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Substitute Senate Bill No. 150
Public Act No. 26-4
AN ACT CONCERNING THE LEGISLATIVE COMMISSIONERS'
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TECHNICAL REVISIONS TO THE
HIGHER EDUCATION STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (h) of section 10a -157a of the 2026 supplement
to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
(h) For the fall semester of 2025 and spring semester of 2026, the
Board of Regents for Higher Education shall continue to offer each
transitional college readiness program, embedded remedial support
program and intensive remedial support program that said board
offered at each public institution of higher educ ation during the fall
semester of 2024 and spring semester of 2025, respectively.
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 10a-80 of the 2026 supplement to the
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
(b) As used in this section, "community service programs" means
educational, cultural, recreational and community directed services that
the Connecticut State Community College may provide in addition to
its regular academic program. Such community service pro grams may
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include, but shall not be limited to, (1) activities designed to enrich the
intellectual, cultural and social life of the community, (2) educational
services designed to promote the development of skills for the effective
use of leisure time, (3) activitie s and programs designed to assist in the
identification and solution of community problems , and (4) utilization
of college facilities and services by community groups to the extent such
usage does not conflict with the regular schedule of the college.
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 10a-72 of the 2026 supplement to the
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
(b) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall:
(1) Make rules for the governance of the Connecticut State
Community College, determine the general policies of said college,
including such policies concerning the admission of students, and direct
the expenditure of said college's funds within the amounts available;
(2) Develop mission statements for the Connecticut State Community
College: The mission statement for the Connecticut State Community
College shall include, but need not be limited to, the following elements:
(A) The educational needs of and constituencies served by said college,
[;] (B) the degrees offered by said college, and (C) the role and scope of
each campus of said college, which shall include each campus's
particular strengths and specialties;
(3) Establish policies for the Connecticut State Community College;
(4) Establish policies that protect academic freedom and the content
of courses and degree programs;
(5) Establish new academic programs;
(6) Make institutional mergers or closures;
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(7) Coordinate the programs and services of the campuses of the
Connecticut State Community College;
(8) Promote fund-raising by the campuses of the Connecticut State
Community College to assist such campuses, provided the board shall
not directly engage in fund -raising except for purposes of providing
funding for (A) scholarships or other direct student fina ncial aid, and
(B) programs, services or activities at one or more of such campuses and
report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having
cognizance of matters relating to higher education not later than January
first, biennially, on all such fund-raising; and
(9) Charge the direct costs for a building project under its jurisdiction
to the bond fund account for such project; provided, (A) such costs are
charged in accordance with a procedure approved by the Treasurer, and
(B) nothing in this subdivision shall permit the charging of working
capital costs, as defined in the applicable provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal
revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, or
costs originally paid from sources other than the bond fund account.
Sec. 4. Section 10 -155 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July
1, 2026):
The Board of Regents for Higher Education, on behalf of the
Connecticut State University System, may maintain an emergency
training program to prepare graduates of approved four -year colleges
and universities to teach in the elementary schools of the state . In
carrying out such program, the board may (1) establish regulations
governing the admission of students to the program , [;] (2) fix tuition
rates to be paid by such students, and (3) enter into such contracts and
agreements as it finds necessary to secure the necessary facilities.
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Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 10a-173 of the 2026 supplement to the
general statutes , as amended by section 263 of public act 25 -168, is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1,
2026):
(b) The Office of Higher Education shall establish the Roberta B.
Willis Scholarship program to annually make need -based financial aid
available for eligible educational costs to eligible students enrolled at
Connecticut's public and independent institutions o f higher education.
Within available funds, the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program shall
include a need and merit-based grant and a need-based grant. The need
and merit-based grant shall be funded at not less than twenty per cent
but not more than t hirty per cent of available funds or ten million
dollars, whichever is greater. The need -based grant shall be funded at
up to eighty per cent of available funds. [The Charter Oak grant shall be
not less than one hundred thousand dollars of available funds. ] There
shall be an administrative allowance based on one -quarter of one per
cent of the available funds, but not less than one hundred thousand
dollars annually.
Governor's Action:
Approved May 4, 2026