Sec. 10-4o. (Formerly Sec. 17-605). Family resource center program. Guidelines for programs. Study. Grants. (a) The Department of Education, in conjunction
with the Department of Social Services, shall coordinate a family resource center program to provide comprehensive child care services, remedial educational and literacy
services, families-in-training programs and supportive services to parents who are recipients of temporary family assistance and other parents in need of such services. The
family resource centers shall be located in or associated with public schools, and any
family resource center established on or after July 1, 2000, shall be located in a public
elementary school unless the Commissioner of Education waives such requirement. The
commissioner shall determine the manner in which the grant recipients of such program,
such as municipalities, boards of education and child care providers shall be selected.
The family resource center shall provide: (1) Quality full-day child care and school
readiness programs for children age three and older who are not enrolled in school and
child care for children enrolled in school up to the age of twelve for before and after
regular school hours and on a full-day basis during school holidays and school vacation,
in compliance with all state statutes and regulations governing child day care and, in
the case of the school readiness programs, in compliance with the standards set for such
programs pursuant to section 10-16p; (2) support services to parents of newborn infants
to ascertain their needs and provide them with referrals to other services and organizations and, if necessary, education in parenting skills; (3) support and educational services
to parents whose children are participants of the child care services of the program and
who are interested in obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent. Parents and their
preschool age children may attend classes in parenting and child learning skills together
so as to promote the mutual pursuit of education and enhance parent-child interaction;
(4) training, technical assistance and other support by the staff of the center to family
day care providers in the community and serve as an information and referral system
for other child care needs in the community or coordinate with such systems as may
already exist in the community; (5) a families-in-training program to provide, within
available appropriations, community support services to expectant parents and parents
of children under the age of three. Such services shall include, but not be limited to,
providing information and advice to parents on their children's language, cognitive,
social and motor development, visiting a participant's home on a regular basis, organizing group meetings at the center for neighborhood parents of young children and providing a reference center for parents who need special assistance or services. The program
shall provide for the recruitment of parents to participate in such program; and (6) a
sliding scale of payment, as developed in consultation with the Department of Social
Services, for child care services at the center. The center shall also provide a teen pregnancy prevention program for adolescents emphasizing responsible decision-making
and communication skills.
(b) The Department of Education, in consultation with representatives from family
resource centers, within available appropriations, shall develop guidelines for family
resource center programs. The guidelines shall include standards for program quality
and design and identify short and long-term outcomes for families participating in such
programs. The Department of Education, within available appropriations, shall provide
a copy of such guidelines to each family resource center. Each family resource center
shall use the guidelines to develop a program improvement plan for the next twelve-month period and shall submit the plan to the department. The plan shall include goals
to be used for measuring such improvement. The department shall use the plan to monitor
the progress of the center. Family resource centers in existence on July 1, 1997, shall
be given a preference for grants for school readiness awarded by the Department of
Education or the Department of Social Services and for financing pursuant to sections
10a-194c, 17b-749g and 17b-749h.
(c) The Department of Education, within available appropriations, shall provide for
a longitudinal study of family resource centers every three years.
(d) The Commissioner of Education may provide grants to municipalities, boards
of education and child care providers to carry out the purposes of subsection (a) of this
section. Each family resource center shall have a program administrator who has at least
two years of experience in child care, public administration or early childhood education
and a master's degree in child development, early childhood education or a related field.
(e) The Commissioner of Education may accept and receive on behalf of the department or any family resource center, subject to section 4b-22, any bequest, devise or grant
made to the department or any family resource center for the purpose of establishing a
new family resource center or expanding an existing center, and may hold and use such
property for the purpose specified in such bequest, devise or gift.
(P.A. 88-331, S. 1, 2; P.A. 89-55; P.A. 90-128, S. 1; P.A. 92-49; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; 93-353, S. 45, 52; 93-435, S.
59, 95; P.A. 97-259, S. 21, 41; P.A. 00-220, S. 2, 43; P.A. 01-173, S. 6, 67; P.A. 03-76, S. 38.)
History: P.A. 89-55 required that family resource center provide a families-in-training program and inserted new Subdiv.
(5) in Subsec. (a) re components of such a program, renumbering former Subdiv. (5) as (6); P.A. 90-128 added Subsec.
(c) authorizing the commissioner to accept grants or gifts made for the purpose of establishing or expanding a family
resource center; Sec. 17-31tt transferred to Sec. 17-605 in 1991; P.A. 92-49 amended Subsec. (a) to remove the requirement
that there be at least three centers and that they be located in particular areas, to provide that the centers shall be associated
with public schools rather than in public schools, and to remove the requirement that only first-time parents be served by
the program and amended Subsec. (b) to modify the qualifications required for a program administrator; P.A. 93-262 and
P.A. 93-435 authorized substitution of department of social services for department of human resources in new language
added by P.A. 93-353, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-353 transferred the authority for the program from the department
of human resources to the department of education, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17-605 transferred to Sec. 10-4o in 1995;
P.A. 97-259 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute temporary family assistance for aid to families with dependent children,
amended Subdiv. (1) to add school readiness programs and Subdiv. (6) to add consultation with the Department of Social
Services, added new Subsecs. (b) and (c) re program guidelines and longitudinal study, and redesignated existing Subsecs.
(b) and (c) as Subsecs. (d) and (e), effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsec. (a) to add requirement for location
in a public elementary school and for school readiness programs to be in compliance with the standards set pursuant to
Sec. 10-16p, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2001;
P.A. 03-76 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective June 3, 2003.
See Sec. 4b-31a re plan for colocation of family resource centers and school-based health clinics.
Sec. 10-4p. Implementation plan to achieve resource equity and equality of
opportunity. Assessment. Reports. (a) The State Board of Education shall develop a
five-year implementation plan with appropriate goals and strategies to achieve resource
equity and equality of opportunity, increase student achievement, reduce racial, ethnic
and economic isolation, improve effective instruction and encourage greater parental
and community involvement in all public schools of the state. The implementation plan
shall: (1) Include methods for significantly reducing over a five-year period any disparities among school districts in terms of resources, staff, programs and curriculum, student
achievement and community involvement that negatively impact student learning, (2)
provide for monitoring by the Department of Education of the progress made in reducing
such disparities, and (3) include proposals for minority staff recruitment, including but
not limited to, alternative certification, mentoring programs, involvement of the community-technical colleges and efforts by regional educational service centers.
(b) Prior to developing the plan, the State Board of Education shall conduct a state-wide assessment of the disparities among local and regional school districts and make
comparisons to relevant national standards or regional accreditation standards, in the
areas of: (1) Resources, including educational materials, supplies, equipment, textbooks,
library materials, facilities and expenditures by category and in total; (2) staff, including
the education and experience of teachers, staff-student ratios, the racial and ethnic characteristics of staff, minority staff recruitment and a comparison of the racial diversity
of school staffs to the racial diversity of the region where the school is located; (3)
program and curriculum, including course offerings, requirements, enrollments in advanced, special and compensatory education, programs and services to students with
limited English proficiency and an analysis of such programs and services in terms of
the recommendations of the bilingual education task force, policies on student assignment and promotion, extracurricular activities and student participation, goals and objectives and content and performance standards, opportunities for summer school,
school-to-career transition, alternative programs, and parent-student choice of school
or program; (4) student achievement, including the effect of social promotional policies
on student achievement, state and national assessments, dropout rates, attendance, graduation follow-up data, artistic, athletic and community service accomplishments, other
documentation of student success, and success in reducing the racial, ethnic and economic isolation of students; and (5) community involvement, including parent and family contact with the school and teachers, business partnerships, joint programs with
community agencies, town-wide preschool coordination, opportunities for adult basic
education and parenting education.
(c) (1) The State Board of Education shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, on the plan developed pursuant to this section to the Governor and the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education
by February 1, 1998. The report shall: (A) Include the results of the assessment conducted
pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of this section, (B) include recommendations for changes in state law, budget proposals and administrative actions, where
appropriate, that would assist in reducing the disparities among school districts and
increasing the accountability of school districts, and (C) identify the responsibility of
individual boards of education to achieve the goals as specified in subsection (a) of this
section in their school districts. (2) On or before January 1, 1999, the State Board of
Education shall so report, to the Governor and said committee on (A) the assessment
conducted pursuant to subdivisions (3) to (5), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section,
(B) include recommendations described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this
subsection and (C) identify the responsibility of individual boards of education to take
specific action to improve conditions in their school districts. (3) On or before January
1, 2001, and biennially thereafter, the State Board of Education shall so report to the
Governor and said committee on the progress made in reducing the disparities among
school districts and the remaining barriers to and recommendations for achieving the
goals specified in subsection (a) of this section.
(P.A. 97-290, S. 4, 29.)
History: P.A. 97-290 effective July 1, 1997.
Sec. 10-5. State high school diploma; "honors diploma". Payment of fees; exceptions. (a) The Commissioner of Education shall, in accordance with this section,
issue a state high school diploma to any person (1) who successfully completes an
examination approved by the commissioner, or (2) who (A) is sixteen or seventeen years
of age and has been officially withdrawn from school in accordance with the provisions
of section 10-184 or is eighteen years of age or older, and (B) presents to the commissioner evidence demonstrating educational qualifications which the commissioner
deems equivalent to those required for graduation from a public high school. Application
for such a diploma shall be made in the manner and form prescribed by the commissioner
provided at the time of application to take the examination described in subdivision (1)
of this subsection the applicant is seventeen years of age or older, has been officially
withdrawn from school, in accordance with section 10-184, for at least six months and
has been advised, in such manner as may be prescribed by the commissioner, of the
other options for high school completion and other available educational programs. For
good cause shown, the commissioner may allow a person who is sixteen years of age
to apply to take the examination, provided the commissioner may not issue a state high
school diploma to such person until the person has attained seventeen years of age.
(b) Application to take or retake the examination described in subdivision (1) of
subsection (a) of this section shall be accompanied by a money order or certified check
in the nonrefundable amount of thirteen dollars. This amount shall include the fee for
the state high school diploma.
(c) No veteran, member of the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, or any
person under twenty-one years of age shall be required to pay the fees described in
subsection (b) of this section. The commissioner may waive any fee described in subsection (b) upon the submission of evidence indicating an inability to pay.
(d) The Commissioner of Education shall keep a correct account of all money received under the provisions of this section and shall deposit with the State Treasurer all
such money received by said commissioner. Funds paid to a local or regional board of
education under this section shall be deposited in the school activity fund established
under section 10-237 and expended to defray the costs of such testing and related administration and information.
(e) The commissioner shall establish criteria by which an "honors diploma" may
be issued for exemplary performance on the examination.
(1949 Rev., S. 1336; 1951, S. 880d; 1957, P.A. 163, S. 17; February, 1965, P.A. 330, S. 11; P.A. 73-79; P.A. 77-614,
S. 302, 587, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 7; 78-303, S. 85, 136; P.A. 83-146, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-325, S. 6; P.A. 86-333, S. 1, 32; P.A.
89-251, S. 65, 203; P.A. 91-295, S. 1, 7; P.A. 95-259, S. 2, 32; P.A. 00-157, S. 2, 8.)
History: 1965 act substituted "state high school diploma" for "qualifying academic certificate" and deleted definition
of certificate; P.A. 73-79 allowed payment of testing fee to local boards of education providing testing services as well as
to state board and required that fees paid to local boards be deposited in school activity fund to cover testing costs; P.A.
77-614 and P.A. 78-303 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of state board of education, effective January
1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 allowed payment of testing fees to regional boards of education; P.A. 83-146 increased fee for
examination from three to ten dollars, required payment of all fees to be by money order or certified check unless made
in person for subsequent examinations, and exempted persons under age twenty-one from paying fees required under the
section; P.A. 84-325 stipulated that any sums paid under the provisions of the section were nonrefundable, added provision
permitting commissioner to waive payment of any fee and established criteria for the earning of an "honors diploma";
P.A. 86-333 deleted the provision that the examination be in one or more subjects; P.A. 89-251 increased fee for a state
high school diploma from two dollars to three dollars, increased fee for a first examination from ten dollars to thirteen
dollars and increased fee for subsequent examinations from two dollars to three dollars; P.A. 91-295 added (1) provision
that the person be at least seventeen years of age and withdrawn from school for at least six months, (2) requirement that
the applicant be advised of options and available programs and (3) provision concerning the use of funds to defray the
costs of related administration and information; P.A. 95-259 rewrote the section, added the provision for sixteen-year-olds
to apply to take the examination and changed the provision concerning an honors diploma, effective July 1, 1995; P.A.
00-157 amended Subsec. (a) to only allow sixteen or seventeen year olds to receive the diploma if they have officially
withdrawn from school, effective July 1, 2001.
See Sec. 10a-43 re postsecondary education certificates.
Sec. 10-5a. Educational technology and high school graduation requirements.
The Department of Education shall, within available appropriations, assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to use and integrate educational technology
in the courses required for high school graduation pursuant to section 10-221a in order to
promote proficiency in the use of educational technology by each student who graduates
from high school.
(P.A. 96-244, S. 51, 63; P.A. 03-76, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 96-244, S. 51 effective June 6, 1996; P.A. 03-76 made a technical change, effective June 3, 2003.
Secs. 10-6 and 10-7. Transferred to Chapter 185, Part III, Secs. 10a-34 and 10a-35, respectively.
Secs. 10-7a to 10-7d. Transferred to Chapter 185, Part I, Secs. 10a-22a to 10a-22d, inclusive.
Sec. 10-7e. Occupational schools in existence on October 1, 1979. Section 10-7e is repealed.
(P.A. 79-380, S. 5; P.A. 83-501, S. 11, 12.)
Secs. 10-7f to 10-7l. Transferred to Chapter 185, Part I, Secs. 10a-22e to 10a-22k,
inclusive.
Secs. 10-7m to 10-7q. Reserved for future use.
Secs. 10-7r to 10-7u. Transferred to Chapter 185, Part I, Secs. 10a-22q to 10a-22t,
inclusive.
Sec. 10-8. Licensing of private schools for trade instruction and special occupational training. Section 10-8 is repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 1343; February, 1965, P.A. 475, S. 1; P.A. 79-380, S. 16.)
Sec. 10-8a. Adoption of regulations to exempt educational institutions from
licensing requirements by Department of Children and Families. The State Board
of Education shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 in
order to determine which educational institutions shall be exempt from the requirements
of sections 17a-146 and 17a-152.
(P.A. 78-108, S. 3, 4.)
Sec. 10-8b. Teacher shortages. The Commissioner of Education shall annually,
by December first, determine subject and geographic areas in which a teacher shortage
exists and shall certify such shortages to the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
for purposes of section 8-265pp. In determining teacher shortages, the commissioner
shall consider the following: (1) The number of teacher vacancies in a particular subject
or geographic area; (2) the number of new certificates in such areas issued by the Department of Education during the preceding year; and (3) the number and types of classes
being taught by persons whose training is not specific to the field in which they are
teaching.
(P.A. 00-187, S. 25, 75.)
History: P.A. 00-187 effective July 1, 2000.
Sec. 10-8c. Accelerated cross endorsement. Former teacher certification. The
Department of Education, in cooperation with the Department of Higher Education,
shall, within available appropriations, (1) establish an accelerated cross endorsement
process for each subject shortage area pursuant to section 10-8b to allow certified teachers to add a new endorsement to their certificates, and (2) establish a program for formerly certified teachers to regain certification.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 7, 54.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 effective July 1, 2001.
Sec. 10-9. Bequests for educational purposes. (a) The State Treasurer may receive in the name of the state any money or property given or bequeathed to the state,
to the Board of Governors of Higher Education or to any of its constituent units for
educational purposes, and may expend the same or any income therefrom according to
the terms of the gift or bequest. Such money or property shall be invested by the Treasurer
in accordance with the provisions of section 3-31a.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the State Board
of Education may receive in the name of the state any money or property given or
bequeathed to the State Board of Education or to any of the regional vocational-technical
schools. Said board shall transfer any such money to the State Treasurer who shall invest
the money in accordance with the provisions of section 3-31a. Said board may use any
such property for educational purposes.
(1949 Rev., S. 1344; February, 1965, P.A. 330, S. 15; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; P.A. 78-236, S. 4, 20; P.A. 82-218, S.
37, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5; P.A. 86-333, S. 2, 32.)
History: 1965 act included reference to money or property given or bequeathed to commission for higher education or
its constituent units; P.A. 77-573 substituted board of higher education for commission for higher education; P.A. 78-236
substituted Sec. 3-31a for reference to repealed Sec. 3-27; P.A. 82-218 replaced board of higher education with board of
governors pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 84-241 added "of higher
education" to board of governors' title; P.A. 86-333 added the designation Subsec. (a), deleted the provision that the state
treasurer may receive money or property given or bequeathed to the state board of education and added Subsec. (b) providing
for the receipt and transfer of money and receipt and use of property.
No authority under this section to authorize the turning over of funds of The Wheeler School and Library to the state
board of education. 15 CS 427.
Sec. 10-10. Acquisition of federal surplus property. Section 10-10 is repealed.
(1957, P.A. 20, S. 1; 1959, P.A. 136, S. 2.)
See Sec. 4a-67.
Sec. 10-10a. Public school information system. (a) The Department of Education
shall develop and implement a state-wide public school information system. The system
shall be designed for the purpose of establishing a standardized electronic data collection
and reporting protocol that will facilitate compliance with state and federal reporting
requirements, improve school-to-school and district-to-district information exchanges,
and maintain the confidentiality of individual student and staff data. The initial design
shall focus on student information, provided the system shall be created to allow for
future compatibility with financial, facility and staff data. The system shall provide for
the tracking of the performance of individual students on each of the state-wide mastery
examinations under section 10-14n in order to allow the department to compare the
progress of the same cohort of students who take each examination and to better analyze
school performance.
(b) The system database of student information shall not be considered a public
record for the purposes of section 1-210.
(c) The department shall initiate a pilot system project not later than the 2002-2003
school year with full implementation in the school year following successful implementation of the pilot. All school districts shall participate in the system, provided the department provides for technical assistance and training of school staff in the use of the
system.
(P.A. 00-187, S. 8, 75; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 00-187 effective July 1, 2000; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to
Sec. 10-233b, effective August 15, 2002.
Sec. 10-11. Receipt and expenditure of federal funds and funds from private
or municipal sources. The State Board of Education is empowered, subject to the
provisions of the general statutes, to receive any federal funds or funds from private or
municipal sources made available to this state for purposes described in section 10-4
relating to preschool, elementary and secondary education, special education, vocational
education, adult education, and the provision and use of educational technology for such
educational purposes, and to expend such funds for the purpose or purposes for which
they are made available. The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of such funds.
(1949 Rev., S. 1345; February, 1965, P.A. 330, S. 16; 1971, P.A. 382; 1972, P.A. 173; P.A. 73-313; P.A. 78-218, S.
8; P.A. 81-74, S. 2, 3; P.A. 82-314, S. 46, 63; P.A. 92-170, S. 7, 26; P.A. 95-272, S. 7, 29.)
History: 1965 act replaced general reference to "educational purposes" with specific reference to "elementary, secondary
or vocational education" purposes and deleted exception for funds designated for The University of Connecticut; 1971 act
added Subsec. (b) re report of disbursement of federal funds for education; 1972 act included in report requirements an
accounting of federal funds available for distribution to town and regional districts during preceding and current fiscal
years; P.A. 73-313 changed report deadline from February fifteenth to February first of each year; P.A. 78-218 changed
report deadline to February fifteenth, required report to education committee as well as governor and substituted "local"
for "town" school districts in Subsec. (b); P.A. 81-74 authorized the state board of education to receive funds from private
or municipal sources to help promote the educational interests of the state including preschool, special and adult education
and the provision and use of instructional technology for educational purposes; P.A. 82-314 changed official name of
education committee; P.A. 92-170 deleted former Subsec. (b) concerning a report on the funds available from federal
government and on disbursement of funds actually received from federal, private or municipal sources; P.A. 95-272 replaced
"instructional" with "educational" in reference to technology, effective July 1, 1995.