AN ACT REDUCING TESTING BURDENS AND ENHANCING THE MATH CURRICULUM.

Education Taxes

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR PURSUANT TO JOINT RULE 9
Last action: 2026-02-13
Official status: Public Hearing 02/20
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill allows for private donations but does not specify if they are required for the incentive program.

HB05034: Reducing Testing Burdens and Enhancing Math Curriculum

This law creates an incentive program to reduce student testing time, provides guidance for schools on cutting local tests, allows a request to change federal high school accountability rules, and redesigns math pathways to prepare students for careers.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Commissioner of Education to create an incentive program by July 1, 2027, using available funds to reward schools that reduce time spent on broad assessments, use state-provided assessment tools, and improve teacher skills in formative assessment.
Directs the Department of Education to provide guidance by June 1, 2027, on strategies for local boards to reduce discretionary tests, which may include eliminating fall or spring broad assessments.
Allows the Commissioner to request a federal waiver to change high school accountability rules so that academic test scores count less than other measures like college and career readiness.
Mandates a redesign of Connecticut's high school math pathways by January 1, 2027, to include subjects such as data science, statistics, quantitative reasoning, and applied mathematics.

Who It Names or Affects

School districts that may receive recognition, financial awards, or flexibility if they reduce testing burdens.
Local and regional boards of education receiving guidance on reducing discretionary tests.
High school students whose math curriculum pathways will be redesigned for career preparation.

Terms To Know

Broad Assessment: A test that measures what a student learned during a semester or school year, excluding state-mandated mastery exams and other required tests.
Formative Assessment: Tools used to check learning while instruction is happening to help improve teaching and support students.
Mathematics Pathways: Different tracks of math classes designed to prepare high schoolers for specific careers or college goals, including data science and applied mathematics.

Limits and Unknowns

The incentive program depends on available funding.
Federal approval is required before the state can change how it measures high school accountability under federal law.
The bill states that a professional learning series called MathConn will be explored for feasibility, but does not guarantee its launch.

Bill History

2026-02-13 Connecticut General Assembly
Public Hearing 02/20
2026-02-05 Connecticut General Assembly
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

Official Summary Text

To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

LCO No. 616 1 of 3

General Assembly Governor's Bill No. 5034
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 616

Referred to Committee on EDUCATION

Introduced by:
Request of the Governor Pursuant
to Joint Rule 9

AN ACT REDUCING TESTING BURDENS AND ENHANCING THE
MATH CURRICULUM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026 ) (a) As used in this section, 1
"broad assessment" means an assessment that measures what students 2
should have learned during a semester or during a school year. "Broad 3
assessment" does not include the state -wide mastery examinations 4
under section 10 -14n of the general statutes or any other student 5
assessments required by state or federal law. 6
(b) Not later than July 1, 2027, the Commissioner of Education shall 7
establish, within available appropriations, an incentive program for 8
school districts that (1) reduces or limits the amount of time student s 9
spend on taking broad assessments during the school year, (2) integrates 10
state-provided interim and formative assessment tools into the local 11
curriculum in a manner that supports ongoing instructional 12
improvement, and (3) increases teacher competency in the formative 13
assessment process. The incentive program may include public 14

Governor's Bill No. 5034

LCO No. 616 2 of 3

recognition, financial awards and enhanced autonomy or operational 15
flexibility for school districts. 16
(c) The Department of Education may accept private donations for 17
the purpose of this section. 18
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026 ) Not later than June 1, 2027, the 19
Department of Education shall develop and provide guidance to local 20
and regional boards of education on effective strategies for reducing the 21
amount of discretionary local student assessments. Such guidance may 22
include the elimination of the fall and spring administration of broad 23
assessments, as defined in section 1 of this act, or substituting, where 24
appropriate, certain end-of-unit classroom summative assessments with 25
state-provided interim and formative assessment tools. 26
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage ) The Commissioner of Education may, 27
after consultation with the working group established pursuant to 28
section 28 of public act 24 -45, submit a request to the United States 29
Secretary of Education to amend the state's approved plan submitted 30
pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 , 20 31
USC 6301, et seq., as amended from time to time , and reauthorized by 32
the Every Student Succeeds Act, P.L. 114 -95. Such request may include 33
a waiver from federal accountability requirements under said act that 34
allows the Department of Education to modify the state's high school 35
accountability model by reducing the weight assigned to the academic 36
achievement indicator and increasing the weight for other relevant 37
indicators, such as college and career-oriented measures. 38
Sec. 4. ( Effective from passage ) (a) Not later than January 1, 2027, the 39
Commissioner of Education shall redesign Connecticut's high school 40
mathematics pathways to prepare students for relevant postsecondary 41
careers. Such mathematics pathways shall include, but need not be 42
limited to, (1) science, technology, engineering and mathematics, (2) 43
data science and statistics, (3) quantitative reasoning, and (4) workforce 44
and applied mathematics. The commissioner may consult with relevant 45

Governor's Bill No. 5034

LCO No. 616 3 of 3

stakeholders to implement the provisions of this subsection. 46
(b) The commissioner, in consultation with the Connecticut Educator 47
Preparation and Certification Board established pursuant to section 10 -48
150b of the general statutes, shall develop guidelines for the role of 49
mathematics specialists in supporting mathematics interventions in 50
schools. 51
(c) Not later than January 1, 2027, the commissioner shall (1) develop 52
a list of professional development providers to support the 53
implementation of high -quality mathematics instruction, and (2) 54
explore the feasibility of launching MathConn, a professional learning 55
series for educators. The commissioner may consult with relevant 56
stakeholders to implement the provisions of this subsection. 57
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 from passage New section

Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, 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.]