Connecticut 2025 Regular Session Status: In Committee

HB 7195 — AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR PARAEDUCATORS.

Last action — FILE NO. 524

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

206 added · 88 removed

206 line(s) added, 88 removed.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No.
House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
7195 January Session, 2025 LCO No.
524 January Session, 2025 Substitute House Bill No.
5844 Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES Introduced by:
7195 House of Representatives, April 3, 2025 The Committee on Labor and Public Employees reported through REP.
(LAB) AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR PARAEDUCATORS.
SANCHEZ, E.
of the 24th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR PARAEDUCATORS.
except that [(1)] (A) with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after December 31, 1977, benefits shall not be paid based on service performed in an instructional, research or principal administrative capacity for an educational institution for any week of unemployment commencing during the period between two successive academic years, or during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave LCO No.
except that [(1)] (A) with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after December 31, 1977, benefits shall not be paid based on service performed in an instructional,research or principal administrative capacity for an educational institution for any week of unemployment commencing during the period between two successive sHB7195 / File No.
5844 1 of 5 Raised Bill No.7195 provided for in the individual's contract, to any individual if such individualperformssuchservicesinthefirst ofsuchacademicyears [(or terms)] or terms and if there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational institution in the second of such academic years or terms;
524 1 sHB7195 File No.
524 academic years, or during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's contract, to any individual if such individualperformssuchservicesinthefirst ofsuchacademicyears [(or terms)] or terms and if there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational institution in the second of such academic years or terms;
[(4)] (D) with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after March 31, 1984, for services described in [subdivisions (1) and (2)] subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision, benefits shall not be payable on the basis of such services under the circumstances prescribed in [subdivisions (1), (2) and (3)] LCO No.
[(4)] (D) with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after March 31, 1984, for services described in [subdivisions (1) and (2)] subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision, benefits shall not be payable on the basis of such services sHB7195 / File No.
5844 2 of 5 Raised Bill No.7195 subparagraphs(A)to(C),inclusive,ofthissubdivisiontoanyindividual who performed such services in an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency.
524 2 sHB7195 File No.
524 under the circumstances prescribed in [subdivisions (1), (2) and (3)] subparagraphs(A)to(C),inclusive,ofthissubdivision toanyindividual who performed such services in an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency.
(2) With respect to the services, as set forth in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, performed in an individual's capacity as a paraeducator for a school district, regional education service center, governing authority for a state charter school or an endowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34 of the general statutes in the state, the administrator, as defined in subsection (c) of section 31-222, shall determine whether such individual has reasonable assurance of performing such services in the second of two succeeding academic years or terms pursuant to the circumstances prescribed in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection or in the period immediately following a customary vacation period or holiday recess pursuant to the circumstances prescribed in subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of this subsection on a case-by-case basis.
(2) With respect to the services, as set forth in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, performed in an individual's capacity as a paraeducator employed by a local or regional board of education, a regional educational service center, the governing authority for a state charter schooloranendowedorincorporatedacademy approvedbythe State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34 in the state, the administrator, as defined in subsection (c) of section 31-222, shall determine whether such individual has reasonable assurance of performing such services in the second of two succeeding academic years or terms pursuant to the circumstances prescribed in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection or in the period immediately following a customary vacation period or holiday recess pursuant to the circumstances prescribed in subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of this subsection on a case-by-case basis.
Reasonable assurance shall be established if (A) the school district, regional education service center, governing authority for a state charter school or endowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34 of the general statutes has made an offer of employment to such individual for the second academic year or term or for the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess, whether such offer is written, oral or implied, (B) such offer was made by an employee of the school district, regional education service center, governing authority for a state charter school or endowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34 of the general statutes with authority to make such offer, (C) such offer is for services in the same capacity as the LCO No.
Reasonable assurance shall be established if (A) such board of education, regional educational service center, governing authority or endowed or incorporated academy has made an offer of employment to such individual for the second academic year or term or for the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess, whether such offer is written,oralorimplied, (B) such offer was made by an employee of such board of education, regional educational service center, governing authority or endowed or incorporated academy with authority to make such offer, (C) such offer is for services in the same capacity as the services the individual provided in the first academic year or term or in the period before a customary vacation period or holiday recess, (D) the wages or salary in such offer are in an amount not less than ninety per cent of the amount paid to such individual, in sHB7195 / File No.
5844 3 of 5 Raised Bill No.7195 services the individual provided in the first academic year or term or in the period before a customary vacation period or holiday recess, (D) the wages or salary in such offer are in an amount not less than ninety per cent of the amount paid to such individual, in aggregate, by every educational institution for which such individual worked during the first academic year or term or during the period before a customary vacation period or holiday recess, (E) such offer is not contingent on factors within the control of the school district, regional education servicecenter,governingauthorityforastatecharterschoolorendowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34 of the general statutes, including, but not limited to, course programming, allocation of available funding, program modifications or facility availability, and (F) it is highly probable that such individual will provide services in the same capacity during the second academic year or term or during the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess based on the totality of circumstances of the case, including, but not limited to, availability of funding, past enrollment levels, the individual's level of seniority and the nature of the contingencies on the offer.
524 3 sHB7195 File No.
(3) Not later than ten days before the last day of an academic year or term, each school district, regional education service center, governing authority for a state charter school or an endowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34 of the general statutes in the state shall submit to the Labor Department, in the form and manner prescribed by the administrator, (A) a list of individuals who performed services, as set forth in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, in such individual's capacity as a paraeducator for such educational institution and who do not have a reasonable assurance of providing such services in the same capacity during the second academic year or term or during the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess, including such individual's name and Social Security number, and (B) a list of individuals who performed such services for such educational LCO No.
524 aggregate, by every educational institution for which such individual worked during the first academic year or term or during the period before a customary vacation period or holiday recess, (E) such offer is not contingent on factors within the control of such board of education, regional educational service center, governing authority or endowed or incorporated academy, including, but not limited to, course programming, allocation of available funding, program modifications or facility availability, and (F) it is highly probable that such individual will provide services in the same capacity during the second academic yearortermorduringtheperiodfollowingacustomaryvacationperiod or holiday recess based on the totality of circumstances of the case, including, but not limited to, availability of funding, past enrollment levels, the individual's level of seniority and the nature of the contingencies on the offer.
5844 4 of 5 Raised Bill No.
(3) Not later than ten days before the last day of an academic year or term, each local or regional board of education, regional educational service center, governing authority for a state charter school or an endowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Educationpursuantto section10-34inthestateshallsubmittotheLabor Department, in the form and manner prescribed by the administrator, (A) a list of individuals who performed services, as set forth in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, in such individual's capacity as a paraeducator for such board of education, regional educational service center, governing authority or endowed or incorporated academy and who do not have a reasonable assurance of providing such services in the same capacity during the second academic year or term or during the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess, including such individual's name and SocialSecuritynumber,and(B)alistofindividualswhoperformedsuch servicesforsuchboardofeducation,regionaleducationalservicecenter, governing authority or endowed or incorporated academy and who have a reasonable assurance of providing such services in the same capacity during the second academic year or term or during the period following a customary vacationperiodor holiday recess,whichlist shall include a description of the manner in which reasonable assurance was sHB7195 / File No.
7195 institution and who have a reasonable assurance of providing such services in the same capacity during the second academic year or term or during the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess, which list shall include a description of the manner in which reasonable assurance was provided to such individual, including, but not limited to, (i) whether an offer was made in writing, orally or implied, (ii) the nature of any contingencies in the offer, and (iii) the information about the offer communicated to the individual.
524 4 sHB7195 File No.
Such information may be considered by the administrator, but shall not, on its own, demonstrate conclusive evidence regarding reasonable assurance inanycase.
524 provided to such individual, including, but not limited to, (i) whether an offer was made in writing, orally or implied, (ii) the nature of any contingencies in the offer, and (iii) the information about the offer communicated to the individual.
Theadministratorshallconsiderthefailureofany institution to submit such information as establishing a rebuttable presumption of the lack of reasonable assurance to an individual of performing services, as described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, in such individual's capacity as a paraeducator during the second academic year or term or during the period following a customary vacation period or holiday recess.
Such information may be considered by the administrator, but shall not, on its own, demonstrate conclusive evidence regarding reasonable assurance in any case.
Section 1 July 1, 2025 31-227(d) Statement of Purpose:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 31-227(d) Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
To require the Labor Department to consider specific circumstances when determining whether an individual who performs services as a paraeducator is eligible to receive unemployment compensation.
Subdivs.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets.
(1) and (2) were rewritten for clarity and for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except underlined.]e entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not LCO No.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
5844 5 of 5
sHB7195 / File No.
524 5 sHB7195 File No.
524 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 26 $ FY 27 $ Labor Dept.
GF - Cost 36,561 8,855 Note:
GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 26 $ FY 27 $ Local and Regional School Cost Potential Potential Districts Significant Significant Explanation The bill results in a cost to the Labor Department (DOL) of $36,561 in FY 26 and $8,855 in FY 27, and results in a potential cost to local and regional school districts annually beginning in FY 26.
The bill changes the process for determining if a paraeducator is eligible to receive unemployment benefits, and requires districts to submit information to DOL for DOL to make that determination.
The bill results in a cost to DOL of $36,561 in FY 26 and $8,855 in FY related to consultant and vendor costs needed to create the technology to securely accept the information that districts must provide and to make the necessary updates to ReEmployCT.
By changing the process for determining if a paraeducator is eligible for unemployment benefits, the bill potentially increases the number of paraeducators who could receive unemployment benefits.
This results 1DOL’s unemployment tax and benefits system.
sHB7195 / File No.
524 6 sHB7195 File No.
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524 in costs to local and regional school districts annually beginning in FY 26.
Districts are reimbursable employers of the Unemployment Compensation Fund (UCF), which means that they reimburse the UCF dollar-for-dollar for the benefits paid to their former employees.
To the extent that more paraeducators receive unemployment benefits as a result of the bill, there is a corresponding cost to districts to reimburse the UCF.
That cost will vary based on the number of paraeducators receiving benefits, and the total amount of benefits received, and may be significant.
Districts may incur additional one-time costs to purchase or upgrade any software neededtosubmit informationtoDOLpursuant tothebill's provisions.
Any costs will vary based on the manner that DOL prescribes to submit such information.
The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of paraeducators who receive unemployment benefits and the total amount of benefits received.
Costs to DOL identified above are not expected to be incurred after FY 27.
sHB7195 / File No.
524 7 sHB7195 File No.
524 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:
sHB7195 / File No.
524 8 sHB7195 File No.
524 1.
the school district made a written, oral, or implied offer to 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 billrequiresschool districtsto submit two employee liststo 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 paraeducatorwasgivenreasonableassurance,including(1)whetherthe offer was written, oral, or implied;
(2) the nature of any offer contingencies;
and (3) the information about the offer communicated to the paraeducator.
sHB7195 / File No.
524 9 sHB7195 File No.
524 The billallowsthecommissioner to consider theinformationonthese 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) sHB7195 / File No.
524 10
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 524

  2. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 332

  3. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/02/25

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0311

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Labor and Public Employees

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