HB 6879 — AN ACT CONCERNING TEACHER CERTIFICATION.

The Commissioner of Education may permit, upon the request of a superintendent, any person who holds such endorsement issued on or after July 1, 2017, to teach kindergarten for one school year.

The commissioner shall not permit any such person who so taught kindergarten under such endorsement for one school year to teach kindergarten again, except the commissioner may permit such person to so teach kindergarten for one additional school year if such person can demonstrate that he or she is enrolled in a program to meet the requirements for the appropriate endorsement to teach kindergarten.

An endorsement to teach comprehensive special education grades one sHB6879 / File No.

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589 to twelve, inclusive, shall be valid for grades [kindergarten] prekindergarten to twelve, inclusive.

[, provided, on] On and after September 1, 2013, any (1) certified employee applying for a comprehensive special education endorsement, or (2) applicant for an initial, provisional or professional educator certificate and a comprehensive special education endorsement shall achieve a satisfactory score on the reading instruction examination approved by the State Board of Education on April 1, 2009, or a comparable reading instruction examination with minimum standards that are equivalent to the examination approved by the State Board of Education on April 1, 2009.

Sec.

7.

(NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) On and after July 1, 2023, a coaching permit issued by the State Board of Education shall be valid for a period of five years.

Any person who has been issued a coaching permit may apply to the state board for renewal of such coaching permit, and shall not be required to include in any renewal application a verification of the completion of fifteen clock hours of continuing education units.

Sec.

8.

Section 10-8c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023):

The Department of Education, in cooperation with the Office of Higher Education, shall, within available appropriations, (1) establish an accelerated cross endorsement process for each subject shortage area pursuant to section 10-8b to allow certified teachers to add a new endorsement to their certificates, [and] (2) establish a program for formerly certified teachers to regain certification, and (3) on and after July 1, 2023, authorize the Integrated Early Childhood/Special Ed., Birth–Kindergarten endorsement and the Integrated Early Childhood/Elementary Education N-3 and Special Education N-K endorsement to be added as a cross endorsement in lieu ofrequiring full planned program and institutional recommendation.

Sec.

9.

Subsection (a) of section 10-145 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, sHB6879 / File No.

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589 2023):

(a) No teacher, supervisor, administrator, special service staff member or school superintendent, except as provided for in section 10- 157, shall be employed in any of the schools of any local or regional board of education unless such person possesses an appropriate state certificate, nor shall any such person be entitled to any salary unless such person can produce such certificate dated prior to or on the first day of employment, except as provided for in section 10-157;

provided nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the board of education from prescribing qualifications additional to those prescribed by the regulations ofthe State Boardof Education and provided nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent any local or regional board of education from contracting with a licensed drivers' school approved by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for the behind-the- wheel instruction of a driver instruction course, to be given by driving instructors licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

No person shall be employed in any of the schools of any local or regional board of education as a substitute teacher unless such person (1) holds a bachelor's degree, provided the Commissioner of Education may waive such requirement for good cause upon the request of a superintendent of schools, and (2) is on a list maintained by the local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (f) of section 10-222c.

A local or regionalboardofeducationmay employ apersonasasubstitute teacher in the same assignment without a substitute authorization issued by the Department of Education for a period not to exceed sixty school days.

Section 1 July 1, 2023 10-145d(f) LCOSec. No.

5414 6 of 7 Raised Bill No.

6879 Sec.

4 July 1, 2023 10-145n(a) StatementSec. of Purpose:

To5 allowJuly teachers1, with2023 an10-145a(i) elementarySec. education endorsement to teach in grades kindergarten to six, inclusive;

to6 establishJuly the1, Commission2023 to10-145d(f) ModernizeSec. the Educator Workforce to review and make recommendations concerning educator preparation programs and certification;

to7 expandJuly the1, alternate2023 routeNew tosection certificationsHB6879 program/ administeredFile byNo. the Office of Higher Education;

and589 to9 allowsHB6879 aFile personNo. with specialized training, experience or expertise in the arts to be issued an adjunct instructor permit if such person holds a bachelor's degree or higher.

[Proposed589 deletionsSec. are enclosed in brackets.

Proposed8 additionsJuly are1, indicated2023 by10-8c underline,Sec. except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.

54149 7July of1, 72023 10-145(a) ED Joint Favorable Subst.

sHB6879 / File No.

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589 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do 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.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Higher Ed., Off.

GF - Cost 75,000 76,875 Higher Ed., Off.

GF - Cost Potential Potential Significant Significant State Comptroller - Fringe GF - Cost 32,115 32,918 Benefits1 Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill requires the Office of Higher Education (OHE) to hire one full-time employee for the existing alternate route to the certification program and to expand the program.

This is anticipated to result in a personnel cost to OHE of approximately $75,000 annually beginning in FY 24 for a full-time Senior Consultant position with corresponding fringe benefits of $32,115.

Additionally, expanding the program would result in a cost to OHE.

The scope of the programmatic costs would be dependent on how the agency expands the program.

The bill makes several changes regarding teacher certification, permits, and endorsements.

These changes have no fiscal impact as they are not anticipated to impact any costs to districts associated with educator staff.

The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller.

The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 42.82% of payroll in FY 24.

sHB6879 / File No.

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589 The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation and grants awarded.

sHB6879 / File No.

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589 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 6879 AN ACT CONCERNING TEACHER CERTIFICATION.

SUMMARY This bill makes the following unrelated changes in the teacher certification statutes:

1.

extends the validity of all elementary education teaching endorsements, regardless of when they were issued, to grades kindergarten through six, rather than grades one through six, beginning July 1, 2023 (§ 1);

2.

creates the Commission to Modernize the Educator Workforce and tasks it with reviewing, analyzing, and making recommendations about current statutes and regulations governing teacher preparation programs and teacher certification (§ 2);

3.

requires the Office of Higher Education (OHE), using existing FY resources, to expand its alternate route to certification program and hire one full-time permanent employee to administer it (§ 3);

4.

allows the State Board of Education (SBE) to issue adjunct instructor permits in the arts (see BACKGROUND) to applicants who hold a degree higher than a bachelor’s and meet other requirements in existing law (§ 4);

5.

removes the requirement that teacher preparation program participants complete their clinical, field, or student teaching experience in two different types of school districts according to district reference group (DRG) categorization (§ 5);

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589 6.

expands the grades for which the endorsement to teach comprehensive special education is valid (§ 6);

7.

makes SBE-issued coaching permits valid for five years and allows permit holders to apply for a renewal without verifying completed clock hours of continuing education units, overriding renewal requirements in state regulation (§ 7);

8.

allows the State Department of Education (SDE), in cooperation with OHE, to authorize three new endorsements affecting early childhood education, special education, and grades kindergarten through three teaching positions (§ 8);

and 9.

allows a local or regional board of education to employ someone as a substitute teacher for up to 60 days without obtaining an SDE-issued substitute authorization, so long as the substitute teacher is in the same assignment for the entire period (§ 9).

The bill also makes technical and conforming changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2023, except the provision requiring OHE to expand its alternate route to certification program (§ 3) takes effect upon passage.

§ 2 — COMMISSION TO MODERNIZE THE EDUCATOR WORKFORCE The bill sets principles to guide the commission’s work;

grants data request authority to the commission;

and outlines membership qualifications, staff assignments, and reporting requirements.

Guiding Principles When reviewing and analyzing the teacher preparation and certification statutes and regulations, the commission must follow these principles under the bill:

1.

avoid overly broad or burdensome requirements;

2.

consider whether intended regulatory objectives may be sHB6879 / File No.

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589 obtained through less burdensome, nonregulatory means;

3.

consider a requirement’scostsandbenefits,including ananalysis of (a) existing research on how predictive of classroom effectiveness each current requirement is;

(b) lessons from stakeholders’ experiences with the current requirements;

and (c) the effect that current requirements have on educator supply and efforts to increase educator diversity;

4.

reduce ways the requirements are a barrier to workforce mobility;

and 5.

commit to developing requirements based on existing research findings.

The bill also requires the commission to develop recommendations for new teacher preparation program and certification requirements after receiving input from school district leaders, educators, preservice teachers, and other statewide education stakeholders.

The commission must at least consider the following as part of its recommendations:

1.

streamlined, flexible pathways into the teaching profession that are grounded in commitment to educator effectiveness;

2.

ways to enable in-service teachers to broaden their practice to meet more students’ needs;

3.

ways to hold teacher preparation programs accountable for their training experience quality and candidate outcomes;

4.

creating a robust system to help in-service teachers continuously improve their practice by supporting and rewarding teachers who demonstrate mastery;

5.

ways to support improved data transparency about the state’s distribution of teachers and teacher vacancies, along with accountability for remedying observed inequities;

and 6.

a system in which teachers are treated as professionals and sHB6879 / File No.

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589 lifelong learners who deserve and require access to high-quality professional learning and mentorship throughout their careers.

Data Request Authority The bill allows the commission to submit written requests to SDE for data and information relevant to its responsibilities.

SDE must provide the data or information within 15 days after receiving the request and cannot withhold it unless its release would violate state or federal privacy laws.

Membership Qualifications Under the bill, the commission must consist of at least 15 but no more than18 members.

Thetablebelowliststheappointing authority for each member and the member’s corresponding qualifications.

Table:

Commission Appointing Authorities and Member Qualifications Appointing Authority Member Qualifications House speaker A representative of the Columbia University Center for Public Research and Leadership Senate president pro tempore A representative of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents House majority leader A representative from the Connecticut Education Association Senate majority leader A representative from the American Federation of Teachers – Connecticut who is a classroom teacher employed by a local or regional board of education House minority leader A representative from an educator preparation program offered at a public or private Connecticut higher education institution Senate minority leader A representative from a Connecticut alternate route to certification program Governor A representative from the Governor’s Workforce Council N/A Two chairpersons and two ranking members of the Education Committee sHB6879 / File No.

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589 Appointing Authority Member Qualifications N/A Education commissioner or her designee State Board of Education A member of the board Minority Teacher Recruitment PolicyA council representative Oversight Council Commission chairperson (i.e., the Up to four appointees, who may be (1) an education commissioner or her desigin-service or preservice teacher, (2) an administrator, or (3) a person with expertise or experience in teacher preparation or certification The appointing authorities must make their initial appointments to the commission by July 31, 2023, and fill any vacancies that may arise within 10 days after they occur.

The bill requires the education commissioner (or her designee), as commission chairperson, to schedule all meetings and hold the first one by August 30, 2023.

The commission must terminate on July 1, 2024.

Administrative Staff Under the bill, the administrative staff for the legislature’s Education Committee must also serve as the commission’s staff.

Reporting Requirements The bill requires the commission to report its findings and recommendations to the Education and Higher Education and Employment Advancement committees by February 1, 2024.

§ 5 — STUDENT TEACHING EXPERIENCE BY DRG Under current law, teacher preparation program participants must complete a clinical, field, or student teaching experience in a classroom during four semesters.

The bill removes the requirement that this experience occur in two schooldistrictsfromcertaincategoriesofDRGs.

SDE created DRGs to group districts with similar needs and socioeconomic characteristics, based on factors including family income, parental education and occupation, family structure, poverty, language spoken at home, and district enrollment.

(According to the sHB6879 / File No.

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589 department, it no longer uses this classification system.) DRGs were labeled “A” through “I,” with “A” being the most affluent districts and “I” being the least.

The bill removes the requirement that program participants complete one student teaching experience in a school district from groups “A” through “E” and another in a district from groups “F” through “I.” § 6 — COMPREHENSIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION ENDORSEMENT Under current law, anyone who holds a teaching certificate with an endorsement to teach comprehensive special education in grades one through 12 may extend the endorsement to grades kindergarten through 12 if the applicant has earned a satisfactory score on either the SBE-approved reading instruction exam or a comparable reading instruction exam with minimum standards that are equivalent to the SBE-approved one.

Under the bill, anyone who holds this endorsement for grades one through 12 may extend it to grades prekindergarten through 12 if they meet the above reading instruction exam score requirements.

§ 7 — COACHING PERMITS State law authorizes SBE to adopt regulations that set the qualifications for intermural and interscholastic athletic coaches (CGS § 10-149).

State regulation requires coaches in elementary, middle,or high schoolathleticstoholdeitheracoachingpermitoratemporarycoaching permit.

A coaching permit is renewable every five years after its holder completes at least 15 clock hours of SDE-approved seminars, coursework, or workshops on safe and healthful coaching practices and understanding child and adolescent development.

The regulation allows the coach’s employer to submit a written request to SDE to defer the 15 clock hour requirement for 12 months, which SDE will approve for good cause shown (Conn.

Agencies Regs., § 10-145d-423(b)).

The bill adds to state law the five-year validity for coaching permits but overrides the regulation in part by allowing permit holders to apply for a renewal without verifying the completed 15 clock hours of sHB6879 / File No.

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589 continuing education units.

§ 8 — INTEGRATED AND CROSS ENDORSEMENTS SDE issues endorsements to teachers who hold initial, provisional, or professional level teacher certification.

These endorsements are added to the certificate to signify expertise in a subject area.

SDE refers to additional endorsements received in other subject areas as cross endorsements.

Beginning on July 1, 2023, the bill allows SDE, in cooperation with OHE, to authorize thefollowing newendorsements:(1)IntegratedEarly Childhood/Special Education Birth-Kindergarten, (2) Integrated Early Childhood/Elementary Education N-3, and (3) Special Education N-K.

The bill specifies that the second and third endorsements listed above are to be added as a cross endorsement as a replacement for requiring full planned program and institutional recommendation.

BACKGROUND Adjunct Instructor Permit for the Arts By law, SBE may issue part-time adjunct instructor permits to applicants with specialized training, experience, or expertise in the arts if an employing board of education or regional educational service center requests it.

The permit authorizes its holder to teach art, music, dance, theater, or any subject related to the holder’s artistic specialty for up to 15 hours per week in certain magnet schools.

COMMITTEE ACTION Education Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 44 Nay 0 (03/24/2023) sHB6879 / File No.

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