Substitute Senate Bill No. 530

Public Act No. 04-213

AN ACT CONCERNING AUTHORIZATION OF STATE GRANT COMMITMENTS FOR SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECTS AND CONCERNING MANCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS A SPONSOR OF AN INTERDISTRICT MAGNET SCHOOL.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Education having reviewed applications for state grants for public school building projects in accordance with section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, on the basis of priorities for such projects and standards for school construction established by the State Board of Education, and having prepared a listing of all such eligible projects ranked in order of priority, including a separate schedule of previously authorized projects which have changed substantially in scope or cost, as determined by said commissioner together with the amount of estimated grant with respect to each eligible project, and having submitted such listing of eligible projects, prior to December 15, 2003, to a committee of the General Assembly established under section 10-283a of the general statutes for the purpose of reviewing such listing, is hereby authorized to enter into grant commitments on behalf of the state in accordance with said section 10-283 with respect to the priority listing of such projects and in such estimated amounts as approved by said committee prior to February 1, 2004, as follows:

(1) Estimated Grant Commitments.

(2) Previously Authorized Projects Which Have Changed Substantially in Scope or Cost.

(3) Previously Authorized Projects Which a Town or Regional District Has Abandoned, Sold, Leased, Demolished or Otherwise Redirected the Use of Such School Building Project for a Public Use Other Than a Public School For Which the Town or District Requests Forgiveness From Refunding Money to the State.

Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Norwich may let out for bid on and commence projects for Alterations/Technology (Project Numbers 104-0070 and 104-0073) at Bishop Elementary School and Huntington Elementary School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for grant commitments from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the Regional School District No. 10 may let out for bid on and commence a project for partial roof replacement (Project Number 210-0034 RR) at Lewis S. Mills High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Stamford may let out for bid on and commence a project for alterations (Project Number 135-0223 A) at Stamford High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that the description of a project type for a school building project be made at the time of application for a school building project grant, the town of Stamford may expand the scope of the alteration project at Stamford High School (Project Number 135-0223 A) to include relocatable classrooms.

Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, and 10-284 of the general statutes or any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that local legislative authorizations be obtained not later than one year after the authorization by the General Assembly of a grant commitment or requiring that the town begin constructing not later than two years after the effective date of the section of the act of the General Assembly authorizing the Commissioner of Education to enter into grant commitments for such projects, the town of Glastonbury shall have until June 30, 2005, to authorize and until June 30, 2006, to begin construction on the project for a new elementary school (Project Number 054-0092 N) and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state.

Sec. 7. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, and 10-284 of the general statutes or any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that local legislative authorizations be obtained not later than one year after the authorization by the General Assembly of a grant commitment or requiring that the town begin constructing not later than two years after the effective date of the section of the act of the General Assembly authorizing the Commissioner of Education to enter into grant commitments for such projects, the town of Groton shall have until June 30, 2005, to authorize and until June 30, 2006, to begin construction on the project for a new Eastern Point Elementary School (Project Number 059-0168 N) and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state.

Sec. 8. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section 10-283, requiring that funding authorization for the local share of the project costs be secured prior to application and that no school building project shall be added to the list in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act, the project for extension and alteration (Project Number 124-0052 EA) at Seymour High School in Seymour is included in said subdivision (1) of this act and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided the school district files an application for a school building project prior to June 30, 2004, meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education.

Sec. 9. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section 10-283, requiring that funding authorization for the local share of the project costs be secured prior to application and that no school building project shall be added to the list in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act, the project for a new vocational agriculture center (Project Number 131-0120 VA/N) at Southington High School in Southington is included in said subdivision (1) of this act and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided the school district files an application for a school building project prior to June 30, 2004, meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education.

Sec. 10. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Fairfield may let out for bid on and commence a project for Phase 1 of construction (Project Number 051-0105 N) at New Middle School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 11. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Old Saybrook may let out for bid on and commence a project for expansion and alteration (Project Number 106-0034 EA) at Kathleen E. Goodwin School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 12. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Tolland may let out for bid on and commence a project for installation of a sewer line (Project Number 142-0073) at Parker Memorial School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 13. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Tolland may let out for bid on and commence a project for installation of a sewer line (Project Number 142-0074) at Tolland Middle School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 14. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section 10-283, requiring that funding authorization for the local share of the project costs be secured prior to application and that no school building project shall be added to the list in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act, the project for alteration (Project Number 097-0110 A) at Newtown High School in Newtown is included in said subdivision (1) and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided the school district files an application for a school building project prior to June 30, 2004, meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education.

Sec. 15. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section 10-283, requiring that funding authorization for the local share of the project costs be secured prior to application and that no school building project shall be added to the list in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act, the project for vocational agriculture equipment (Project Number 219-0016 VE) at E. O. Smith High School in Regional School District 19 is included in said subdivision (1) and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided the school district files an application for a school building project prior to June 30, 2004, meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education.

Sec. 16. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the Regional School District No. 4 may let out for bid and commence a project for renovation and extension (Project Number 204-0013 RNV/E) at John Winthrop Junior High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for grant commitments from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 17. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the Regional School District No. 4 may let out for bid and commence a project for renovation and alteration (Project Number 204-0014 EA) at Valley Regional High School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for grant commitments from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 18. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Weston may let out for bid on and commence projects for well drilling (Project Numbers 157-0041 EA/RR, 157-0042 N, 157-0043 EA/RR and 157-0044 EA/RR) at Weston Middle School, New 3-5 Elementary School, Weston High School and Hurlbutt Elementary School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 19. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-286 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education setting square footage specifications for purposes of calculating eligible costs for a school building project grant, such square footage specifications shall not apply to the extension and alteration project (Project Number 023-0028 EA) at Canton Jr. Sr. High School in Canton.

Sec. 20. (Effective from passage) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-264h of the general statutes or any regulation adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of said section 10-264h, concerning the reimbursement rate for the capital expenditure for the construction of interdistrict magnet school facilities, the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Manchester Community College shall be eligible for reimbursement of the full reasonable cost of the project for new construction at Great Path Academy on the campus of Manchester Community College at a cost not to exceed twenty-eight million dollars.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section 10-283, requiring that no school building project shall be added to the list in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act, the project for new construction at Great Path Academy on the campus of Manchester Community College is included in said subdivision (1) of this act and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Manchester Community College files an application for a school building project prior to June 30, 2004, and meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education.

Sec. 21. Subsection (a) of section 10-264i of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) A local or regional board of education, regional educational service center, the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Manchester Community College, or cooperative arrangement pursuant to section 10-158a which transports a child to an interdistrict magnet school program, as defined in section 10-264l, as amended by this act, in a town other than the town in which the child resides shall be eligible pursuant to section 10-264e to receive a grant for the cost of transporting such child in accordance with this section. The amount of such grant shall not exceed an amount equal to the number of such children transported multiplied by one thousand two hundred dollars. The Department of Education shall provide such grants within available appropriations. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a local or regional board of education, regional educational service center or cooperative arrangement from receiving reimbursement under section 10-266m, as amended, for reasonable transportation expenses for which such board, service center or cooperative arrangement is not reimbursed pursuant to this section.

Sec. 22. Subsection (a) of section 10-264l of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) The Department of Education shall, within available appropriations, establish a grant program to assist local and regional boards of education, regional educational service centers, the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Manchester Community College, and cooperative arrangements pursuant to section 10-158a with the operation of interdistrict magnet school programs. All interdistrict magnet schools shall be operated in conformance with the same laws and regulations applicable to public schools. For the purposes of this section "an interdistrict magnet school program" means a program which (1) supports racial, ethnic and economic diversity, (2) offers a special and high quality curriculum, and (3) requires students who are enrolled to attend at least half-time. An interdistrict magnet school program does not include a regional vocational agriculture school, a regional vocational-technical school or a regional special education center. On and after July 1, 2000, the governing authority for each interdistrict magnet school program that is in operation prior to July 1, 2005, shall restrict the number of students that may enroll in the program from a participating district to eighty per cent of the total enrollment of the program. The governing authority for each interdistrict magnet school program that begins operations on or after July 1, 2005, shall (A) restrict the number of students that may enroll in the program from a participating district to seventy-five per cent of the total enrollment of the program, and (B) maintain such a school enrollment that at least twenty-five per cent but not more than seventy-five per cent of the students enrolled are pupils of racial minorities, as defined in section 10-226a, as amended.

Sec. 23. Subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended by section 27 of public act 03-77, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) (1) Each town or regional school district shall be eligible to apply for and accept grants for a school building project as provided in this chapter. Any town desiring a grant for a public school building project may, by vote of its legislative body, authorize the board of education of such town to apply to the Commissioner of Education and to accept or reject such grant for the town. Any regional school board may vote to authorize the supervising agent of the regional school district to apply to the Commissioner of Education for and to accept or reject such grant for the district. Applications for such grants under this chapter shall be made by the superintendent of schools of such town or regional school district on the form provided and in the manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Education. The application form shall require the superintendent of schools to affirm that the school district considered the maximization of natural light in projects for new construction and alteration or renovation of a school building. Grant applications for school building projects shall be reviewed by the Commissioner of Education on the basis of categories for building projects and standards for school construction established by the State Board of Education in accordance with this section, provided grant applications submitted for purposes of subsection (a) of section 10-65 or section 10-76e shall be reviewed annually by the commissioner on the basis of the educational needs of the applicant. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Manchester Community College may apply for and shall be eligible to receive grants for school building projects pursuant to section 10-264h.

Sec. 24. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-292 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that a bid not be let out until plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit, the town of Old Saybrook may let out for bid on and commence a project for relocatable classrooms at the Kathleen E. Goodwin School and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided plans and specifications have been approved by the Department of Education's school facilities unit.

Sec. 25. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-286 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education setting square footage specifications for purposes of calculating eligible costs for a school building project grant, such square footage specifications shall not apply to the extension and alteration project (Project Number 135-0204-P/EA) Scofieldtown Middle Magnet School in Stamford.

Sec. 26. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted pursuant to said section 10-283, requiring that the funding authorization for the local share of the project costs be secured prior to application and that no school building project shall be added to the list in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act, the project for a new interdistrict magnet University High School for Science and Engineering (Project Number 064-0287 MAG/N) at the University of Hartford is included in subdivision (1) of section 1 of this act and shall be eligible to be subsequently considered for a grant commitment from the state, provided the city of Hartford files an application for a school building project prior to June 30, 2004, meets all other provisions of chapter 173 of the general statutes or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education.

Sec. 27. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 10-286 of the general statutes, as amended, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education concerning projected enrollment for a school building project, the town of New Haven may increase the projected enrollment of the alteration project (Project Number 093-0319 A/RR) at Fair Haven Middle School to 930, the New Fair Haven K-8 School (Project Number 093-0317 N) to 690, and the New Jackie Robinson Replacement School (Project Number 093-0329 N) to 700.

Sec. 28. (Effective from passage) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10-283 of the general statutes, as amended, and section 10-284 of the general statutes or any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education requiring that local legislative authorizations be obtained within one year of the authorization by the General Assembly of a grant commitment or requiring that the town begin construction within two years after the effective date of the act of the General Assembly authorizing the Commissioner of Education to enter into grant commitments for such projects, the city of Bridgeport shall have until June 30, 2005, to authorize and until June 30, 2006, to begin construction on the New East End School, the New North End School and the New Barnum School (Project Numbers 015-0129 N, 015-0130 N and 015-0131 N) and shall be eligible to subsequently be considered for a grant commitment from the state.

Approved June 3, 2004