AN ACT CONCERNING TEACHERS' DISABILITY AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND PARAEDUCATORS' SALARY AND RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.

House of Representatives
sHB5446 / File No. 685 1

General Assembly File No. 685
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5446

House of Representatives, April 20, 2026

The Committee on Appropriations reported through REP.
WALKER of the 93rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING TEACHERS' DISABILITY AND RETIREMENT
BENEFITS AND PARAEDUCATORS' SALARY AND RETIREMENT
CONTRIBUTIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) The chief administrative officer of 1
the teachers' retirement system, in consultation with the president of the 2
Connecticut Education Association and the president of AFT 3
Connecticut, shall study the feasibility of making changes to teachers' 4
disability and retirement benefits to permit (1) retired teachers to be 5
reemployed full-time by local and regional boards of education without 6
the salary from such employment being included in such teachers' 7
pension calculations, and (2) retroactive application of disability 8
benefits so that former teachers are able to apply for and receive a 9
disability allowance after leaving employment as a teacher, provided 10
the disabling condition began when the former teacher was actively 11
employed. 12
(b) Not later than January 1, 2027, the chief administrative officer 13
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shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11 -4a of the 14
general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 15
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and 16
the budgets of state agencies on the results of the study. Such report 17
shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) A potential timeline for 18
implementing such benefit changes; (2) the approximate cost of such 19
benefit changes; (3) a description of the resources needed to implement 20
such benefit changes; and (4) a description of any potential barriers to 21
implementing such benefit changes. 22
Sec. 2. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) Any collective bargaining 23
agreement entered into, amended or extended on or after July 1, 2026, 24
between a local or regional board of education and the representatives 25
of the exclusive bargaining unit for paraeducators shall establish a 26
minimum salary for a full-time paraeducator that is not less than forty -27
five thousand dollars annually. 28
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 29
2028, and annually thereafter, the Office of Policy and Management 30
shall provide to each local or regional board of education a subsidy for 31
each paraeducator employed by such board of education in an amount 32
equal to the difference between the annual salary, as of July 1, 2026, of 33
such paraeducator and the minimum salary required pursuant to 34
section 2 of this act . Any such subsidy provided to a local or regional 35
board of education under this section shall not be combined with any 36
other state grant provided to local or regional boards of education under 37
any provision of the general statutes. 38
Sec. 4. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) (a) Notwithstanding any 39
provision of the general statutes, each local and regional board of 40
education shall pay for each paraeducator employed by such board the 41
employee contribution required pursuant to the municipal employees' 42
retirement system or any other retirement system in which such board 43
participates, provided such payment shall not exceed the amount of the 44
employee contribution required pursuant to the municipal employees' 45
retirement system. Any amount of a required employee contribution to 46
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a retirement system that exceeds the amount paid by such board 47
pursuant to this subsection shall be paid by the paraeducator. 48
(b) The Comptroller shall annually pay to each local or regional board 49
of education not less than fifty per cent of the cost to such board for the 50
payment of the employee contribution for retirement benefits pursuant 51
to subsection (a) of this section. 52
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

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

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The first sentence of Section 3 was rewritten for clarity.

APP Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO

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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 27 $ FY 28 $
Teachers' Retirement Bd. GF - Cost 160,000 None
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits1
GF - Cost 25,000 None
Policy & Mgmt., Off. GF - Cost None Up to 210.9
million
Comptroller GF - Cost 18 million 18 million
Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Local and Regional School
Districts
STATE
MANDATE2
- Cost
Up to 210.9
million
Up to 210.9
million
Local and Regional School
Districts
Revenue
Gain
None Up to 210.9
million
Various Municipalities STATE
MANDATE
- Cost
57.9 million 57.9 million

Explanation
The bill makes several provisions concerning paraeducators and
requires the teachers’ retirement board to conduct a study which results
in the fiscal impacts described below.

1The 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 41.82% of payroll in FY 27.
2 State mandate is defined in Sec. 2 -32b(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, "state
mandate" means any state initiated constitutional, statutory or executive action that
requires a local government to establish, expand or modify its activities in such a way
as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues.
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Section 1 requires a feasibility study of retired teachers’ disability
and retirement benefits which results in a cost of $185,000 in FY 27
associated with salary and fringe benefits of approximately, $60,000 and
$25,000, respectively, for two half-year positions, and a contract with the
state’s actuary estimated to cost $100,000.
Sections 2 and 3 result in a cost of up to $210.9 million to local and
regional boards of education (BOEs) beginning in FY 27 and the Office
of Policy and Management (OPM) beginning in FY 28. The cost is
associated with establishing a minimum salary of $45,000 for
paraeducators and a corresponding subsidy program administered by
OPM. The cost to BOEs is at least partially offset, beginning in FY 28, by
a revenue gain.
Section 2 requires new, extended, or amended collective bargaining
agreements between BOEs and paraeducators as of July 1, 2026 to
establish a minimum salary for full -time paraeducators of $45,000.
Agreements for FY 27 that are finalized before the start of the fiscal year
are not subject to the requirement. Section 3 requires OPM to provide a
subsidy to BOEs, beginning in FY 28, in an amount equal to the
difference between the annual paraeducator salary on July 1, 2026 and
the new minimum salary of $45,000 . If a BOE adopts a paraeducator
salary of at least $45,000 on or before July 1, 2026, they will not be eligible
for the subsidy through OPM.
The costs to a BOE in FY 27 (and annually thereafter) and OPM in FY
28 (and annually thereafter) is dependent on the number of full -time
paraeducators employed by a BOE, the difference between their salary
on July 1, 2026 and $45,000, and when the minimum salary takes effect
for the BOE's paraeducators. The maximum cost of $210.9 million is
based on the number of paraeducators who are employed at least half -
time and the lower of two average paraeducator salary estimates.3

3 The estimated average paraeducator salary ranges from $29,563 to $37,450 (using data
from the Office of the State Comptroller and the Connecticut Association of School
Business Officials) and 13,664 paraeducators qualify for health insurance subsidies
through the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). Not all paraeducators who qualify
through OSC are full-time, but it is expected that the majority are.
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Section 4 results in a cost of approximately $57.9 million to
municipalities with boards of education employing paraeducators and
$18 million to the Office of the State Comptroller beginning in FY 27 and
annually thereafter, subject to changes in the normal cost established by
annual valuations. The bill requires municipalities to pay for the cost of
employee contributions to the municipal employees’ retirement system
for the inclusion of paraeducators, which additionally increases such
employer’s cost to t he retirement system. The Comptroller will
reimburse such municipalities 50% of the employee contribution
portion.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of full-time paraeducators
employed by BOEs and when a collective bargaining agreement is
adopted containing the $45,000 minimum paraeducator salary.

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OFA Bill Analysis
HB 5446

AN ACT CONCERNING TEACHERS' DISABILITY AND
RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND PARAEDUCATORS' SALARY AND
RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.

SUMMARY:
The bill makes several changes to paraeducator benefits and requires
a study conducted by the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) chief
administrative officer. The bill requires: (1) study of teachers’ disability
and retirement benefits, (2) minimum salary f or paraeducators, and (3)
inclusion of paraeducators into municipal employee retirement
systems.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026, except Section 1 is effective from
passage.
Feasibility Study
The bill requires the chief administrative officer of TRS, in
consultation with the presidents of both the Connecticut Education
Association and AFT Connecticut, to study (1) the feasibility of allowing
retired teachers to be reemployed full-time by local and regional boards
of education without including the salary earned in their pension
calculations, and (2) retroactive application of disability allowance after
leaving employment.
Currently, retired teachers are allowed to be reemployed subject to
certain limitations. Members can be reemployed and earn up to 45% of
the maximum salary for their position, including benefits, while still
collecting a monthly pension benefit. Members may return to work full-
time if they suspend their pension payments. Collecting a pension
payment while working full -time results in the excess salary being
reimbursed to the Teachers’ Retirement Board.
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Disability allowance is available to active teachers who are certified
as disabled by the Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Board Medical
Review Committee, and either have five years of credited service or
became disabled while performing within their scope of employment.
Members receiving a disability allowance are converted to a normal
retirement benefit at age 60.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
Paraeducator Salary Minimum
The bill establishes a minimum salary of $45,000 annually for
paraeducators working full -time. It requires the Office of Policy and
Management to provide a subsidy to local or regional boards of
education for the difference between the annual salary as of July 1, 2026,
and the newly established minimum under this bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
Paraeducator Pension
Paraeducators do not qualify for TRS. Instead, the bill requires local
and regional boards of education employing paraeducators to pay, on
their behalf, the employee’s contribution to participate in the municipal
retirement system or any other retirement s ystem in which the board
participates. Under the bill, the Comptroller will reimburse such boards
of education half of these costs. There is additionally a corresponding
employer contribution rate that boards of education must pay to
participate in a retirement system, which will not be reimbursed.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable Report
Yea 39 Nay 13 (04/01/2026)