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Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
Public Act No. 26-149
AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENT LITERACY, ASPIRING
EDUCATORS, AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AS PART OF THE
WORLD LANGUAGES CURRICULUM AND THE PARAEDUCATOR
HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN SUBSIDY PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) (a) The Department of
Education shall develop and disseminate guidance to local and regional
boards of education regarding the implementation of multitiered
systems of support or response to intervention frameworks for students
who are identified as strugg ling in reading. Such guidance shall be
based on data collected from the results of approved reading
assessments, as described in section 10-14t of the general statutes.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2028, the Commissioner of Education
shall submit a report on the guidance developed pursuant to subsection
(a) of this section and any recommendations for legislation to the joint
standing committee of the General Assembly hav ing cognizance of
matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of
section 11-4a of the general statutes.
Sec. 2. Section 10 -156ii of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
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(a) There is established an aspiring educators [diversity] scholarship
program administered by the Department of Education. The program
shall provide an annual scholarship to [diverse students ] aspiring
educators who (1) graduated from a public high school in [an alliance
district, as defined in section 10 -262u] this state, and (2) are enrolled in
a teacher preparation program at any four -year institution of higher
education. [A diverse student ] An aspiring educator may receive an
annual scholarship in an amount up to ten thousand dollars for each
year such [diverse student] aspiring educator is enrolled and in good
standing in a teacher preparation program. As used in this section,
["diverse" has the same meaning as provided in section 10 -156bb]
"aspiring educator" means an individual who is in a population
subgroup that is underrepresented in the teaching profession in this
state and for which such population subgroup has been identified as a
teacher shortage area by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to
section 10-8b, as amended by this act.
(b) Not later than January 1, [2023] 2027, the department shall, in
consultation with the chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education,
develop a policy concerning the administration of the scholarship. Such
policy shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions regarding (1)
any additional eligibility criteria, (2) payment and distribution of the
scholarships to [diverse students ] aspiring educators through the
teacher prepara tion programs in which they are enrolled, and (3) the
notification of students in high school [in alliance districts ] of the
scholarship program, including the opportunity to apply for a
scholarship under the program while enrolled in high school and prior
to graduation if such student will be enrolled in a teacher preparation
program during the following fall semester at a four-year institution of
higher education.
(c) For the fiscal [years] year ending June 30, [2024] 2027, and each
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fiscal year thereafter, the department shall annually award scholarships
in accordance with the provisions of this section and the guidelines
developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(d) The Commissioner of Education shall develop scholarship
repayment criteria for recipients who are not employed as a certified
teacher by a local or regional board of education in [the] this state
following graduation from a teacher preparation program. Any
amounts repaid to the department shall be deposited in the General
Fund.
(e) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, the commissioner shall
determine if there are any unexpended funds appropriated for purposes
of this section for the fiscal year. If the commissioner determines that
there are unexpended funds in said fiscal ye ar, the commissioner shall
transfer, not later than July 15, 2026, through a memorandum of
understanding with the Comptroller, up to three hundred thousand
dollars of such unexpended funds for the purpose of expanding the
subsidy program, established pursu ant to section 203 of public act 23 -
204, as amended by section 124 of public act 24-81 and this act, to include
paraeducators who are employed by a charter school in the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2027.
[(e)] (f) The department may accept gifts, grants and donations, from
any source, public or private, for the aspiring educators [diversity]
scholarship program.
[(f)] (g) Not later than January 1, [2024] 2028, and annually thereafter,
the department shall develop a report that includes annual data on the
[race and ethnicity of the diverse ] population subgroups of students
who receive a scholarship under the program and the teacher
preparation program in which they are enrolled. The department shall
submit such report to the joint standing committee of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to e ducation, in
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accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a.
Sec. 3. Section 10 -8b of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
(a) The Commissioner of Education shall annually, by December first,
[determine subject and geographic ] identify the following areas in
which a teacher shortage exists: [and] (1) Subject, (2) geographic, and (3)
population subgroups that are underrepresented in the teaching
profession in this state. The commissioner shall certify such [shortages]
teacher shortage areas to the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
for purposes of section 8 -265pp. In [determining] identifying such
teacher [shortages] shortage areas, the commissioner shall consider the
following: [(1)] (A) The number of teacher vacancies in a particular
subject area or geographic area; [(2)] (B) the number of new certificates
in such subject areas and geographic areas or population subgroups
issued by the Department of Education during the preceding year; [and
(3)] (C) the number and types of classes being taught by persons whose
training is not specific to the field in which they are teaching ; and (D)
those population subgroups that are underrepresented in the teaching
profession in this state using data collected in the state -wide public
school information system pursuant to section 10-10a.
(b) The Department of Education shall annually, by March first,
electronically distribute to the president of every institution of higher
education in this state offering a teacher preparatory program
information concerning teacher shortage areas, [determined] identified
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, for at least the prior five years.
Sec. 4. (NEW) ( Effective January 1, 2027 ) (a) The Department of
Education shall establish an American Sign Language education
working group that consists of (1) a representative from each of the
following: The Departments of Education and Aging and Disability
Services, the Labor Department, the Office of Higher Education, the
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Connecticut Council of Language Teachers, the American School for the
Deaf and the Connecticut Association of the Deaf, and (2) at least one
American Sign Language instructor who teaches in a public school in
the state.
(b) The working group shall provide recommendations to the
Department of Education regarding the following:
(1) Curriculum guidance for American Sign Language instruction
that includes, but is not limited to, aligning such curriculum with
nationally recognized proficiency frameworks;
(2) Teacher certification standards based on standards established by
the American Sign Language Teachers Association and the American
Sign Language Proficiency Interview that include, at a minimum, (A)
establishment of a proficiency benchmark, (B) recogni tion of an
alternative certification pathway for native American Sign Language
users and interpreters, and (C) reciprocity with American Sign
Language teaching certifications from other states; and
(3) Guidance to educator preparation programs in the state
concerning, but not limited to, the (A) expansion of American Sign
Language and interpretation education programs, (B) creation of
educational incentives, such as tuition support, credit enhancemen t or
alternative route programs, and (C) establishment of bridge,
endorsement or alternative programs for native American Sign
Language users and certified interpreters seeking teacher certification.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the
Department of Education shall submit a progress report, in accordance
with the provisions of section 11 -4a of the general statutes, to the joint
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of
matters relating to education concerning the work of the American Sign
Language education working group.
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Sec. 5. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) Not later than July 1, 2030, the
Department of Education shall issue to each local and regional board of
education the guidance developed pursuant to subdivision (1) of
subsection (b) of section 4 of this act to ensure consistent
implementation of the American Sign Language portion of the world
languages curriculum required pursuant to section 10-16b of the general
statutes.
Sec. 6. Section 203 of public act 23 -204, as amended by section 124 of
public act 24 -81, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026):
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Health benefit plan" has the same meaning as provided in section
38a-1080 of the general statutes; [,] and
(2) "Partnership plan" has the same meaning as provided in section 3-
123aaa of the general statutes.
(b) For the fiscal [years] year ending [June 30, 2024, and June 30, 2025]
June 30, 2027, and each fiscal year thereafter , the Comptroller shall
establish a program to provide a subsidy, within available
appropriations, to each paraeducator who (1) opens a health savings
account, pursuant to Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
or any subsequent corresponding in ternal revenue code of the United
States, as amended from time to time, or is eligible for Medicare and
enrolls in a high deductible health plan, and (2) is employed [by a local
or regional board of education] in a public school. Such subsidy shall be
in an amount up to a certain percentage, as specified by the Comptroller,
of the deductible for the health plan in which such paraeducator is
enrolled, minus the amount of any employer contributions to a health
savings account or health reimbursement account, and not exceeding an
amount specified by the Comptroller. No paraeducator may receive
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more than one subsidy pursuant to this section. The Comptroller may
work with the local or regional board of education that employs such
paraeducator to distribute such subsidy.
(c) For the fiscal year ending [June 30, 2025] June 30, 2027, and each
fiscal year thereafter , the Comptroller shall establish a program to
provide a subsidy, from any funds appropriated for such purpose, to
each local or regional board of education that provides coverage to
paraeducators and their dependents under a health benefit plan or a
partnership plan for such fiscal year or any portion thereof. Such
subsidy shall be (1) in an amount not more than ten per cent of the
aggregate premium cost, inclusive of the employee and employer
shares, paid by such board of education for coverage under such health
benefit plan or partnership plan, divided by the number of
paraeducators employed by such board of education and enrolled in
health coverage, and (2) used to offset the employee's share of such
premium that is deducted from the payroll check of each paraeducator
employed by such board of education during any pay period during
such fiscal year. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a
local or regional board of education that provides coverage under a high
deductible health plan, as that term is used in subsection (f) of section
38a-520 of the general statutes. Pursuant to the provisions of subsection
(b) of section 10 -66dd of the general statutes, the provisions of this
section shall apply to charter schools.
[(d) The Comptroller and the Commissioner of Education shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding, in accordance with the
provisions of section 4 -97b of the general statutes, to allow the
Comptroller to utilize the sum of $5,000,000 that is appropriated to the
Department of Education for assistance to paraeducators pursuant to
section 1 of public act 23 -204 to implement the provisions of this
section.]
Sec. 7. (Effective from passage) The Comptroller shall calculate the cost
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of expanding the subsidy program, established pursuant to section 203
of public act 23-204, as amended by section 124 of public act 24 -81 and
this act, to include paraeducators who are employed by charter schools.
Not later than January 1, 2027, the Comptr oller shall submit such cost
calculation to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly
having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations,
in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.