EDUCATION LEGISLATION SUMMARY 2005 SESSION CONNECTICUT GENERAL - - PDF document

EDUCATION LEGISLATION SUMMARY

2005 SESSION CONNECTICUT GENERAL ASSEMBLY

On the federal level, this past year has been marked by the Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), which made several notable changes in the area of special education. Signed by President Bush on De- cember 3, 2004, the revised IDEA makes several significant changes in provisions governing child find procedures, ser- vices to private school students, evaluations, discipline of students with disabilities and procedural safeguards. Public comment on proposed regulations implementing the new IDEA is currently ongoing, with final regulations expected by December 2005. Links to IDEA ’04 and the proposed regulations may be found at www.ed.gov/policy/ landing.jhtml. Legislative activity at the state level may be most notable for the bills that did not get passed, such as a proposed school nutrition bill and a bill which would have required mandatory steroid use prevention education. Below is a brief synopsis

• f the most important education legislation that was passed

by the Connecticut General Assembly during the 2005 legis- lative session. The full text for these public acts is also avail- able online at ftp://159.247.160.79/acts/Pa. We would be happy to provide additional copies upon request.

Student Health

Food Allergies Public Act 05-104 requires the State Department of Educa- tion (“SDE”), in conjunction with the Department of Public Health, to develop guidelines for managing students with life- threatening food allergies. These guidelines are to be made available to school boards by January 1, 2006. School boards must, in turn, use these guidelines to implement plans for those students with life-threatening allergies enrolled within their schools. These plans must address training of school personnel, emergency response procedures, a process for developing individualized health care plans and protocols to prevent exposure to food allergens. Effective upon passage. Emergency Use of Cartridge Injectors Connecticut’s Good Samaritan Law (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52- 557b) currently provides immunity from civil liability to cer- tain trained individuals who render emergency assistance, including those who use cardiopulmonary resuscitators or an automatic external defibrillator. Public Act 05-144 extends this immunity for ordinary negligence to similarly trained in- dividuals using a cartridge injector (i.e. epi-pen). This immu- nity does not apply to acts or omissions that constitute gross, willful, or wanton negligence. In conjunction with Public Act 05-272, this legislation also requires licensed day care centers, day camps and before or after school programs that are administered in school buildings or on school grounds to ensure that they have personnel trained to administer medi- cation with a cartridge injector to children with a medically diagnosed allergic condition that may require prompt treat- ment to protect against serious harm or death. Public Act 05-272 makes clear, however, that the requirements pertain- ing to trained personnel only apply to programs actually ad- ministered, rather than offered, by a school board or munici-

• pality. Effective October 1, 2005.

Medicaid Reimbursements for Special Education Services Under Public Act 05-141, services recommended by a plan- ning and placement team (“PPT”) and certain licensed prac- titioners will be deemed authorized for federal Medicaid re- imbursement under Connecticut’s School Based Child Health (“SBCH”) program. This program provides federal funds to participating local educational agencies (“LEAs”) to partially

• ffset costs incurred for providing related medical services

to special education students. Effective upon passage. Reporting of Asthma Public Act 05-272 expands the reporting requirements for the prevalence of asthma among students. Current law re- quires each local or regional school board to report to the local health department and department of public health the number of students per school and per district with an asthma diagnosis as recorded on required health assessment forms. By law, these health assessments must be done at the fol- lowing intervals: (1) at the time of enrollment; (2) in either grade six or seven; and (3) in either grade ten or eleven. Public Act 05-272 eliminates the requirement that the asthma diagnosis must be recorded on a health assessment form in

• rder to be reported. Thus, effective October 1, 2005, school

districts must report, on an annual basis, the number of stu- dents with an asthma diagnosis at the prescribed intervals, regardless of whether it is officially recorded on an assess- ment form.

Staffing and Instruction

Bilingual Educators Public Act 05-290 temporarily changes the certification re- quirements for bilingual teachers. Under current law, those persons applying for initial certification as bilingual teachers must qualify in both bilingual education and in either elemen- tary education (for those seeking to teach at the elementary level) or in the subject area they will teach (for those seeking secondary-level bilingual certification). This new legislation suspends this dual certification requirement for a period of three years, running from July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2008. Dur- ing this hiatus, those wishing to be certified as bilingual edu- cators must meet the new certification requirements set forth in this legislation, which now permits applicants to pass the appropriate state’s teacher competency test or to complete additional credit hours in lieu of having to qualify for dual

• certification. This new legislation also expressly prohibits

school districts from continuing to provide bilingual educa- tion to students who fail to meet the state’s English mastery standards after thirty (30) months in a bilingual education

• program. Effective July 1, 2005.

BESB Public Act 05-156 expands the uses of funds from the Board

• f Education and Services for the Blind (“BESB”) to include

directly employing enough rehabilitation teachers, rehabilita- tion technologists, and orientation and mobility teachers to provide compensatory skills evaluations and training to blind and visually impaired children. This Act further allows BESB to use its funds to cover the actual costs for paraprofession- als from school districts to participate in agency-sponsored Braille training. Effective October 1, 2005. Loaning of Assistive Technology Devices Public Act 05-257 revises Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-228 to re- quire boards of education to loan assistive devices to public school students free of charge and allows boards to pre- scribe rules and regulations governing the care and use of such devices. The term assistive devices is defined in Conn.

• Gen. Stat. § 10-76y as “any item, piece of equipment or

product system, whether acquired commercially off-the- shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain

• r improve the functional capabilities of individuals with dis-

abilities.” State law already requires that boards of educa- tion supply books, supplies, materials and equipment for school instruction to students without charge. Effective July 1, 2005.

Pesticides at Schools

Public Act 05-252 restricts the application of lawn care pes- ticides on the grounds of any public or private elementary schools starting January 1, 2006. Starting July 1, 2008, the application of lawn care pesticides will be completely pro-

• hibited. Between January 1, 2006 and July 1, 2008, lawn

care pesticides may be applied on playing fields and play- grounds of these schools, but only in accordance with an integrated pest management plan, defined to be one that in- volves the “judicious use of pesticide, when warranted, to maintain a pest population at or below an acceptable level, while decreasing the use of pesticides.” While it is not clear what would constitute an “acceptable” level of pests, this Act does permit emergency applications of pesticides if needed to eliminate threats to human health, as determined by your local public health commissioner, the DEP commissioner or school superintendent. Effective January 1, 2006.

School Finance and Construction

An Act Concerning Education Implementer Provisions Perhaps the most varied of all the new legislation, Public Act 05-245 makes a number of changes to existing state educa- tion grant statutes in order to implement the budget for fiscal years 2006 and 2007. In particular, this Act (1) allocates Educational Cost Sharing (“ECS”) grants to towns for both FY ’06 and FY ’07; (2) increases per-pupil grants to charter schools; (3) makes more explicit the prohibition against us- ing increases in ECS funding to supplant local funding by imposing a penalty on towns for violating the non-supplant provision; (4) sets a separate per-student operating grant for interdistrict magnet schools operated by regional service cen- ters (RESCs); and (5) establishes a task force to study mag- net school operations and fundings. In addition, Public Act 05-245 also revises current law re- garding school readiness programs by (1) increasing the per- child cost limit for the State Department of Education’s (“SDE”) part of the program; (2) requiring the SDE to de- velop a statewide assessment of kindergarten readiness by October 1, 2009; (3) establishing an Early Childhood Cabi- net, charged with developing early childhood program bud- get requests and promoting consistent quality and compre- hensiveness of early childhood programs; and (4) raising minimum school readiness staff qualifications to include a bachelor’s degree as of July 1, 2015. This lengthy legislation also includes an additional allocation

• f $2,039,689 to each of the three largest priority school

districts, Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, for FY 06 and an additional allocation of $2,610,798 to each of these districts for FY 07.

Among some of the other more notable provisions of this new legislation are: (1) an increase in construction grant reimbursement for full-day preschool programs in priority districts or priority schools; (2) a requirement that the state reimburse school districts for costs associated with educat- ing children placed by a tribal government in the same way the state currently reimburses districts for students placed by state agencies; (3) a requirement that charter schools re- port on best practices and that the SDE publish and dissemi- nate a best practices report to all public school superinten- dents and charter school governing councils; (4) authoriza- tion for the SDE to establish a pilot program for the use of technology in computer assisted writing, instruction and test- ing for 9th and 10th grade public school students; (5) allowing state-wide mastery tests to be administered in March or April, rather than just in April; and (6) continuing to limit grants for special education, health services, adult education and trans- portation to available appropriations. Effective July 1, 2005 (with the exception of selected provisions which are effec- tive upon passage). Technical Corrections to Education Grant Statutes Public Act 05-2 corrects technical errors in Conn. Gen. Stat.

• Sec. 10-262h, the educational cost sharing (“ECS”) distri-

bution statute. This law also allows for the appropriation of available funds to interdistrict magnet schools through supple- mental grants for FY 2005. Additional technical changes were made by Public Act 05-13, which makes minor revisions to the education statutes relating to state reimbursement for special education, education equalization grants, improvement grants and school readiness competitive grants. In particu- lar, Public Act 05-13 clarifies that when determining the “net cost of special education” with respect to the formula for determining state aid for special education, Medicaid rev- enue is to be deducted. Effective from passage, except for the change to the special education provision in Conn. Gen.

• Stat. Sec. 10-76(f), which was effective July 1, 2005.

Vocational-Technical Construction Special Act 05-2 increases state bond authorization for school expansion projects for three vocational-technical schools: A. Prince in Hartford; Henry Abbott in Danbury; and H. Wilcox in Meriden. Construction Bonds Public Act 05-38 increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the amount above which a state or municipal construction con- tract must require the contractor to furnish a bond to guar- antee payment to subcontractors providing labor or materi-

• als. This requirement applies to contracts for construction,

alteration or repairs, as well as to public works projects. Effective October 1, 2005. Sprinkler Systems Current law requires that each floor of any building project classified as an “educational occupancy,” and which is eli- gible for a school construction grant, must have an auto- matic fire extinguishing system approved by the state fire marshal if it is put out to bid on or after July 1, 2004. Public Act 05-31 revises Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-315 to allow the state fire marshal and state building inspector to jointly grant variations or exemptions from, or approve equivalent or al- ternate compliance with, the mandated automatic fire extin- guishing system if strict compliance would “entail practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship” or is otherwise deemed “unwarranted.” Decisions by the state fire marshal and state building inspector may be appealed within fourteen (14) days. Effective upon passage. Allocations for School Building Projects During its Special Session, the General Assembly approved a bill authorizing $605 million in state grant commitments for forty-nine school construction projects and $101 million in increased grant commitments for twenty-eight previously authorized projects that have substantially changed in cost

• r scope. In addition to these allocations, Special Act 05-6

also sets acoustical standards for school building projects and provides for limited exemptions from those standards; exempts very small school districts from standard space specifications for state-assisted school projects; allows re- gional school districts to issue bond anticipation notes with longer terms under specified conditions; and extends through FY ‘07 an authorization for a grant for Hartford school stu- dents to participate in full-day kindergarten programs in other

• districts. Effective upon passage, except for selected provi-

sions which became effective July 1, 2005.

No Child Left Behind

After some debate, the Connecticut legislature approved a bill during its special session to support Attorney General Blumenthal’s planned lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over alleged unfunded mandates contained in the federal No Child Left Behind Act. This bill, No. 2004, is not required in order for the lawsuit to be filed and has not yet been signed by Governor Rell.

Other Education Related Legislation

Education Doctoral Programs Back in 2001, the General Assembly approved legislation al- lowing the Connecticut State University system to begin a pilot doctoral program in education, thus authorizing the sys- tem to award doctoral degrees in education from May 2002 until January 2007. Public Act 05-4 permanently authorizes the state university system to continue to award doctoral degrees in education. Effective July 1, 2005.

In-State Tuition for Active Duty Military Public Act 05-110 makes any member of the armed forces who is stationed in Connecticut under military orders, as well as his or her spouse, eligible for in-state tuition at any of Connecticut’s state universities or community-technical col-

• leges. Effective July 1, 2005.

DCF Investigations During the 2005 legislative session, the General Assembly made a number of changes to existing laws governing the conduct and procedures for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect. For example, under Public Act 05-35, DCF will now have no longer than forty-five (45) days “af- ter the receipt of the report” to complete an investigation of a report of alleged child abuse and neglect (provided the re- port contains sufficient information). These investigations previously had to be completed within thirty (30) calendar

• days. This new timeline is consistent with the provision in

the court-approved exit plan to allow DCF to come out from under a 1991 federal court consent decree issued in Juan F. One of the target goals of this exit plan, among others, was that DCF would complete 85% of its investigations of re- ports received from the DCF hotline within 45 days. In addition, Public Act 05-207 establishes new notice, hear- ing and appeals procedures for people that DCF finds rea- sonable cause to believe are responsible for the abuse or ne- glect of a child. Current law requires DCF to make disclo- sures to certain state agencies and to place the individual’s name on its registry as soon as the abuse or neglect allega- tions are substantiated. This Act alters this practice by pro- hibiting DCF from placing the name of a suspected abuser

• n its registry until it is determined that such person poses a

risk to children. Public Act 05-207 also prevents the agency from disclosing anything about the accused or the case until all available procedures to overturn its finding are either com- pleted or waived. The General Assembly has also approved revisions to Conn.

• Gen. Stat. Sec. 17-101i, which will delay the notice pro-

vided by DCF to school superintendents of findings that a child has been abused by a school employee holding a cer- tificate, permit or authorization issued by the State Board of

• Education. Public Act 05-246 now mandates that DCF wait

until it actually recommends that such employee be placed

• n its neglect registry, pursuant to the procedures stated in

17a-101k. Public Act 05-257 further adds that once such recommendation is made to place the employee on the regis- try, DCF shall have no more than five working days to notify the employing superintendent of the finding. This notice shall be made regardless of whether or not the child involved was a student in the employing school or school district. Effec- tive January 1, 2006. Families with Service Needs Public Act 05-250 prohibits a judge from ordering that chil- dren whose family has been adjudicated as a Family with Service Needs (“FWSN”) be held in juvenile detention or be adjudicated as delinquent solely for violating a prior court’s FWSN order. Currently, children charged with violating a FWSN order may be placed in juvenile detention facilities and probation officers are the persons who determine whether delinquency petitions should be filed. This Act further re- quires a judge to find that there is no less restrictive alterna- tive placement appropriate for the child and the needs of the community before ordering an out-of-home placement or DCF commitment. Effective October 1, 2007. Teen Drivers Public Act 05-54 increases the minimum amount of behind- the-wheel instruction a 16-or 17-year old driving under a learners’ permit must have before qualifying for licensure. Instead of the current eight (8) hours, these drivers must now complete a minimum of twenty (20) hours of training. This bill also creates an exception to the current passenger restrictions, while prohibiting 16- and 17-year old licensed drivers from driving between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. un- less they are traveling because of employment, school or religious activities or due to a medical necessity. Effective October 1, 2005. Revised License Classifications, Endorsements and Restrictions Last year, the General Assembly passed Public Act 04-217 which significantly revised the way Connecticut classifies motor vehicle operators’ licenses as well as the types of en- dorsements or restrictions that are coded on individual li-

• censes. These changes included revisions to the classifica-

tion of the endorsements and restrictions necessary to oper- ate school buses, student transportation vehicles and student activity vehicles. These changes became effective January 1, 2005. Public Act 05-127 establishes a transition period for the Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) to implement these new requirements. According to this new legislation, any operator’s or commercial driver’s license issued prior to January 1, 2005, that is otherwise valid, shall continue to be valid based on the classification, endorsements, or restric- tions in effect before January 1, 2005. From January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005, the DMV may also issue or renew licenses with the classification, endorsement, or re- striction designations that were in effect before January 1,

• 2005. However, each licensed issued or renewed after Janu-

ary 1, 2006 will be subject to the new classification system

• designations. Effective upon passage.

On a related note, Public Act 05-218 will also now require that student transportation vehicles be issued a distinctive

registration marker plate. Registrations for such vehicles must be renewed annually and must undergo safety inspections prior to initial registration and before registration renewal. A student transportation vehicle is defined as any motor ve- hicle, other than a registered school bus used by a carrier, for transporting students, including children requiring spe- cial education. Effective July 1, 2005.

Significant Federal Legislation

Constitution Day On May 24, 2005, the U.S. Department of Education (“USDOE”) announced its plan regarding the implementa- tion of a new federal law that requires public schools to teach about the U.S. Constitution one day a year. This require- ment, proposed by Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia, was incorporated into Public Law 108-447, a federal appro- priations bill passed in December 2004. Under this new law, all education institutions receiving federal funds must hold “an educational program” on September 17 of each year, in recognition of the official date of adoption of the U.S. Con- stitution in 1787. According to recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, in the event that September 17th falls on a weekend or holiday, schools may commemorate Constitution Day during either the preceding or following

• week. While the USDOE has made clear that it does not

endorse any particular program to honor Constitution Day, it has made informational resources available for schools. Medication for Students During the course of the last year, Congress passed two new federal laws addressing medication for students. In October 2004, Congress passed legislation to encourage schools to allow students with asthma and other life-threat- ening allergies to self-administer medication in school. This bill, known as the Asthmatic Schoolchildren’s Treatment and Health Management Act of 2004, amends current federal law by giving explicit preference, when making certain grants, to states that require schools to allow students to self-ad- minister medications necessary to treat a student’s asthma

• r anaphylaxis. In addition, the Child Medication Safety Act
• f 2005 prohibits states and school districts from requiring

parents to medicate their children as a condition of attending school or for other purposes. Connecticut is ahead of the curve on both of these issues, however, as current state law already permits students to carry epi-pens and to self-ad- minister medications under specified conditions and Conn.

• Gen. Stat. § 10-212b, passed in 2001, already prohibits school

personnel from recommending that students be prescribed psychotropic medication.