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sSB351 / File No. 353 1
General Assembly File No. 353
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 351
Senate, April 2, 2026
The Committee on Labor and Public Employees reported
through SEN. KUSHNER of the 24th Dist., Chairperson of the
Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill
ought to pass.
AN ACT ESTABLISHING STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR TEACHER
TERMINATION DECISIONS AND REQUIRING TERMINATION
HEARINGS TO BE BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (c) to (e), inclusive, of section 10-151 of the 1
general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 3
(c) The contract of employment of a teacher who has not attained 4
tenure may be terminated at any time for any of the reasons enumerated 5
in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (d) of this section . [; 6
otherwise] The standard of review for all such reasons shall be the same 7
standard applied in other disciplinary actions under the terms of such 8
teacher's collective bargaining agreement. Otherwise the contract of 9
such teacher shall be continued into the next school year unless such 10
teacher receives written notice by May first in one school year that such 11
contract will not be renewed for the following year. Upon the teacher's 12
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written request, not later than three calendar days after such teacher 13
receives such notice of nonrenewal or termination, a notice of 14
nonrenewal or termination shall be supplemented not later than four 15
calendar days after receipt of the request by a statement of the reason or 16
reasons for such nonrenewal or termination. Such teacher, upon written 17
request filed with the board of education not later than ten calendar 18
days after the receipt of notice of [termination, or ] nonrenewal or 19
termination shall be entitled to a hearing, except as provided in this 20
subsection, (1) before the board, or (2) if indicated in such request and if 21
designated by the board, before an impartial hearing officer chosen by 22
the teacher and the superintendent in accordance with the provisions of 23
subsection (d) of this section. Such hearing shall commence not later 24
than fifteen calendar days after receipt of such request unless the parties 25
mutually agree to an extension not to exceed fifteen calendar days. The 26
impartial hearing officer or a subcommittee of the board of education, if 27
the board of education designates a subcommittee of three or more 28
board members to conduct hearings, shall submit written findings and 29
recommendations to the board for final disposition. The teacher shall 30
have the right to appear with counsel of the teacher's choice at the 31
hearing. A teacher who has not attained tenure shall not be entitled to a 32
hearing concerning nonrenewal if the reason for such nonrenewal is 33
either elimination of position or loss of position to another teacher. [The 34
board of education shall rescind a nonrenewal decision only if the board 35
finds such decision to be arbitrary and capricious. ] Any such teacher 36
whose contract is terminated for the reasons enumerated in 37
subdivisions (3) and (4) of subsection (d) of this section shall have the 38
right to appeal in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of this 39
section. 40
(d) The contract of employment of a teacher who has attained tenure 41
shall be continued from school year to school year, except that it may be 42
terminated at any time for one or more of the following reasons: (1) 43
Inefficiency, incompetence or ineffectiveness, provided [, if a teacher is 44
notified on or after July 1, 2014, that termination is under consideration 45
due to incompetence or ineffectiveness, the] any determination of 46
incompetence or ineffectiveness is based on evaluation of the teacher 47
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using teacher evaluation guidelines established pursuant to section 10 -48
151b; (2) insubordination against reasonable rules of the board of 49
education; (3) moral misconduct; (4) disability, as shown by competent 50
medical evidence; (5) elimination of the position to which the teacher 51
was appointed or loss of a position to another teacher, if no other 52
position exists to which such teacher may be appointed if qualified, 53
provided such teacher, if qualified, shall be appointed to a position held 54
by a teacher who has not attained tenure, and provided further that 55
determination of the individual contract or contracts of employment to 56
be terminated shall be made in accordance with either (A) a provision 57
for a layoff procedure agreed upon by the board of education and the 58
exclusive employees' representative organization, or (B) in the absence 59
of such agreement, a written policy of the board of education; or (6) 60
other due and sufficient [cause] reasons. The standard of review for all 61
such reasons shall be the same standard applied in other disciplinary 62
actions under the terms of such teacher's collective bargaining 63
agreement. Nothing in this section or in any other section of the general 64
statutes or of any special act shall preclude a board of education from 65
making an agreement with an exclusive bargaining representative 66
which contains a recall provision. Prior to terminating a contract, the 67
superintendent shall give the teacher concerned a written notice that 68
termination of such teacher's contract is under consideration and give 69
such teacher a statement of the reasons for such consideration of 70
termination. Not later than ten calendar days after receipt of written 71
notice by the superintendent that contract termination is under 72
consideration, such teacher may file with the local or regional board of 73
education a written request for a hearing. [A board of education may 74
designate a subcommittee of three or more board members to conduct 75
hearings and submit written findings and recommendations to the 76
board for final disposition in the case of teachers whose contracts are 77
terminated.] Such hearing shall commence not later than fifteen 78
calendar days after receipt of such request, unless the parties mutually 79
agree to an extension [,] not to exceed fifteen calendar days, [(A) before 80
the board of education or a subcommittee of the board, or (B) if indicated 81
in such request or if designated by the board ] before an impartial 82
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hearing officer chosen by the teacher and the superintendent. If the 83
parties are unable to agree upon the choice of a hearing officer not later 84
than five calendar days after the decision to use a hearing officer, the 85
hearing officer shall be selected with the assistance of the American 86
Arbitration Association using its expedited selection process and in 87
accordance with its rules for selection of a neutral arbitrator in grievance 88
arbitration. [If the hearing officer is not selected with the assistance of 89
such association after five days, the hearing shall be held before the 90
board of education or a subcommittee of the board. ] When the reason 91
for termination is incompetence or ineffectiveness, the hearing shall [(i)] 92
(A) address the question of whether the performance evaluation ratings 93
of the teacher were determined in good faith in accordance with the 94
program adopted by the local or regional board of education pursuant 95
to section 10 -151b and were reasonable in light of the evidence 96
presented, and [(ii)] (B) be limited to twelve total hours of evidence and 97
testimony, with each side allowed not more than six hours to present 98
evidence and testimony except the [board, subcommittee of the board 99
or] impartial hearing officer may extend the time period for evidence 100
and testimony at the hearing when good cause is shown. Not later than 101
forty-five calendar days after receipt of the request for a hearing, the 102
[subcommittee of the board or ] hearing officer, unless the parties 103
mutually agree to an extension not to exceed fifteen calendar days, shall 104
[submit written findings and a recommendation to the board of 105
education as to the disposition of the charges against the teacher and 106
shall send a copy of such findings and recommendation to the teacher. 107
The board of education shall give the teacher concerned its written 108
decision not later than fifteen calendar days after receipt of the written 109
recommendation of the subcommittee or hearing officer ] render to the 110
board of education and the teacher a written disposition that shall be 111
binding on the parties . Each party shall share equally the fee of the 112
hearing officer and all other costs incidental to the hearing. [If the 113
hearing is before the board of education, the board shall render its 114
decision not later than fifteen calendar days after the close of such 115
hearing and shall send a copy of its decision to the teacher.] The hearing 116
shall be public if the teacher so requests. [or the board, subcommittee or 117
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hearing officer so designates.] The teacher concerned shall have the right 118
to appear with counsel at the hearing, whether public or private. [A 119
copy of a transcript of the proceedings of the hearing shall be furnished 120
by the board of education, upon written request by the teacher within 121
fifteen days after the board's decision, provided the teacher shall assume 122
the cost of any such copy.] Either party shall have the right to request a 123
copy of the transcript and shall bear the cost of any such copy. Nothing 124
[herein] contained in this section shall deprive a board of education or 125
superintendent of the power to suspend a teacher from duty 126
immediately when serious misconduct is charged without prejudice to 127
the rights of the teacher as otherwise provided in this section. 128
(e) Any teacher or board of education aggrieved by the [decision of a 129
board of education ] award of the hearing officer after a hearing as 130
provided in subsection (d) of this section may [appeal therefrom, not 131
later than thirty calendar days after such decision, to the Superior Court. 132
Such appeal shall be made returnable to said court in the same manner 133
as is prescribed for civil actions brought to said court ] make an 134
application to the Superior Court to confirm, vacate or modify said 135
award pursuant to sections 52 -417 to 52 -419, inclusive . Any such 136
[appeal] application shall be a privileged case to be heard by the court 137
as soon after the return day as is practicable. The teacher or board of 138
education shall file with the court a copy of the complete transcript of 139
the proceedings of the hearing, [and the minutes of board of education 140
meetings relating to such termination, including the vote of the board 141
on the termination, ] together with such other documents, or certified 142
copies thereof, as shall constitute the record of the case. [The court, upon 143
such appeal, shall review the proceedings of such hearing. The court, 144
upon such appeal and hearing thereon, may affirm or reverse the 145
decision appealed from in accordance with subsection (j) of section 4 -146
183. Costs shall not be allowed against the board of education unless it 147
appears to the court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith or 148
with malice in making the decision appealed from.] 149
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 10-151(c) to (e)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (d), "the terms of" was added before "such teacher's" for
consistency.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
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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: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Local and Regional School
Districts
STATE
MANDATE1
- Potential
Cost
Potential
Minimal
Potential
Minimal
Explanation
The bill results in a potential, minimal cost to local and regional
school districts annually beginning in FY 27. The bill requires local and
regional school districts to hire third party hearing officers for all
hearings regarding the termination of a tenured teacher and allows
districts to request a copy of the transcript so long as they bear the cost
of the copy. Currently , either a hearing officer or a board of education
subcommittee may conduct the hearing. The cost of the hearings will be
shared by all involved parties as under current law.
The cost of the bill to a district will vary based on the number of
hearings conducted, the rate charged by such officers, whether in the
absence of the bill the district would have chosen to instead use a
subcommittee, and the cost of any requested transc ripts. Any cost is
expected to be minimal, as such hearings are rare.
1 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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The bill also: (1) sets a standard of review for when a nontenured or
tenured public school teacher is terminated, which is the same standard
applied to other disciplinary actions under the teacher's collective
bargaining unit; (2) makes the hearing officer's decision final; and (3 )
allows teachers or districts to appeal to the Superior Court 2 when
aggrieved by a hearing officer's decision. These provisions have no fiscal
impact, as they are not expected to change any costs to school districts
associated with personnel decisions.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.
2 The court system disposes of over 250,000 cases annually and the number of cases is
not anticipated to be great enough to need additional resources.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 351
AN ACT ESTABLISHING STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR TEACHER
TERMINATION DECISIONS AND REQUIRING TERMINATION
HEARINGS TO BE BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR.
SUMMARY
This bill makes changes to the process for terminating public school
teachers. It sets a standard of review for when a nontenured or tenured
public school teacher is terminated for the reasons allowed by existing
law (inefficiency, incompetence, insubordination, moral misconduct,
disability, elimination of a position to another teacher, or other due and
sufficient reasons). Current law does not specify a standard of review
for these terminations. The bill requires the standard of review to be the
same standard applied in other disciplinary actions under the teacher’s
collective bargaining agreement. This permits the standard to be
determined through the collective bargaining process.
The bill also changes who makes the final decision when a tenured
teacher is under consideration for termination and requests a hearing.
Current law generally allows such a teacher to request a hearing before
either a board of education (BOE) subcommittee or an impartial hearing
officer. The bill eliminates the option for the hearing before a BOE
subcommittee. Under current law, the subcommittee or hearing officer
must submit its findings and a recommendation to the BOE, which then
makes a final decision on the termination. The bill instead requires the
hearing officer to make the final disposition and makes it binding on the
parties.
Existing law, unchanged by the bill, similarly allows a nontenured
teacher whose contract is not being renewed to request a hearing before
either a BOE subcommittee or an impartial hearing officer, which must
then submit findings and recommendations to the BOE for final
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disposition. Current law only allows a BOE to rescind a nonrenewal
decision if it finds that it was arbitrary and capricious. The bill removes
this limitation, giving the BOE greater discretion over when to rescind a
nonrenewal decision.
Current law allows teachers aggrieved by a BOE’s termination
decision to appeal to the Superior Court , and it requires the court to
review the proceedings under the Uniform Administrative Procedure
Act’s (UAPA) standards for reviewing appeals of agency decisions. The
bill instead allows teachers or BOEs aggrieved by a hearing officer’s
decision to apply to the court to confirm, vacate, or modify the decision
under the laws for court consideration of arbitration awards. It also
makes various minor and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
COURT REVIEW STANDARDS FOR APPEALS
Current law generally requires a court considering an appeal of a
teacher’s termination under UAPA standards to affirm the decision
unless it finds that substantial rights of the teacher have been prejudiced
because the findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions (1) violate
constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) exceed statutory authority; or
(3) were (a) made using an unlawful procedure, (b) affected by other
error of law, (c) clearly erroneous, or (d) arbitrary or capricious.
The bill instead requires a court to consider an appeal from either a
teacher or the BOE under the law for appeals of arbitration awards.
Under th is law , a court must confirm an award unless it vacates or
modifies it (CGS § 52-417). The court generally must vacate an award if
(1) it was made through corruption, fraud, or undue means; (2) it was
evident the arbitrator was partial or corrupt; (3) the arbitrator was guilty
of misconduct by refusing to postpone the hearing or in refusing to hear
pertinent and material evidence; or (4) the arbitrator exceeded his or her
powers, or so imperfectly executed them , that a mutual, final , and
definite award was not made (CGS § 52-418).
A court must modify an award if (1) there was an evident material
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miscalculation of figures or an evident material mistake in the
description of something referred to in the award; (2) the arbitrator
awarded for a matter not submitted for arbitration, unless it does not
affect the merits of the decision; or (3) the award is imperfect in matter
of form not affecting the merits of the controversy (CGS § 52-419).
Current law prohibits a court from awarding costs to a teacher
appealing his or her termination unless it finds that the BOE acted with
gross negligence, in bad faith, or with malice in its original decision. The
bill removes this limitation, and the arbitration standards used under
the bill do not explicitly allow costs to be awarded to either party.
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sHB 5003, § 9, reported favorably by the Labor and Public Employees
Committee, is substantially similar to this bill.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 9 Nay 4 (03/17/2026)