		-	amount of award for which each student qualifies and the amount of 160
197		-	financial aid each student receives. The board shall pay the aggregate 161
198		-	sum of such awards to the system for distribution to such qualifying 162
199		-	students. 163
	191	+	LCO No. 6279 6 of 7
	192	+
	193	+	debt-free community college program, including, but not limited to, (1) 140
	194	+	the number of qualifying students enrolled at the regional community-141
	195	+	technical colleges and the Technical Education and Career System 142
	196	+	during each semester, (2) the number of qualifying students receiving 143
	197	+	minimum awards and the number of qualifying students receiving 144
	198	+	awards for the unpaid portion of eligible institutional costs, (3) the 145
	199	+	average number of credit hours the qualifying students enrolled in each 146
	200	+	semester and the average number of credit hours the qualifying 147
	201	+	students completed each semester, (4) the average amount of the award 148
	202	+	made to qualifying students under this section for the unpaid portion of 149
	203	+	eligible institutional costs, and (5) the completion rates of qualifying 150
	204	+	students receiving awards under this section by college or school and 151
	205	+	degree or certificate program. 152
	206	+	(e) For the fall semester of 2025, and each semester thereafter, the 153
	207	+	superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System shall 154
	208	+	submit to the Board of Regents for Higher Education, in the form and 155
	209	+	manner prescribed by the board, the number of qualifying students 156
	210	+	enrolled in the system's adult education programs for such semester, the 157
	211	+	amount of award for which each student qualifies and the amount of 158
	212	+	financial aid each student receives. The board shall pay the aggregate 159
	213	+	sum of such awards to the system for distribution to such qualifying 160
	214	+	students. 161
200	215		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
201	216		sections:
202	217
203	218		Section 1 July 1, 2025 10-95r
204	219		Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 10a-174
205	220
206		-	ED Joint Favorable Subst. C/R APP
	221	+	Statement of Purpose:
	222	+	To (1) require the Office of Policy and Management to approve the
	223	+	filling of vacancies for instructional staff not later than thirty days from
	224	+	the receipt of such request, and (2) expand the debt-free community
	225	+	college program to include the Technical Education and Career System
	226	+	adult education programs.
	227	+	Raised Bill No. 7216
	228	+
	229	+
	230	+
	231	+	LCO No. 6279 7 of 7
	232	+
	233	+
	234	+	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
	235	+	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
	236	+	underlined.]
207	237