Legislative Bills To Watch

While the focus of school stakeholders this legislative session is on proposed bill H.B.5003, which will rework the state’s funding of school districts in Connecticut, there are other proposed bills which districts, the media, and the community ought to be keeping an eye on.

Proposed Bill No. 277: AN ACT CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHEMENT OF SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAMS.

Introduced by Senator Robert Sampson of Wolcott.

This bill would allow boards of education to establish a school voucher program, that would distribute vouchers to parents and guardians, allowing their children to attend any public school in the state, thus creating more opportunities for school choice in the state.

A good idea with a bad moniker - “voucher.”  Which translates into certain death in the legislature.

Proposed Bill No. 663: AN ACT ALLOWING TRADESPEOPLE AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS TO CREDIT WORK EXPERIENCE TOWARD TEACHER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

Introduced by Senator Heather Somers of Groton.

This bill would allow folks such as IT folks, carpenters, and plumbers and those in the health care field to use their work experience as credit toward obtaining teacher certification requirements, allowing them to teach a course related to their field of work.

Career readiness taught by those who chose a career field, appears to be a no-brainer.

Proposed Bill No. 666: AN ACT CONCERNING THE EXPANSION OF TEACHER RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER STATES.

Introduced by Senator Eric Berthel of Watertown.

This bill would require the Department of Education to allow teachers certified in other states, to teach and become certified in Connecticut, thus addressing the teacher shortage in Connecticut.

Connecticut already accepts the out-of-state certification of Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents, and the certifications of teachers from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

The number ‘666’ may be a bad omen, however.

Proposed Bill No. 667: AN ACT CONCERNING THE TRAINING OF STUDENTS TO BECOME PARAEDUCATORS.

Introduced by Senator Heather Somers of Groton.

This bill would allow Connecticut boards of education to offer instruction and training to students in grades nine to twelve to become paraeducators, and to permit such students to be employed as paraeducators upon graduation.

This would create a pipeline to address instances where districts are suffering through shortages in paraprofessional positions, as they are now.  Becoming paraprofessionals in classrooms that they themselves attended, creates a positive attachment for students now entering that classroom, positively affecting school culture and climate.

Proposed Bill No. 5064: AN ACT CONCERNING PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS FOR SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

Introduced by Representative Tami Zawistowski of East Granby.

This bill would require Connecticut Boards of Education to conduct performance evaluations for the superintendent and submit the results of the evaluation in writing, and making the results available to the public.

This bill speaks to open government, transparency, and accountability.  Districts are already required to perform at least annual evaluations, but many districts conduct oral only evaluations, creating no record of the event.  With no written record, the oral only method of evaluations spits in the general direction of the FOIA.

This is a “must win” bill.  Keep watch for the announcement of a Public Hearing on this bill.

Proposed Bill No. 6323: AN ACT CONCERNING REMOTE PARTICIPATION OF MEMBERS OF LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION.

Introduced by Representative Rachel Chaleski of Danbury.

This bill would allow a Connecticut board of education to decide by majority vote whether to permit members of the board to participate in meetings of the board remotely by means of electronic equipment.

“Remotely,” in the context of a ZOOM meeting, most would consider acceptable.  However, under this bill, could a board disallow remote participation by cell phone?  There have been meetings of the Hartford Board of Education where participation has been by means of cell phone while the board member has been taking the dog to the vet, taking the kids to practice, or while at karate class.  How engaged is that member in the process, a process which most assuredly will affect your children?

Some of these bills, or perhaps all, will wind up in the Education Committee’s closet, collecting dust, due to politics, low stakeholder engagement, or just because they may be lame, like Senator Nuccio’s proposal to take lunch breaks away from teachers.

These are only a few of the many education bills introduced at the start of the 2023 Legislative session in Connecticut.  Use this link to keep watch on the bills as they make their way through the legislative process.