SB 220 — AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENT LITERACY, ASPIRING EDUCATORS, AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AS PART OF THE WORLD LANGUAGES CURRICULUM AND THE PARAEDUCATOR HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN SUBSIDY PROGRAM.

Substitute Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

650220 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No.

22026-149 Senate,AN AprilACT 16,CONCERNING 2026STUDENT TheLITERACY, CommitteeASPIRING onEDUCATORS, AppropriationsAMERICAN reportedSIGN throughLANGUAGE SEN.AS PART OF THE WORLD LANGUAGES CURRICULUM AND THE PARAEDUCATOR HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN SUBSIDY PROGRAM.

OSTEN of the 19th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENT LITERACY.

Section(NEW) 10-14t(Effective July 1, 2026) (a) The Department of theEducation generalshall statutesdevelop isand repealeddisseminate guidance to local and regional boards of education regarding the followingimplementation isof substitutedmultitiered insystems lieuof thereofsupport (Effectiveor fromresponse passage):to intervention frameworks for students who are identified as struggling in reading.

(a)Such Theguidance Departmentshall ofbe Education,based inon consultationdata withcollected from the Centerresults for Literacy Research and Reading Success [,] established pursuant to section 10-14gg, shall [compile] adopt a list of requiredapproved reading assessments, withas considerationdescribed given to the recommendations set forth in appendixsection g10-14t of the finalgeneral reportstatutes. of the task force established pursuant to special act 19-8, [for use] to be administered by local and regional boards of education, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section and the guidance provided pursuant to subsection (c) of thissection,fortheschoolyearcommencingJuly1, [2023]2026,andeach school year thereafter, to identify students in kindergarten to grade three, inclusive, who are below proficiency in reading, provided any such reading assessments include frequent screening and progress monitoring of students.

Such(b) readingNot assessmentslater than January 1, 2028, the Commissioner of Education shall (1)submit bea brief,report (2)on sSB220the /guidance Filedeveloped No.pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and any recommendations for legislation to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

650 1 sSB220 File No.

650 be evidence-based, as defined in 20 USC 7801(21), with proven psychometrics for validity, (3) measure oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, rapid automatic name or letter name fluency andreading comprehension, (4) provideopportunitiesfor formative assessments at least three times, in the fall, winter and spring, during each school year, (5) produce data that is useful for informing individual and classroom instruction, including the grouping of students based on such data and the selection of instructional activities based on data of individual student response patterns during such progress monitoring, (6) be compatible with best practices in reading instructionandresearch,and(7)assistinidentifying,inwholeorinpart, students at risk for dyslexia, as defined in section 10-3d, or other reading-related learning disabilities.

(b) For the school year commencing July 1, 2026, and each school year thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall administer one or more of the reading assessments adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to students in kindergarten to grade three, inclusive.

Such reading assessments shall be administered at least three times during the school year and shall be used for the purpose of identifying students who are below grade level in reading and are in need of additional supports.

[(b)] (c) On or before January 1, 2023, the department shall provide guidance to localandregionalboardsofeducationfor administeringthe approved reading assessments, including, but not limited to, (1) specifying the appropriate grade levels for each reading assessment;

(2) allowing approved reading assessments to be combined to ensure each ability specified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section is measured during each school year using one or more reading assessments appropriate for a student's grade level;

(3) advising how each board's goals, student body characteristics and resources should inform the choice of reading assessments used by such board;

(4) advising how aggregate data derived from reading assessments should guide each board's prevention and early intervention initiatives;

and (5) requiring the administration of approved reading assessments in both sSB220 / File No.

650 2 sSB220 File No.

650 English and a student's native language, if available, for any student being instructed in literacy in his or her native language.

[(c)] (d) Not later than February 1, 2023, the Commissioner of Education shall submit the reading assessments and guidance developed or approved under this section to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a.

[(d)] (e) The Department of Education may, in partnership with a public institution of higher education, establish a data center to guide the department and local and regional boards of education in the use and effectiveness of reading assessments.

Such data center may include, but need not be limited to, tracking (1) which reading assessments are used by each regional or local board of education, and (2) student information, disaggregated by categories including, but not limited to, a student's demographic background, school district, reading assessment dates and scores on reading assessments, provided such disaggregation keeps such student information personally nonidentifiable.

(NEW)Section (Effective10-156ii July 1, 2026) (a) The Department of Educationthe shallgeneral developstatutes andis disseminaterepealed guidance to local and regional boards of education regarding the implementationfollowing ofis multitieredsubstituted systemsin oflieu supportthereof or(Effective responseJuly to1, intervention2026): frameworks for students who are identifiedasstruggling inreading.

SuchguidanceSubstitute shallSenate bebasedondataBill collectedNo. from the results of approved reading assessments, as described in section 10-14t of the general statutes, as amended by this act.

(b)220 Not later than January 1, 2028, the Commissioner of Education shall submit a report on the guidance developed pursuant to subsection (a) ofThere thisis sectionestablished andan anyaspiring recommendationseducators for[diversity] legislationscholarship toprogram theadministered jointby standing committee of the GeneralDepartment Assembly having cognizance of mattersEducation. relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

sSB220The /program Fileshall No.provide an annual scholarship to [diverse students] aspiring educators who (1) graduated from a public high school in [an alliance district, as defined in section 10-262u] this state, and (2) are enrolled in a teacher preparation program at any four-year institution of higher education.

650[A 3diverse sSB220student] FileAn No.aspiring educator may receive an annual scholarship in an amount up to ten thousand dollars for each year such [diverse student] aspiring educator is enrolled and in good standing in a teacher preparation program.

650As Thisused actin shallthis takesection, effect["diverse" has the same meaning as followsprovided in section 10-156bb] "aspiring educator" means an individual who is in a population subgroup that is underrepresented in the teaching profession in this state and shallfor amendwhich such population subgroup has been identified as a teacher shortage area by the followingCommissioner sections:of Education pursuant to section 10-8b, as amended by this act.

Section(b) 1Not fromlater passagethan 10-14tJanuary Sec.1, [2023] 2027, the department shall, in consultationwiththechairpersonsofthejointstandingcommitteeofthe General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, develop a policy concerning the administration of the scholarship.

2Such Julypolicy 1,shall 2026include, Newbut sectionneed EDnot Jointbe Favorablelimited Subst.to, provisions regarding (1) any additional eligibility criteria, (2) payment and distribution of the scholarships to [diverse students] aspiring educators through the teacher preparation programs in which they are enrolled, and (3) the notification of students in high school [in alliance districts] of the scholarship program, including the opportunity to apply for a scholarship under the program while enrolled in high school and prior to graduation if such student will be enrolled in a teacher preparation program during the following fall semester at a four-year institution of higher education.

C/R(c) APPFor APPthe Jointfiscal Favorable[years] Subst.year ending June 30, [2024] 2027, and each Public Act No.

sSB22026-149 /2 Fileof 8 Substitute Senate Bill No.

650220 4fiscal sSB220year Filethereafter, No.the department shall annually award scholarships in accordance with the provisions of this section and the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

650(d) The followingCommissioner Fiscalof ImpactEducation Statementshall anddevelop Billscholarship Analysisrepayment arecriteria prepared for therecipients benefitwho ofare thenot membersemployed ofas thea Generalcertified Assembly,teacher solelyby fora purposeslocal ofor information,regional summarizationboard andof explanationeducation andin do[the] notthis representstate thefollowing intentgraduation offrom thea Generalteacher Assemblypreparation orprogram. either chamber thereof for any purpose.

InAny general,amounts fiscalrepaid impactsto arethe baseddepartment uponshall abe varietydeposited ofin informational sources, including the analyst’sGeneral professionalFund. knowledge.

Whenever(e) applicable,For agencythe datafiscal isyear consultedending asJune part30, of2026, the analysis,commissioner howevershall finaldetermine productsifthere doare notany necessarilyunexpendedfunds reflectappropriatedfor anpurposes assessmentof fromthis anysection specificfor department.the fiscal year.

OFAIf Fiscalthe Notecommissioner Statedetermines Impact:that there are unexpended funds in said fiscal year, the commissioner shall transfer, not later than July 15, 2026, through a memorandum of understanding with the Comptroller, up to three hundred thousand dollars of such unexpended funds for the purpose of expanding the subsidy program, established pursuant to section 203 of public act 23- 204,asamendedby section124ofpublicact24-81andthisact,toinclude paraeducators who are employed by a charter school in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027.

None[(e)] Municipal(f) Impact:The department may accept gifts, grants and donations, from any source, public or private, for the aspiring educators [diversity] scholarship program.

None[(f)] Explanation(g) TheNot billlater hasthan noJanuary fiscal1, impact.[2024] 2028, and annually thereafter, the department shall develop a report that includes annual data on the [race and ethnicity of the diverse] population subgroups of students who receive a scholarship under the program and the teacher preparation program in which they are enrolled.

ItThe makesdepartment clarifyingshall changessubmit such report to ensurethe schooldistrictsadministerjoint approvedreadingtestsandrequirestheStatestanding Departmentcommittee of Educationthe (SDE)General toAssembly develophaving guidancecognizance relatedof tomatters interventionrelating forto studentseducation, strugglingin withPublic reading.Act No.