CHAPTER 170*
BOARDS OF EDUCATION

      Sec. 10-218. Officers. Meetings. Each board of education shall, not later than one month after the date on which the newly elected members take office, elect from its number a chairperson and elect a secretary of such board and may prescribe their duties. The votes of each member of such board cast in such election shall be reduced to writing and made available for public inspection within forty-eight hours, excluding Saturday, Sunday or legal holidays, and shall also be recorded in the minutes of the meeting at which taken, which minutes shall be available for public inspection at all reasonable times. If such officers are not chosen after one month because of a tie vote of the members, the town council or, if there is no town council, the selectmen of the town shall choose such officers from the membership of the board. The chairperson of the board of education or, in case of such chairperson's absence or inability to act, the secretary shall call a meeting of the board at least once in six months and whenever such chairperson deems it necessary or is requested in writing so to do by three of its members. If no meeting is called within fourteen days after such a request has been made, one may be called by any three members by giving the usual written notice to the other members.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1478; 1957, P.A. 165, S. 1; February, 1965, P.A. 202, S. 1; P.A. 78-136; 78-218, S. 142.)

      History: 1965 act required election of board officers not later than one month after "date on which the newly elected members take office" rather than one month after the "annual or biennial election, as the case may be"; P.A. 78-136 deleted requirement that election of officers be "by ballot" but required that vote tally be put in writing, be made available for public inspection and be recorded in minutes; P.A. 78-218 substituted "chairperson" for "chairman" and also for masculine personal pronouns formerly used in section.

      See Sec. 10-225 re salary of board secretary.

      Town's power under former statute to pay school committeemen, not acting as school visitors, is limited to the secretary and treasurer of the school committee. 103 C. 424. Cited. 182 C. 93.

      Sec. 10-218a. Oath of office. Members of boards of education shall, before entering upon their official duties, take the oath of office provided in section 1-25.

      (1959, P.A. 76.)

      Sec. 10-219. Procedure for filling vacancy on local board of education. If a vacancy occurs in the office of any member of the local board of education, unless otherwise provided by charter or special act, such vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members of said board until the next regular town election, at which election a successor shall be elected for the unexpired portion of the term, the official ballot specifying the vacancy to be filled.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1500, 1502; 1953, S. 950d; 1967, P.A. 173; P.A. 81-257, S. 2, 10.)

      History: 1967 act added qualifying phrase "unless otherwise provided by charter or special act"; P.A. 81-257 made filling of vacancy mandatory rather than optional unless otherwise provided by charter or special act by substituting "shall" for "may".

      See Sec. 9-1 for applicable definitions.

      Court interpreted term "appointment" in Sec. 1-18a(e)(1) to include filling a vacancy as used in this section. 213 C. 216.

      "Filling a vacancy" as used in this section is an "appointment" within meaning of Sec. 1-18a(e)(1). 41 CS 267.

      Sec. 10-220. Duties of boards of education. (a) Each local or regional board of education shall maintain good public elementary and secondary schools, implement the educational interests of the state as defined in section 10-4a and provide such other educational activities as in its judgment will best serve the interests of the school district; provided any board of education may secure such opportunities in another school district in accordance with provisions of the general statutes and shall give all the children of the school district as nearly equal advantages as may be practicable; shall provide an appropriate learning environment for its students which includes (1) adequate instructional books, supplies, materials, equipment, staffing, facilities and technology, (2) equitable allocation of resources among its schools, (3) proper maintenance of facilities, and (4) a safe school setting; shall have charge of the schools of its respective school district; shall make a continuing study of the need for school facilities and of a long-term school building program and from time to time make recommendations based on such study to the town; shall adopt and implement an indoor air quality program that provides for ongoing maintenance and facility reviews necessary for the maintenance and improvement of the indoor air quality of its facilities; shall report biennially to the Commissioner of Education on the condition of its facilities and the action taken to implement its long-term school building program and indoor air quality program, which report the Commissioner of Education shall use to prepare a biennial report that said commissioner shall submit in accordance with section 11-4a to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education; shall advise the Commissioner of Education of the relationship between any individual school building project pursuant to chapter 173 and such long-term school building program; shall have the care, maintenance and operation of buildings, lands, apparatus and other property used for school purposes and at all times shall insure all such buildings and all capital equipment contained therein against loss in an amount not less than eighty per cent of replacement cost; shall determine the number, age and qualifications of the pupils to be admitted into each school; shall develop and implement a written plan for minority staff recruitment for purposes of subdivision (3) of section 10-4a; shall employ and dismiss the teachers of the schools of such district subject to the provisions of sections 10-151 and 10-158a; shall designate the schools which shall be attended by the various children within the school district; shall make such provisions as will enable each child of school age, residing in the district to attend some public day school for the period required by law and provide for the transportation of children wherever transportation is reasonable and desirable, and for such purpose may make contracts covering periods of not more than five years; may place in an alternative school program or other suitable educational program a pupil enrolling in school who is nineteen years of age or older and cannot acquire a sufficient number of credits for graduation by age twenty-one; may arrange with the board of education of an adjacent town for the instruction therein of such children as can attend school in such adjacent town more conveniently; shall cause each child five years of age and over and under eighteen years of age who is not a high school graduate and is living in the school district to attend school in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184, and shall perform all acts required of it by the town or necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties imposed by law.

      (b) The board of education of each local or regional school district shall, with the participation of parents, students, school administrators, teachers, citizens, local elected officials and any other individuals or groups such board shall deem appropriate, prepare a statement of educational goals for such local or regional school district. The statement of goals shall be consistent with state-wide goals pursuant to subsection (c) of section 10-4. Each local or regional board of education shall develop student objectives which relate directly to the statement of educational goals prepared pursuant to this subsection and which identify specific expectations for students in terms of skills, knowledge and competence.

      (c) Annually, each local and regional board of education shall submit to the Commissioner of Education a strategic school profile report for each school under its jurisdiction and for the school district as a whole. The superintendent of each local and regional school district shall present the profile report at the next regularly scheduled public meeting of the board of education after each November first. The profile report shall provide information on measures of (1) student needs, (2) school resources, including technological resources and utilization of such resources and infrastructure, (3) student and school performance, (4) equitable allocation of resources among its schools, (5) reduction of racial, ethnic and economic isolation, and (6) special education. For purposes of this subsection, measures of special education include (A) special education identification rates by disability, (B) rates at which special education students are exempted from mastery testing pursuant to section 10-14q, (C) expenditures for special education, including such expenditures as a percentage of total expenditures, (D) achievement data for special education students, (E) rates at which students identified as requiring special education are no longer identified as requiring special education, (F) the availability of supplemental educational services for students lacking basic educational skills, (G) the amount of special education student instructional time with nondisabled peers, (H) the number of students placed out-of-district, and (I) the actions taken by the school district to improve special education programs, as indicated by analyses of the local data provided in subparagraphs (A) to (H), inclusive, of this subdivision. The superintendent shall include in the narrative portion of the report information about parental involvement and if the district has taken measures to improve parental involvement, including, but not limited to, employment of methods to engage parents in the planning and improvement of school programs and methods to increase support to parents working at home with their children on learning activities.

      (d) Prior to January 1, 2008, and every five years thereafter, for every school building that is or has been constructed, extended, renovated or replaced on or after January 1, 2003, a local or regional board of education shall provide for a uniform inspection and evaluation program of the indoor air quality within such buildings, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program. The inspection and evaluation program shall include, but not be limited to, a review, inspection or evaluation of the following: (1) The heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; (2) radon levels in the water and the air; (3) potential for exposure to microbiological airborne particles, including, but not limited to, fungi, mold and bacteria; (4) chemical compounds of concern to indoor air quality including, but not limited to, volatile organic compounds; (5) the degree of pest infestation, including, but not limited to, insects and rodents; (6) the degree of pesticide usage; (7) the presence of and the plans for removal of any hazardous substances that are contained on the list prepared pursuant to Section 302 of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, 42 USC 9601 et seq.; (8) ventilation systems; (9) plumbing, including water distribution systems, drainage systems and fixtures; (10) moisture incursion; (11) the overall cleanliness of the facilities; (12) building structural elements, including, but not limited to, roofing, basements or slabs; (13) the use of space, particularly areas that were designed to be unoccupied; and (14) the provision of indoor air quality maintenance training for building staff. Local and regional boards of education conducting evaluations pursuant to this subsection shall make available for public inspection the results of the inspection and evaluation at a regularly scheduled board of education meeting.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1501; 1949, 1953, 1955, S. 957d; February, 1965, P.A. 574, S. 11; 1969, P.A. 690, S. 4; P.A. 78-218, S. 143; P.A. 79-128, S. 11, 36; P.A. 80-166, S. 1; P.A. 84-460, S. 3, 16; P.A. 85-377, S. 5, 13; P.A. 86-333, S. 11, 32; P.A. 90-324, S. 4, 13; P.A. 93-353, S. 28, 31, 52; P.A. 94-245, S. 9, 46; P.A. 95-182, S. 6, 11; P.A. 96-26, S. 2, 4; 96-244, S. 17, 63; 96-270, S. 1, 11; P.A. 97-290, S. 21, 29; P.A. 98-168, S. 8, 26; 98-243, S. 19, 25; 98-252, S. 13, 38, 80; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 115, 121; P.A. 00-157, S. 3, 8; P.A. 01-173, S. 19, 67; P.A. 03-220, S. 1, 2; P.A. 04-26, S. 4; P.A. 06-158, S. 5; 06-167, S. 1.)

      History: 1965 act substituted Sec. 10-158a for repealed Sec. 10-158; 1969 act added requirement that boards of education "implement the educational interests of the state as defined in section 10-4a"; P.A. 78-218 substituted "school district" for "town" throughout, specified applicability of provisions to local and regional, rather than town, boards and required attendance of children "seven years of age and over and under sixteen" rather than "between the ages of seven and sixteen"; P.A. 79-128 added Subsec. (b) re statement of goals by local and regional boards; P.A. 80-166 amended Subsec. (b) to require first attestation that programs are based on state goals "on September 1, 1982" rather than "in 1981"; P.A. 84-460 amended Subsec. (a) requiring that boards insure all buildings and all capital equipment against loss in an amount not less than eighty per cent of replacement cost; P.A. 85-377 substituted commissioner of education for state board; P.A. 86-333 amended Subsec. (b) to extend from July 1, 1986, to July 1, 1987, the date when boards of education are to begin reviewing and updating the statement of goals; P.A. 90-324 added Subsec. (c) re strategic school profile reports; P.A. 93-353 deleted requirements for (1) the local or regional board to submit the statement of goals to the state board of education, (2) the state board to review the statement and approve the statement as it pertains to the state-wide goals, (3) the local or regional board to review and if necessary update the statement of goals every five years and submit such statement to the state board and (4) the state board to review and approve the statement as it pertains to the state-wide goals, and removed obsolete language and added Subsec. (d) concerning a report to the state board of education on educational goals and student objectives and the development of a comprehensive professional development plan, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-245 amended Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (c) to change the dates from May first to November first, effective June 2, 1994; P.A. 95-182 amended Subsec. (a) to remove a requirement that local and regional boards of education attest to the Commissioner of Education that program offerings and instruction are based on educational goals and student objectives and deleted Subsec. (d) re reports concerning the statement of educational goals and student objectives and the development and implementation of professional development plans, effective June 28, 1995; P.A. 96-26 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize placement of certain older pupils in alternative school programs or other suitable educational programs, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 96-244 amended Subsec. (c) to delete obsolete language of Subdiv. (2), deleted Subdiv. (1) designation and replaced Subparas. with Subdivs., effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 96-270 amended Subsec. (a) to add the requirement to advise the Commissioner of Education of the relationship between any individual school building project and the long-term school building program, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 97-290 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions re an appropriate learning environment, report on the condition of facilities and action taken to implement the long-term building program and the annual report by the commissioner to the General Assembly, and amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (4) re equitable allocation of resources and Subdiv. (5) re reduction of racial, ethnic and economic isolation, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-168 amended Subsec. (c) to add provisions re special education, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 98-243 amended Subsec. (a) to lower the age requirement for school attendance from seven to five, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (a) to add requirement for a written plan for minority staff recruitment and to make a technical change and amended Subsec. (c) to remove November date for report and in Subdiv. (2) specified technological resources and utilization of such resources and infrastructure, effective July 1, 1998; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-157 amended Subsec. (a) to change the reference to the school attendance age from "sixteen years of age" to "eighteen years of age who is not a high school graduate", effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change for the purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-220 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provisions re maintenance of facilities and indoor air quality and making technical changes and added Subsec. (d) re indoor air quality inspection and evaluation program, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 04-26 made a technical change in Subsec. (d)(5), effective April 28, 2004; P.A. 06-158 amended Subsec. (a) by changing annual reporting on facility conditions to biennial reporting, effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 06-167 amended Subsec. (c) by adding language re parental involvement, effective July 1, 2006.

      See Sec. 10-4b re complaint procedure where failure or inability of board of education to implement educational interests of state is alleged.

      See Sec. 10-220a re in-service training and professional development.

      See Sec. 10-220c re transportation of students over private roads.

      Powers conferred and duties imposed by former statute construed. 65 C. 183. Former statute cited. 77 C. 195. Town may defend action brought against committee for official acts under former statute; duties as to moral fitness of teachers. 79 C. 240. Former statute held not to repeal provision in city charter. 82 C. 124. Control of town over committee under former statute. Id., 566. Former "school committee" was agent of law and not of the town. 99 C. 695. Cited. 129 C. 191. Cited. 134 C. 616. Cited. 143 C. 488. Actions of board, within confines of its powers, not subject to control of city common council or officers. 147 C. 478. If land devoted to school purposes, held city could not condemn it for a highway without approval of school committee. Id. This section must be read with section 10-186 re furnishing of transportation for school children, and it comprehends not only distance but safety factors. 148 C. 238 (one judge dissenting). Number of teaching positions, need of curriculum coordinator and maintenance of school properties were matters within discretion of school board. 151 C. 1. Cited. 152 C. 148-150. Ability of board to perform its statutory duties not destroyed by requirement of town charter that it select nonprofessional employees under civil service requirements. Id., 568. Cited. 153 C. 283. Cited. 162 C. 568. Town boards of education, in matters not involving strictly budgetary concerns, act as agents of the state. Under powers to "employ and dismiss" teachers town boards of education can determine contested cases. 167 C. 368. Town, by referendum could delegate its power of eminent domain to board of education which had authority to exercise it. 168 C. 135. Cited. 170 C. 38; Id., 318. Cited. 174 C. 522. Cited. 180 C. 96. Cited. 182 C. 93; Id., 253. Cited. 187 C. 187. Cited. 193 C. 93. Cited. 195 C. 24. Cited. 205 C. 116. Cited. 217 C. 110. Cited. 228 C. 640; Id., 699. Cited. 237 C. 169. Cited. 238 C. 1.

      Cited. 6 CA 212. Cited. 44 CA 179.

      Elements justifying indemnification of a board member. 9 CS 442. Cited. 15 CS 370. Boards of education may discontinue or unite schools; history of section reviewed. 16 CS 339. Board as agent of the state. 19 CS 158. Boards of education may accord problem of racial imbalance relevance in making decisions. 26 CS 124. Cited. 27 CS 339. Extension of a "project concern" contract made by board of education of Milford with board of New Haven is an administrative decision to be made by board as agency of the state under its authority set out in sections 10-220 through 10-239 and board of aldermen was enjoined from holding an advisory referendum of voters as this would be an unlawful expenditure of city funds. 28 CS 207. School boards are agents of the state...not subject to recall under a municipal charter. 29 CS 201. Cited. 30 CS 63. The Connecticut education system violates Article I, Sec. 20 and Article VIII, Sec. 1 of the Connecticut Constitution. 31 CS 379. Relationship between boards of education and municipal budget authorities. Extent of municipal obligation to finance education. 32 CS 132. Cited. 34 CS 115. Cited. 35 CS 55. Cited. 36 CS 293. Local board of education is not acting as agent of the state and not entitled to sovereign immunity when acting to recover damages arising from construction of school building. 40 CS 141. Cited. 44 CS 527.

      Subsec. (a):

      Town charter that allows for separate referenda for town's operating budget and education budget and that allows voters to reject the budgets three times does not rise to the level of a veto and does not violate state statute and policy concerning education. 268 C. 295.

      Context of community orientation of family discussed in determining place of residence for purposes of school attendance. 34 CA 567.

      Sec. 10-220a. In-service training. Professional development. Institutes for educators. Cooperating and beginning teacher programs, regulations. (a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or professional educator certificate. Such program shall provide such teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) the nature and the relationship of drugs, as defined in subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, and alcohol to health and personality development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health and mental health risk reduction education which includes, but need not be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as defined in section 19a-581, violence, child abuse and youth suicide, (3) the growth and development of exceptional children, including handicapped and gifted and talented children and children who may require special education, including, but not limited to, children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or learning disabilities, and methods for identifying, planning for and working effectively with special needs children in a regular classroom, (4) school violence prevention and conflict resolution, (5) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life saving procedures, (6) computer and other information technology as applied to student learning and classroom instruction, communications and data management, (7) the teaching of the language arts, reading and reading readiness for teachers in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive, and (8) second language acquisition in districts required to provide a program of bilingual education pursuant to section 10-17f. The State Board of Education, within available appropriations and utilizing available materials, shall assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to include: (A) Holocaust education and awareness; (B) the historical events surrounding the Great Famine in Ireland; (C) African-American history; (D) Puerto Rican history; (E) Native American history; (F) personal financial management; and (G) topics approved by the state board upon the request of local or regional boards of education as part of in-service training programs pursuant to this subsection.

      (b) Not later than a date prescribed by the commissioner, each local and regional board of education shall develop, with the advice and assistance of the teachers and administrators employed by such boards, including representatives of the exclusive bargaining representative of such teachers and administrators chosen pursuant to section 10-153b, and such other resources as the board deems appropriate, a comprehensive professional development plan, to be implemented not later than the school year 1994-1995. Such plan shall be directly related to the educational goals prepared by the local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220, and shall provide for the ongoing and systematic assessment and improvement of both teacher evaluation and professional development of the professional staff members of each such board, including personnel management and evaluation training or experience for administrators, shall be related to regular and special student needs and may include provisions concerning career incentives and parent involvement. The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines to assist local and regional boards of education in determining the objectives of the plans and in coordinating staff development activities with student needs and school programs.

      (c) The Department of Education, in cooperation with one or more regional educational service centers, is authorized to provide institutes annually for Connecticut educators. Such institutes shall serve as model programs of professional development and shall be taught by exemplary Connecticut teachers and administrators and by other qualified individuals as selected by the Department of Education. The Department of Education shall charge fees for attending such institutes provided such fees shall be based on the actual cost of such institutes.

      (d) The Department of Education may fund, within available appropriations, in cooperation with one or more regional educational service centers: (1) A cooperating teacher program to train Connecticut public school teachers and certified teachers at private special education facilities approved by the Commissioner of Education and at other facilities designated by the commissioner, who participate in the supervision, training and evaluation of student teachers; (2) institutes to provide continuing education for Connecticut public school educators, assessors and cooperating teachers and teacher mentors, including institutes to provide continuing education for Connecticut public school educators offered in cooperation with the Connecticut Humanities Council; and (3) a beginning teacher support and assessment program to train Connecticut public school teachers and other qualified persons approved by the Commissioner of Education and certified teachers at such private special education and other designated facilities who serve as mentors or assessors for beginning teachers and who supervise, train and assist or assess beginning teachers in their initial years in teaching and to pay stipends to assessors. Funds available under this subsection shall be paid directly to school districts for the provision of substitute teachers when cooperating teachers, teacher mentors, beginning teachers and assessors are released from regular classroom responsibilities and for the provision of professional development activities for cooperating and student teachers, teacher mentors, assessors and beginning teachers. The cooperating teacher and beginning teacher support and assessment programs shall operate in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Education in accordance with chapter 54, except in cases of placement in other countries pursuant to written cooperative agreements between Connecticut institutions of higher education and institutions of higher education in other countries. A Connecticut institution may enter such an agreement only if the State Board of Education and Board of Governors for Higher Education have jointly approved the institution's teacher preparation program to enter into such agreements. Student teachers shall be placed with trained cooperating teachers. Beginning teachers shall participate in a beginning teacher support and assessment program as made available by the board. School districts shall be responsible for providing support to beginning teachers which shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of beginning teachers with trained teacher mentors who may be full or part-time teachers in the same or a different building than the beginning teacher and provision of trained assessors to conduct assessments of beginning teachers. Cooperating teachers, teacher mentors and assessors may serve concurrently in more than one capacity and may be assigned more than one student teacher or beginning teacher in each such capacity. The assessment of each beginning teacher shall be based upon, but not limited to, data obtained from observations conducted by assessors using an assessment instrument. A beginning teacher shall be assessed by educators with teaching experience in the same general subject area as such beginning teacher. Cooperating teachers and teacher mentors who are Connecticut public school teachers and assessors who are employed by school districts shall be selected by local and regional boards of education. Cooperating teachers and teacher mentors and assessors at such private special education and other designated facilities shall be selected by the authority responsible for the operation of such facilities. If a board of education is unable to identify a sufficient number of individuals to serve in such positions, the commissioner may select qualified persons who are not employed by the board of education to serve in such positions. Such regulations shall require primary consideration of teachers' classroom experience and recognized success as educators. The provisions of sections 10-153a to 10-153n, inclusive, shall not be applicable to the selection, placement and compensation of persons participating in the cooperating teacher and beginning teacher support and assessment programs pursuant to the provisions of this section and to the hours and duties of such persons. The State Board of Education shall protect and save harmless, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-235, any cooperating teacher, teacher mentor or assessor while serving in such capacity.

      (P.A. 73-632, S. 4, 5; P.A. 75-211, S. 2; P.A. 78-218, S. 144; P.A. 82-75, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-314, S. 1, 2; P.A. 85-377, S. 6, 13; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1, S. 10, 58; P.A. 87-352, S. 1, 2; 87-499, S. 13, 29, 34; P.A. 88-96, S. 1, 2; 88-273, S. 5, 6, 9; 88-360, S. 24, 63; P.A. 89-137, S. 10, 14; 89-168, S. 4; P.A. 90-324, S. 10, 11, 13; 90-325, S. 7, 32; P.A. 91-220, S. 7, 8; 91-264, S. 1, 2; 91-303, S. 19, 22; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-7, S. 9, 22; P.A. 93-23; 93-353, S. 29, 52; P.A. 94-221, S. 5; P.A. 95-101, S. 2; 95-182, S. 7, 11; 95-259, S. 21, 32; P.A. 96-244, S. 53, 63; P.A. 97-45, S. 2; 97-61, S. 2; P.A. 98-243, S. 20, 25; P.A. 00-220, S. 10, 43; P.A. 03-76, S. 16; 03-174, S. 3; 03-211, S. 6; P.A 04-227, S. 1; P.A. 06-192, S. 2.)

      History: P.A. 75-211 included instruction re alcohol and its effects in in-service training programs and health education programs; P.A. 78-218 specified applicability of provisions to local and regional boards in Subsecs. (a) and (b), deleted phrase "of every school district" and deleted September 1, 1974, deadline for establishment of programs in said Subsecs. and deleted Subsec. (c) re policy statements on procedures to deal with drug sales or use; P.A. 82-75 deleted Subsec. (b) which had required development of an ongoing program on drug and alcohol abuse repealed, but see sections 10-16b and 10-19; P.A. 84-314 added new Subsecs. (b) and (c) re development of plans to provide for the ongoing and systematic professional development of the professional staff members of boards of education and annual institutes to be held by the state department of education; P.A. 85-377 substituted commissioner of education for state board; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1 added Subsec. (d) re cooperating teacher program and institutes and beginning teacher program; P.A. 87-352 included certified teachers at approved private special education facilities in the cooperating teacher and teacher mentor programs and made a technical change in Subsec. (d); P.A. 87-499 in Subsec. (c) provided that the institutes be provided in cooperation with one or more regional educational service centers and amended Subsec. (d) to provide that funding be in cooperation with one or more regional educational service centers and that the programs pay stipends that institutes be for teacher mentors in Subdiv. (2) and made technical changes; P.A. 88-96 added a reference to the Connecticut Humanities Council in Subsec. (d); P.A. 88-273 in Subsec. (d) added "who are Connecticut public school teachers" and provided that after July 1, 1989, the cooperating teacher and beginning teacher programs operate in accordance with regulations, that for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1989, selection of teachers be made pursuant to Subsec. (e) added by the same act rather than based on state guidelines, that all provisions concerning teacher negotiation law, Secs. 10-153a to 10-153n, inclusive, not apply to certain aspects of participation in the program and that the state board of education protect and save harmless certain persons and added Subsec. (e) re cooperating teacher and teacher mentor selection, placement and compensation for the fiscal years up to and including the fiscal year ending June 30, 1989; P.A. 88-360 in Subdiv. (2) of Subsec. (d) added that the institutes be for Connecticut public school teachers, in Subdiv. (3) of Subsec. (d) added that the beginning teacher program be for "other qualified persons approved by the commissioner of education" and that it be for persons who serve as assessors for beginning teachers and provided for the selection of qualified persons by the commissioner of education and made a technical change; P.A. 89-137 in Subsec. (d) provided that the Connecticut Humanities Council cooperate in offering continuing education institutes and not in offering the cooperating teacher program and the beginning teacher support and assessment program, substituted "educators" for "teachers" as persons for whom continuing education institutes are to be provided and provided that funds available under the subsection be paid directly to school districts for specified purposes; P.A. 89-168 changed the name from "standard" certificate to "professional educator" certificate and added a new Subdiv. (2) which includes information on health and mental issues affecting children, including child abuse and youth suicide as component of in-service training program; P.A. 90-324 in Subsec. (a) substituted "pupil personnel" for "guidance personnel", added "educator" after "initial" and "provisional" and required the commissioner of education rather than the state board of education to approve the program and in Subsec. (b) added administrators and their bargaining representatives as persons who may advise boards of education on the development of five-year plans and added that such plans may include provisions concerning career incentives and parent involvement in Subdiv. (1) and added new Subdiv. (2) re comprehensive professional development plans; P.A. 90-325 in Subsec. (a) added Subdiv. (3) re the providing of information as to the growth and development of exceptional children, in Subsec. (d) provided that certain private special education facilities be approved by the commissioner of education, rather than the state board of education, that teachers at facilities designated by the commissioner be able to participate in the cooperating teacher and beginning teacher support and assessment programs and added that the institutes in Subdiv. (2) be for assessors and that funds available under the subsection are for professional development activities for assessors, deleted Subsec. (e) re cooperating teachers and teacher mentors and made technical changes; P.A. 91-220 replaced requirement that program be approved by the commissioner with requirement that it be submitted to the commissioner in Subsec. (a); P.A. 91-264 in Subsec. (c) added language concerning the charging of fees; P.A. 91-303 in Subsec. (b)(2) added provision for submission of a plan on and after April 1, 1994, and provided for revision of plans every five years rather than every three years; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-7 amended Subsec. (d) to remove provision for stipends for teachers who train student teachers and for mentors, added specific requirements pertaining to beginning teacher support and assessment programs and added provision regarding different requirements than those specified in regulations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992; P.A. 93-23 amended Subsec. (a) to add risk reduction education language; P.A. 93-353 amended Subdiv. (2) of Subsec. (b) to delete requirement that the plan be developed by April 1, 1991, and substituted "a date prescribed by the commissioner" and that the plan be a three-year plan and that it be submitted to the commissioner of education, changed the date for implementation of the plan and removed language on the development and submission of another plan by April 1, 1994, added requirement that the plan be directly related to the educational goals prepared by the local or regional board and removed requirement that the local or regional board review and revise its plan every five years and submit it to the commissioner, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-221 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (4) re school violence prevention and conflict resolution; P.A. 95-101 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision concerning Holocaust education and awareness; P.A. 95-182 amended Subsec. (b) to remove former Subdiv. (1) re development of five-year professional development plans, deleting Subdiv. (2) designator, effective June 28, 1995; P.A. 95-259 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (5) re cardiopulmonary resuscitation, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 96-244 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (6) re computer and other information technology, effective June 6, 1996; P.A. 97-45 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision concerning the Great Famine in Ireland; P.A. 97-61 amended Subsec. (a) to expand the list of topics for in-service training programs by adding African-American history, Puerto Rican history, Native American history, personal financial management and topics approved by the State Board of Education at the request of local or regional boards of education; P.A. 98-243 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (7) re teaching of language arts, reading and reading readiness, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsec. (a) to remove a requirement to submit the program to the Commissioner of Education, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 03-76 made technical changes in Subsecs. (c) and (d), effective June 3, 2003; P.A. 03-174 amended Subsec. (d) by deleting provision allowing for less than six observations, substituting provisions requiring assessment by educators with teaching experience in same field for provision not requiring assessment by teacher with certification endorsement in same field and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 03-211 amended Subsec. (a)(3) by including children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or learning disabilities, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 04-227 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (8) re second language acquisition, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 06-192 amended Subsec. (d) by making technical changes and adding language re placement in other countries, effective July 1, 2006.

      See Sec. 10-373aa re Connecticut Humanities Council.

      Sec. 10-220b. Policy statement on drugs. Section 10-220b is repealed.

      (P.A. 78-218, S. 145; P.A. 87-499, S. 33, 34.)

      See Sec. 10-221(d) re policies and procedures re alcohol and controlled drugs.

      Sec. 10-220c. Transportation of children over private roads. Immunity from liability. (a) Each town, or local or regional board of education may when providing for the transportation of children to and from school or school activities, in accordance with the provisions of sections 10-47 or 10-220, authorize the operator of any vehicle owned, leased or hired by or operated under contract with such town, local or regional board of education to travel on any private road, provided the owner or owners thereof consent to such travel and such roads have been constructed and are maintained in accordance with the standards for the construction and maintenance of similar roads of the municipality wherein such private road lies, as determined by the chief executive officer of such municipality or his designee.

      (b) No town, or local or regional board of education or member thereof nor the school bus owner or operator authorized thereby shall be liable to any person for personal injuries received while being transported to or from school or school activities on a private road in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, provided the proximate cause of such injuries was the negligent construction or maintenance of such private road.

      (P.A. 78-201.)

      Cited. 239 C. 769.

      Sec. 10-220d. Student recruitment by regional and interdistrict specialized schools and programs. Recruitment of athletes prohibited. Each local and regional board of education shall provide full access to regional vocational-technical schools, regional vocational agriculture centers, interdistrict magnet schools, charter schools and interdistrict student attendance programs for the recruitment of students attending the schools under the board's jurisdiction, provided such recruitment is not for the purpose of interscholastic athletic competition.

      (P.A. 97-39, S. 1; P.A. 98-252, S. 70, 80; P.A. 01-173, S. 20, 67.)

      History: P.A. 98-252 substituted requirement for full access for requirement to provide an opportunity for recruitment, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 01-173 made a technical change, effective July 1, 2001.

      Sec. 10-220e. Foster children count. Section 10-220e is repealed, effective July 1, 2000.

      (P.A. 98-252, S. 66, 80; P.A. 00-220, S. 42, 43.)

      Sec. 10-220f. Safety committee. Each local and regional board of education may establish a school district safety committee to increase staff and student awareness of safety and health issues and to review the adequacy of emergency response procedures at each school. Parents and high school students shall be included in the membership of such committees.

      (P.A. 98-252, S. 67, 80.)

      History: P.A. 98-252 effective July 1, 1998.

      See Sec. 10-231f re authority of safety committees to address indoor air quality issues.

      Sec. 10-220g. Policy on weighted grading for honors and advanced placement classes. Each local and regional board of education shall establish a written policy concerning weighted grading for honors and advanced placement classes. The policy shall provide that parents and students are advised whether a grade in an honors class or an advanced placement class is or is not given added weight for purposes of calculating grade point average and determining class rank.

      (P.A. 99-81.)

      Sec. 10-220h. Transfer of student records. When a student enrolls in a school in a new school district, the new school district shall provide written notification of such enrollment to the school district in which the student previously attended school. The school district in which the student previously attended school (1) shall transfer the student's education records to the new school district no later than ten days after receipt of such notification, and (2) if the student's parent or guardian did not give written authorization for the transfer of such records, shall send notification of the transfer to the parent or guardian at the same time that it transfers the records. In the case of a student who transfers from Unified School District #1, the unified school district shall transfer the records of the student to the new school district which shall, not later than thirty days after receiving the student's education records, credit the student for all instruction received in Unified School District #1.

      (P.A. 00-220, S. 1, 43; P.A. 06-192, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 00-220 effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 06-192 added language re transfer of records from Unified School District #1 and receipt of credit for instruction received in said district, effective July 1, 2006.

      Sec. 10-220i. Transportation of students carrying cartridge injectors. No local or regional board of education shall deny a student access to school transportation solely due to such student's need to carry a cartridge injector while traveling on a vehicle used for school transportation. For purposes of this section, "cartridge injector" means an automatic prefilled cartridge injector or similar automatic injectable equipment used to deliver epinephrine in a standard dose for emergency first aid response to allergic reactions.

      (P.A. 03-211, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 03-211 effective July 1, 2003.

      Sec. 10-220j. Blood glucose self-testing by children. Guidelines. (a) No local or regional board of education may prohibit blood glucose self-testing by children with diabetes who have a written order from a physician or an advanced practice registered nurse stating the need and the capability of such child to conduct self-testing.

      (b) The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall develop guidelines for policies and practices with respect to blood glucose self-testing by children pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Such guidelines shall not be construed as regulations within the scope of chapter 54.

      (P.A. 03-211, S. 7.)

      History: P.A. 03-211 effective July 1, 2003.

      Sec. 10-221. Boards of education to prescribe rules, policies and procedures. (a) Boards of education shall prescribe rules for the management, studies, classification and discipline of the public schools and, subject to the control of the State Board of Education, the textbooks to be used; shall make rules for the control, within their respective jurisdictions, of school library media centers and approve the selection of books and other educational media therefor, and shall approve plans for public school buildings and superintend any high or graded school in the manner specified in this title.

      (b) Not later than July 1, 1985, each local and regional board of education shall develop, adopt and implement written policies concerning homework, attendance, promotion and retention. The Department of Education shall make available model policies and guidelines to assist local and regional boards of education in meeting the responsibilities enumerated in this subsection.

      (c) Boards of education may prescribe rules to impose sanctions against pupils who damage or fail to return textbooks, library materials or other educational materials. Said boards may charge pupils for such damaged or lost textbooks, library materials or other educational materials and may withhold grades, transcripts or report cards until the pupil pays for or returns the textbook, library book or other educational material.

      (d) Not later than July 1, 1991, each local and regional board of education shall develop, adopt and implement policies and procedures in conformity with section 10-154a for (1) dealing with the use, sale or possession of alcohol or controlled drugs, as defined in subsection (8) of section 21a-240, by public school students on school property, including a process for coordination with, and referral of such students to, appropriate agencies and (2) cooperating with law enforcement officials.

      (e) Not later than July 1, 1990, each local and regional board of education shall adopt a written policy and procedures for dealing with youth suicide prevention and youth suicide attempts. Each such board of education may establish a student assistance program to identify risk factors for youth suicide, procedures to intervene with such youths, referral services and training for teachers and other school professionals and students who provide assistance in the program.

      (f) Not later than September 1, 1998, each local and regional board of education shall develop, adopt and implement written policies and procedures to encourage parent-teacher communication. These policies and procedures may include monthly newsletters, required regular contact with all parents, flexible parent-teacher conferences, drop-in hours for parents, home visits and the use of technology such as homework hot lines to allow parents to check on their children's assignments and students to get assistance if needed.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1479; P.A. 78-218, S. 146; P.A. 80-32, S. 2, 3; P.A. 81-257, S. 3, 10; P.A. 82-137, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-275, S. 1, 2; P.A. 87-499, S. 14, 34; P.A. 89-168, S. 2; P.A. 90-133, S. 2; P.A. 97-290, S. 14, 29; P.A. 03-76, S. 17; P.A. 06-196, S. 64.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "public school buildings" for "schoolhouses"; P.A. 80-32 substituted "library media centers" for "libraries" and included reference to "other educational media" to reflect increased scope of libraries; P.A. 81-257 added Subsec. (b) authorizing boards to prescribe rules to impose sanctions against pupils who damage or fail to return textbooks and library and other educational materials; P.A. 82-137 made permissive rather than mandatory the adoption of rules to impose sanctions against pupils who fail to return or damage textbooks; P.A. 84-275 added new Subsec. (b) re written policies concerning homework, attendance, promotion and retention, relettering former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 87-499 added new Subsec. (d) concerning policies and procedures re alcohol and controlled drugs; P.A. 89-168 added Subsec. (e) requiring each local and regional board of education to adopt a written policy and procedures for dealing with youth suicide prevention and youth suicide attempts; P.A. 90-133 in Subsec. (d) extended the deadline for the implementation of policies and procedures from July 1, 1988, to July 1, 1991, and added that the procedures include a process for coordination with appropriate agencies; P.A. 97-290 added Subsec. (f) re parent-teacher communication, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 03-76 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective June 3, 2003; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (e), effective June 7, 2006.

      Cited. 152 C. 148. Effect of teacher negotiation act on educational policy. 162 C. 577. Cited. 193 C. 93. Cited. 218 C. 1.

      Board of education is agent of the state and not of the town in maintenance and management of public schools. 19 CS 158. Cited. 29 CS 397. Cited. 30 CS 63. Cited. 35 CS 55.

      Sec. 10-221a. High school graduation requirements. Diplomas for veterans of World War II. (a) For classes graduating from 1988 to 2003, inclusive, no local or regional board of education shall permit any student to graduate from high school or grant a diploma to any student who has not satisfactorily completed a minimum of twenty credits, not fewer than four of which shall be in English, not fewer than three in mathematics, not fewer than three in social studies, not fewer than two in science, not fewer than one in the arts or vocational education and not fewer than one in physical education.

      (b) Commencing with classes graduating in 2004, and for each graduating class thereafter, no local or regional board of education shall permit any student to graduate from high school or grant a diploma to any student who has not satisfactorily completed a minimum of twenty credits, not fewer than four of which shall be in English, not fewer than three in mathematics, not fewer than three in social studies, including at least a one-half credit course on civics and American government, not fewer than two in science, not fewer than one in the arts or vocational education and not fewer than one in physical education.

      (c) Any student who presents a certificate from a physician stating that, in the opinion of the physician, participation in physical education is medically contraindicated because of the physical condition of such student, shall be excused from the physical education requirement, provided the credit for physical education may be fulfilled by an elective.

      (d) Determination of eligible credits shall be at the discretion of the local or regional board of education, provided the primary focus of the curriculum of eligible credits corresponds directly to the subject matter of the specified course requirements. The local or regional board of education may permit a student to graduate during a period of expulsion pursuant to section 10-233d, if the board determines the student has satisfactorily completed the necessary credits pursuant to this section. The requirements of this section shall apply to any student requiring special education pursuant to section 10-76a, except when the planning and placement team for such student determines the requirement not to be appropriate. For purposes of this section, a credit shall consist of not less than the equivalent of a forty-minute class period for each school day of a school year except for a credit or part of a credit toward high school graduation earned at an institution accredited by the Department of Higher Education or regionally accredited.

      (e) Only courses taken in grades nine through twelve, inclusive, shall satisfy this graduation requirement, except that a local or regional board of education may grant a student credit (1) toward meeting a specified course requirement upon the successful completion in grade seven or eight of any course, the primary focus of which corresponds directly to the subject matter of a specified course requirement in grades nine to twelve, inclusive; or (2) toward meeting the high school graduation requirement upon the successful completion of coursework at an institution accredited by the Department of Higher Education or regionally accredited. One three-credit semester course, or its equivalent, at such an institution shall equal one-half credit for purposes of this section.

      (f) A local or regional board of education may offer one-half credit in community service which, if satisfactorily completed, shall qualify for high school graduation credit pursuant to this section, provided such community service is supervised by a certified school administrator or teacher and consists of not less than fifty hours of actual service that may be performed at times when school is not regularly in session and not less than ten hours of related classroom instruction. For purposes of this section, community service does not include partisan political activities. The State Board of Education shall assist local and regional boards of education in meeting the requirements of this section.

      (g) A local or regional board of education may award a diploma to a veteran of World War II, pursuant to section 27-103, who left high school prior to graduation in order to serve in the armed forces of the United States and did not receive a diploma as a consequence of such service.

      (P.A. 83-282; P.A. 84-297, S. 1, 2; P.A. 85-96, S. 1, 2; 85-613, S. 120, 154; P.A. 86-333, S. 12, 32; P.A. 88-136, S. 11, 37; P.A. 93-111, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-182, S. 8, 11; P.A. 96-26, S. 3, 4; P.A. 00-124, S. 1, 2; 00-156; 00-187, S. 69, 75.)

      History: P.A. 84-297 amended Subsec. (a) to establish a state-wide twenty credit requirement for graduation effective for classes graduating in 1988 and thereafter; to state the minimum number of credits to be earned in English, mathematics, social studies, science, the arts or vocational education and physical education and to allow the local or regional board of education to determine what is an eligible credit for purposes of fulfilling the requirement; P.A. 85-96 amended Subsec. (a) to permit an exception to the course requirement for graduation, allowing local or regional boards to grant a student credit toward a specified course requirement upon the successful completion in grade seven or eight of any course, the primary focus of which corresponds directly to the subject matter of a specified course requirement in grades nine to twelve, but specifying that students must complete at least twenty credits in grades nine to twelve, notwithstanding the grant of such credit; P.A. 85-613 made technical change; P.A. 86-333 made provision in Subsec. (a) for credit for coursework earned at institutions of higher education to satisfy high school graduation requirements; P.A. 88-136 deleted obsolete provisions in Subsec. (a) re students graduating in 1987; P.A. 93-111 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions on community service, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-182 deleted former Subsec. (b) concerning report to the General Assembly on graduation requirements, effective June 28, 1995; P.A. 96-26 added provision allowing expelled students to graduate if they have completed the necessary credits and deleted provision requiring that twenty credits toward graduation be completed in grades nine through twelve, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 00-124 added new provision, designated as Subsec. (g), re diplomas for veterans of World War II, effective May 29, 2000; P.A. 00-156, effective October 1, 2000, and 00-187, effective July 1, 2000, both divided the existing section into Subsecs., adding new provisions as Subsec. (b) to require that classes graduating in 2004 and thereafter have at least one-half credit in civics and American government.

      See 10-16b re prescribed courses of study.

      Cited. 195 C. 24. Cited. 238 C. 1.

      Sec. 10-221b. Boards of education to establish written uniform policy re treatment of recruiters. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all public high schools and any private high school which receives state funds shall, subject to the provisions of subdivision (11) of subsection (b) of section 1-210, provide the same directory information and on-campus recruiting opportunities to representatives of the armed forces of the United States of America and state armed services as are offered to nonmilitary recruiters or commercial concerns. Local and regional boards of education and the governing board of any such private high school shall establish a written uniform policy for the treatment of all recruiters, including commercial, nonmilitary and military concerns and recruiters representing institutions of higher education.

      (P.A. 84-87, S. 1, 7.)

      Sec. 10-221c. Development of policy for reporting complaints re school transportation safety. Reporting of accidents at school bus stops. (a) The superintendent of schools of each local or regional school district and the supervisory agent of each nonpublic school shall develop and implement a policy for the reporting of all complaints relative to school transportation safety, and shall cause to be maintained a written record of all such complaints received. Each such superintendent of schools and each such supervisory agent shall, annually, within thirty days after the end of the school year, provide the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles with a copy of the written record of complaints received for the previous twelve-month period.

      (b) The superintendent of schools of each local or regional school district and the supervisory agent of each nonpublic school shall make a written report of the circumstances of any accident within his jurisdiction and knowledge, involving a motor vehicle and any pedestrian who is a student, which occurs at a designated school bus stop or in the immediate vicinity thereof, to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within ten days thereafter on a form prescribed by the commissioner.

      (P.A. 89-320, S. 9, 12; P.A. 90-112, S. 8, 14.)

      History: P.A. 90-112 added Subsec. (b), requiring superintendent and supervisory agent to make written report of circumstances of accidents involving motor vehicles and student pedestrians at or near bus stops to motor vehicles commissioner.

      See Sec. 14-275 et seq. re Motor Vehicles Commissioner's powers and duties re school buses.

      Sec. 10-221d. Criminal history records checks of school personnel. Fingerprinting. Termination or dismissal. (a) On and after July 1, 1994, each local and regional board of education shall (1) require each applicant for a position in a public school to state whether such person has ever been convicted of a crime or whether criminal charges are pending against such person at the time of such person's application, (2) require, subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, each person hired by the board after July 1, 1994, to submit to state and national criminal history records checks within thirty days from the date of employment and may require, subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, any person hired prior to said date to submit to state and national criminal history records checks, and (3) require each worker (A) placed within a school under a public assistance employment program, or (B) employed by a provider of supplemental services pursuant to the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110, who performs a service involving direct student contact to submit to state and national criminal history records checks within thirty days from the date such worker begins to perform such service. The criminal history records checks required by this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with section 29-17a. If the local or regional board of education receives notice of a conviction of a crime which has not previously been disclosed by such person to the board, the board may (i) terminate the contract of a certified employee, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-151, and (ii) dismiss a noncertified employee provided such employee is notified of the reason for such dismissal, is provided the opportunity to file with the board, in writing, any proper answer to such criminal conviction and a copy of the notice of such criminal conviction, the answer and the dismissal order are made a part of the records of the board. In addition, if the local or regional board of education receives notice of a conviction of a crime by a person holding a certificate, authorization or permit issued by the State Board of Education or employed by a provider of supplemental services, the local or regional board of education shall send such notice to the State Board of Education. The supervisory agent of a private school may require any applicant for a position in such school or any employee of such school to submit to state and national criminal history records checks in accordance with the procedures described in this subsection.

      (b) If a local or regional board of education, endowed or incorporated academy approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-34, or special education facility approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-76d requests, a regional educational service center shall arrange for the fingerprinting of any person required to submit to state and national criminal history records checks pursuant to this section or for conducting any other method of positive identification required by the State Police Bureau of Identification or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and shall forward such fingerprints or other positive identifying information to the State Police Bureau of Identification which shall conduct criminal history records checks in accordance with section 29-17a. Such regional educational service centers shall provide the results of such checks to such local or regional board of education, endowed or incorporated academy or special education facility. Such regional educational service centers shall provide such results to any other local or regional board of education or regional educational service center upon the request of such person.

      (c) State and national criminal history records checks for substitute teachers completed within one year prior to the date of employment with a local or regional board of education and submitted to the employing board of education shall meet the requirements of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section. A local or regional board of education shall not require substitute teachers to submit to state and national criminal history records checks pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section if they are continuously employed by such local or regional board of education. For purposes of this section, substitute teachers shall be deemed to be continuously employed by a local or regional board of education if they are employed at least one day of each school year by such local or regional board of education.

      (d) (1) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person required to submit to a criminal history records check pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d) of section 14-44.

      (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a student employed by the local or regional school district in which the student attends school.

      (3) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section requiring state and national criminal history records checks shall, at the discretion of a local or regional board of education, apply to a person employed by a local or regional board of education as a teacher for a noncredit adult class or adult education activity, as defined in section 10-67, who is not required to hold a teaching certificate pursuant to section 10-145b for his or her position.

      (e) The State Board of Education shall submit, periodically, a database of applicants for an initial issuance of certificate, authorization or permit pursuant to sections 10-144o to 10-149, inclusive, to the State Police Bureau of Identification. The State Police Bureau of Identification shall conduct a state criminal history records check against such database and notify the State Board of Education of any such applicant who has a criminal conviction. The State Board of Education shall not issue a certificate, authorization or permit until it receives and evaluates the results of such check and may deny an application in accordance with the provisions of subsection (m) of section 10-145b.

      (f) The State Board of Education shall submit, periodically, a database of all persons who hold certificates, authorizations or permits to the State Police Bureau of Identification. The State Police Bureau of Identification shall conduct a state criminal history records check against such database and shall notify the State Board of Education of any such person who has a criminal conviction. The State Board of Education may revoke the certificate, authorization or permit of such person in accordance with the provisions of subsection (m) of section 10-145b.

      (P.A. 93-328; P.A. 94-221, S. 7; P.A. 95-259, S. 16, 32; P.A. 98-252, S. 15, 80; P.A. 01-173, S. 55, 67; 01-175, S. 2; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 19; P.A. 04-181, S. 3.)

      History: P.A. 94-221 amended Subsec. (a) to allow local and regional boards of education to require criminal history records checks of persons hired prior to July 1, 1994, and to allow private schools to require such checks of applicants for positions in such schools and employees of such schools; P.A. 95-259 amended Subsec. (a) to add references to Subsec. (d) and to regional educational service centers, designated existing Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (d), inserting new Subsec. (b) re regional educational service centers and Subsec. (c) re substitute teachers and amended Subsec. (d), formerly Subsec. (b), to add provision concerning teachers of adult classes or activities, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (b) to allow the service center to provide the results to other boards of education upon the request of the person fingerprinted, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute thirty for ninety days from date of employment for records checks, to add Subdiv. (3) re workers under public assistance employment programs, and to require boards of education to send notices of convictions to the State Board of Education, amended Subsec. (c) to make a technical change, amended Subsec. (d) by designating existing provisions as Subdivs. (1) and (3), adding Subdiv. (2) re employed students and making a technical change for purposes of gender neutrality in Subdiv. (3), and added Subsecs. (e) and (f) re submission of data bases to the State Police Bureau of Identification, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 01-175 made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality in Subsecs. (a), (b) and (d), amended Subsec. (a) by replacing language re Subsec. (b) state criminal history checks, fingerprinting and charging of fee for national criminal history records checks with language re state and national criminal history checks pursuant to Sec. 29-17a, and amended Subsec. (b) by replacing language re fingerprinting pursuant to Subsec. (a) with language re fingerprinting and criminal history records checks pursuant to Sec. 29-17a; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to designate existing provision re worker placed under public assistance employment program as Subpara. (A) and add Subpara. (B) re providers of supplemental services in Subdiv. (3), to redesignate existing Subparas. (A) and (B) as Clauses (i) and (ii) and to add requirement that the State Board of Education be notified of criminal convictions of providers of supplemental services, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 04-181 amended Subsec. (b) by adding references to endowed or incorporated academies and special education facilities, effective July 1, 2004.

      Sec. 10-221e. Intradistrict student assignment programs. Local and regional boards of education may develop intradistrict student assignment programs. Under such programs parents may select the public school which their child will attend provided the school is in the school district in which the child resides. Boards of education may provide transportation services to students participating in the program.

      (P.A. 96-213, S. 1, 5.)

      History: P.A. 96-213 effective July 1, 1996.

      Sec. 10-221f. School uniforms. A local or regional board of education may specify a school uniform for students in schools under its jurisdiction.

      (P.A. 96-101, S. 1, 2.)

      History: P.A. 96-101 effective May 8, 1996.

      Sec. 10-221g. Instructional time and facility usage assessment. Each local and regional board of education shall conduct an instructional time and facility usage assessment in order to maximize student learning and community use of facilities. For purposes of such audit, the superintendent of schools of each school district shall meet regularly with representatives from the public library and the recreation department in the town or towns that comprise the school district to coordinate the availability of facilities.

      (P.A. 97-290, S. 11, 29.)

      History: P.A. 97-290 effective July 1, 1997.

      Sec. 10-221h. Plan to improve reading skills. On or before September 1, 1999, each local and regional board of education shall develop and implement a three-year plan to improve the reading skills of students in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive. The plan shall be designed to allow all students to attain reading competency. The plan shall include: (1) The specific instructional methods, strategies and activities that will be used to teach reading; (2) a process for assessing and assisting students who are at risk of failing to learn to read by the end of first grade; (3) periodic evaluations of the reading level of students; (4) additional time for remedial instruction for students who fail to make progress in their reading development or are reading below grade level; (5) in-service training programs on the teaching of reading for elementary school teachers; (6) a process for involving parents in addressing the reading problems of their children, including a requirement to provide information to parents on strategies that can be used at home to improve the child's language development prereading or reading skills and referrals to family literacy programs, as appropriate, that incorporate adult basic education and provide for the promotion of literacy through access to public library services; (7) ongoing data collection and monitoring of program effectiveness; and (8) the establishment of school and public library partnerships to improve prereading and reading skills.

      (P.A. 98-243, S. 1, 25.)

      History: P.A. 98-243 effective July 1, 1998.

      Sec. 10-221i. Technical assistance. Standard of reading competency. (a) The Department of Education shall provide technical assistance to local and regional boards of education on the development of the plans required pursuant to section 10-221h. The department shall advise local and regional boards of education on: (1) Methods and strategies for assessing students who are at risk of failing to learn to read by the end of first grade; and (2) the development of in-service training programs on the teaching of reading and assessment of reading competency for teachers in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive.

      (b) The State Board of Education shall establish a standard of reading competency for use by local and regional boards of education to measure reading competency for students in grades one to three, inclusive. The standard may be a requirement for a certain score on a standardized test.

      (P.A. 97-290, S. 23, 29; P.A. 98-243, S. 2, 25.)

      History: P.A. 97-290 effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-243 added new Subsec. (a) re technical assistance, redesignating the existing Subsec. (a) as Subsec. (b), and deleted former Subsec. (b) re report to the General Assembly, effective July 1, 1998 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (a)(1) the phrase "... the teaching of the reading and ..." was changed editorially by the Revisors to "... the teaching of reading and ...").

      Sec. 10-221j. Early Reading Success Panel. The Department of Education shall convene an Early Reading Success Panel composed of elementary school teachers, school administrators, national experts in the field of reading research and early childhood and higher education experts knowledgeable in the field of reading research. The panel shall review research on how reading is learned and on the knowledge and skills necessary for teachers to deliver effective reading instruction by July 1, 2000.

      (P.A. 99-227, S. 1, 6.)

      History: P.A. 99-227 effective July 1, 1999.

      Sec. 10-221k. Assessments by priority school districts of need related to goal of reading success. Each local or regional board of education for a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p shall conduct an assessment of its institutional and teacher need related to the attainment of the goal of reading success for children in its schools. The assessment shall include need in the areas of teacher training, assessment tools, curriculum, library books and other forms of technical assistance. The local or regional board of education shall report on the results of such assessment to the Department of Education, in such form as the Commissioner of Education prescribes, by July 1, 2000.

      (P.A. 99-227, S. 2, 6.)

      History: P.A. 99-227 effective July 1, 1999.

      Sec. 10-221l. State-Wide Early Reading Success Institute. The Department of Education shall develop, within available appropriations, a State-Wide Early Reading Success Institute for educators based on the review completed by the Early Reading Success Panel pursuant to section 10-221j and the assessments conducted pursuant to section 10-221k. The institute shall commence operation in the 2000-2001 school year. The institute shall use a training curriculum that incorporates comprehensive instruction in reading as determined by the Early Reading Success Panel pursuant to section 10-221j, to include, but not be limited to: (1) Instructional strategies that can be adapted for each student's needs; (2) early screening and ongoing assessment to determine which individual students need additional instruction; (3) teaching of oral language competencies, including phonological awareness, vocabulary, listening comprehension and grammatical skills; (4) systematic teaching of word identification skills including phonics instruction and instruction in phonemic awareness; and (5) teaching of comprehension competencies, including the use of context to infer meaning.

      (P.A. 99-227, S. 3, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 17, 54; P.A. 03-76, S. 46.)

      History: P.A. 99-227 effective July 1, 1999; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 added requirements re training curriculum used by the institute, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-76 made a technical change, effective June 3, 2003.

      Sec. 10-221m. Development and implementation of in-service reading instruction training program by priority school districts. (a) On or before July 1, 2001, each local or regional board of education for a priority school district pursuant to section 10-266p shall develop and implement a three-year in-service reading instruction training plan for the professional development of the district's school librarians, elementary school principals and not less than seventy per cent of its teachers in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive, provided spaces are available at the State-Wide Early Reading Success Institute for such training.

      (b) On or before October 1, 2001, each local or regional board of education for a priority school district shall revise the plan developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and implement such revised plan. The revised plan shall provide for a five-year school-based in-service reading instruction training program for the professional development of each elementary school's librarian, principal, reading specialist, special education teachers, speech and language specialists and classroom teachers in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive. Such plan shall (1) utilize the school-based training model developed by the State-Wide Early Reading Success Institute pursuant to section 10-221l, and (2) require the board of education to appoint a new or existing employee to serve as a school-based content specialist coordinator. The local or regional board of education may use funds received by the school district pursuant to section 10-265f for teacher training based on the plan.

      (P.A. 99-227, S. 4, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 18, 54.)

      History: P.A. 99-227 effective July 1, 1999; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a) and (b) and in Subsec. (b) added requirements re development and implementation of revised plan that provides for five-year school-based in-service reading instruction training program for specified personnel, re use of a school-based training model and re appointment of a new or existing employee as a school-based content specialist coordinator, effective July 1, 2001.

      Sec. 10-221n. Independent evaluation. The Department of Education shall contract, within available appropriations, for an independent evaluation of the early reading success teacher training and curriculum modules as delineated in sections 10-221j to 10-221m, inclusive.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 20, 54.)

      History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 effective July 1, 2001.

      Sec. 10-221o. Lunch periods. Recess. Each local and regional board of education shall require each school under its jurisdiction to (1) offer all full day students a daily lunch period of not less than twenty minutes, and (2) include in the regular school day for each student enrolled in grades kindergarten to five, inclusive, a period of physical exercise, except that a planning and placement team may develop a different schedule for a child requiring special education and related services in accordance with chapter 164 and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time. In the event of a conflict with this section and any provision of chapter 164, such other provision of chapter 164 shall be deemed controlling.

      (P.A. 04-224, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 04-224 effective July 1, 2004 (Revisor's note: A reference to "Individual With Disabilities Education Act" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "Individuals With Disabilities Education Act" for accuracy).

      Sec. 10-221p. Boards to make available for purchase nutritious and low-fat foods. Each local and regional board of education and governing authority for each state charter school, interdistrict magnet school and endowed academy approved pursuant to section 10-34, shall make available in the schools under its jurisdiction for purchase by students enrolled in such schools nutritious and low-fat foods, which shall include, but shall not be limited to, low-fat dairy products and fresh or dried fruit at all times when food is available for purchase by students in such schools during the regular school day.

      (P.A. 04-224, S. 2; P.A. 06-63, S. 6.)

      History: P.A. 04-224 effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 06-63 added reference to governing authority of each state charter school, interdistrict magnet school and endowed academy, changed the reference to "nutrititious, low-fat foods" to "nutritritious and low-fat foods", and deleted language re drinks, including low-fat milk, natural fruit juices and water, effective July 1, 2006.

      Sec. 10-221q. Sale of beverages. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, each local and regional board of education and the governing authority for each state charter school, interdistrict magnet school and endowed academy approved pursuant to section 10-34, shall permit at schools under its jurisdiction the sale of only the following beverages to students from any source, including, but not limited to, school stores, vending machines, school cafeterias, and any fund-raising activities on school premises, whether or not school sponsored: (1) Milk that may be flavored but contain no artificial sweeteners and no more than four grams of sugar per ounce, (2) nondairy milks such as soy or rice milk, which may be flavored but contain no artificial sweeteners, no more than four grams of sugar per ounce, no more than thirty-five per cent of calories from fat per portion and no more than ten per cent of calories from saturated fat per portion, (3) one hundred per cent fruit juice, vegetable juice or combination of such juices, containing no added sugars, sweeteners or artificial sweeteners, (4) beverages that contain only water and fruit or vegetable juice and have no added sugars, sweeteners or artificial sweeteners, and (5) water, which may be flavored but contain no added sugars, sweeteners, artificial sweeteners or caffeine. Portion sizes of beverages, other than water as described in subdivision (5) of this subsection, that are offered for sale pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed twelve ounces.

      (b) Each such board of education or governing authority may permit at schools under its jurisdiction, the sale to students of beverages that are not listed in subsection (a) of this section, provided (1) such sale is in connection with an event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on the weekend, (2) such sale is at the location of such event, and (3) such beverages are not sold from a vending machine or school store.

      (P.A. 06-63, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 06-63 effective July 1, 2006.

      Sec. 10-222. Appropriations and budget. Financial information system. (a) Each local board of education shall prepare an itemized estimate of the cost of maintenance of public schools for the ensuing year and shall submit such estimate to the board of finance in each town or city having a board of finance, to the board of selectmen in each town having no board of finance or otherwise to the authority making appropriations for the school district, not later than two months preceding the annual meeting at which appropriations are to be made. The money appropriated by any municipality for the maintenance of public schools shall be expended by and in the discretion of the board of education. Except as provided in this subsection, any such board may transfer any unexpended or uncontracted-for portion of any appropriation for school purposes to any other item of such itemized estimate. Boards may, by adopting policies and procedures, authorize designated personnel to make limited transfers under emergency circumstances if the urgent need for the transfer prevents the board from meeting in a timely fashion to consider such transfer. All transfers made in such instances shall be announced at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. Expenditures by the board of education shall not exceed the appropriation made by the municipality, with such money as may be received from other sources for school purposes. If any occasion arises whereby additional funds are needed by such board, the chairman of such board shall notify the board of finance, board of selectmen or appropriating authority, as the case may be, and shall submit a request for additional funds in the same manner as is provided for departments, boards or agencies of the municipality and no additional funds shall be expended unless such supplemental appropriation shall be granted and no supplemental expenditures shall be made in excess of those granted through the appropriating authority. The annual report of the board of education shall, in accordance with section 10-224, include a summary showing (1) the total cost of the maintenance of schools, (2) the amount received from the state and other sources for the maintenance of schools, and (3) the net cost to the municipality of the maintenance of schools. For purposes of this subsection, "meeting" means a meeting, as defined in section 1-200.

      (b) The Commissioner of Education shall develop a financial information system to assist local and regional boards of education in providing to the State Board of Education budget and year-end expenditure data in conformance with the provisions of section 10-227. The financial information system shall be consistent with regulations concerning guidelines for municipal financial reports adopted by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management pursuant to the provisions of section 7-394a.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1480; P.A. 78-218, S. 147; P.A. 82-217; P.A. 84-484, S. 1, 2; P.A. 98-141, S. 1, 2.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 simplified phraseology by specifying applicability of provisions to local boards, substituting "municipality" for "city, town or school district" and making other technical changes; P.A. 82-217 inserted provisions relating to supplemental appropriations; P.A. 84-484 inserted Subsec. indicator and added new Subsec. (b) re development of a financial information system to assist boards of education in reporting budget data; (Revisor's note: In 1995 the Revisors editorially substituted the numeric indicators (1), (2) and (3) for (a), (b) and (c) at the end of Subsec. (a) for consistency with statutory usage); P.A. 98-141 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions re limited transfers in emergency circumstances and to define "meeting", effective July 1, 1998.

      Cited. 115 C. 158; see note to chapter 106. Estimates should be itemized so as to indicate whether or not proposed expenditures are for purposes as to which board of education has duty or independent discretion. 127 C. 351. Under this section and provisions of charter Bridgeport board of education has full discretion as to expenditures of money appropriated for school purposes. 133 C. 415. If board of finance properly exercises its discretion and budget is approved by town, board of education has no power to exceed appropriations made. 138 C. 521. Board of finance cannot place funds for school purposes in general government budget to be paid to school board on happening of certain contingencies. 151 C. 1. Cited. 152 C. 568. Cited. 162 C. 393. Cited. 163 C. 537. Cited. 174 C. 522. Cited. 182 C. 253. Cited. 217 C. 110. Cited. 228 C. 699.

      Cited. 14 CS 280. Cited. 15 CS 370. Board of finance may reduce the estimate submitted by the board of education; authority of board to refuse to honor vouchers up to the amount of money appropriated for maintenance of schools during the fiscal year discussed. 20 CS 224. Phrase in third sentence "with such money as may be received from other sources for school purposes" does not apply to state and federal grants. 25 CS 9. Appropriation request may be reduced by amount board of aldermen, in its discretion, considers is larger than is reasonably necessary. Id. Provision in Trumbull charter re failure of board of finance to adopt budget for submission to town council upheld. 32 CS 132. Relationship between boards of education and municipal budget authorities. Extent of municipal obligation to finance education. Id.

      Subsec. (a):

      Cited. 237 C. 169. Town charter that allows for separate referenda for town's operating budget and education budget and that allows voters to reject the budgets three times does not rise to the level of a veto and does not violate state statute and policy concerning education. 268 C. 295.

      Sec. 10-222a. Boards to have use of funds from repayment and insurance proceeds for school materials and from payment for custodial services for use of school facilities. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 106, or any municipal charter or special act to the contrary, whenever any student, or the parent or guardian of any student, pays for lost, damaged or stolen textbooks, library materials, other materials or equipment, or whenever insurance proceeds are received for lost, damaged or stolen textbooks, library materials, other materials or equipment, an amount equal to the amount so paid or received, net of any costs the fiscal authority having budgetary responsibility or charged with making appropriations for the school district has incurred for the purpose of replacing or repairing such lost, damaged or stolen textbooks, library materials, other materials or equipment, shall be deemed to be appropriated to the board of education in addition to the funds appropriated by the town to such board for the fiscal year in which such payment is made or insurance proceeds received. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 106, or any municipal charter or special act to the contrary, whenever any outside group or individual makes payment for custodial costs for use of school facilities or otherwise for the use of school facilities an amount equal to the amount so paid or received, net of any costs the fiscal authority having budgetary responsibility or charged with making appropriations for the school district has incurred for the purpose of providing custodial services shall be deemed to be appropriated to the board of education in addition to the funds appropriated by the town to such board for the current fiscal year.

      (P.A. 84-183, S. 1, 2; P.A. 90-122, S. 1, 3; P.A. 93-14, S. 1, 2; P.A. 94-245, S. 21, 46.)

      History: P.A. 90-122 added repayment by parents or guardians of students and that the educational materials for which payment is received may be stolen and provided that insurance proceeds received for certain lost, damaged or stolen educational materials be deemed appropriated to the board of education; P.A. 93-14 added "equipment", removed specification that the material be "educational" and replaced "current" fiscal year with fiscal year "in which such payment is made or insurance proceeds received", effective April 21, 1993; P.A. 94-245 added provision for the use of funds received for payment for custodial services for the use of school facilities by outside groups and individuals, effective June 2, 1994.

      Sec. 10-222b. Board to have use of funds from the Manville property damage settlement trust. Section 10-222b is repealed, effective July 1, 2000.

      (P.A. 90-122, S. 2, 3; P.A. 00-220, S. 42, 43.)

      Sec. 10-222c. Hiring policy. Prior to hiring any person, a local or regional board of education shall make a documented good faith effort to contact previous employers of the person in order to obtain information and recommendations which may be relevant to the person's fitness for employment.

      (P.A. 01-173, S. 56, 67.)

      History: P.A. 01-173 effective July 1, 2001.

      Sec. 10-222d. Policy on bullying behavior. Each local and regional board of education shall develop a policy, for use on and after February 1, 2003, to address the existence of bullying in its schools. Such policy shall: (1) Enable students to anonymously report acts of bullying to teachers and school administrators and require students to be notified annually of the process by which they may make such reports, (2) enable the parents or guardians of students to file written reports of suspected bullying, (3) require teachers and other school staff who witness acts of bullying or receive student reports of bullying to notify school administrators, (4) require school administrators to investigate any written reports filed pursuant to subdivision (2) of this section and to review any anonymous reports, (5) include an intervention strategy for school staff to deal with bullying, (6) provide for the inclusion of language in student codes of conduct concerning bullying, (7) require the parents or guardians of students who commit any verified acts of bullying and the parents or guardians of students against whom such acts were directed to be notified, (8) require each school to maintain a list of the number of verified acts of bullying in such school and make such list available for public inspection, and (9) direct the development of case-by-case interventions for addressing repeated incidents of bullying against a single individual or recurrently perpetrated bullying incidents by the same individual that may include both counseling and discipline. The notification required pursuant to subdivision (7) of this section shall include a description of the response of school staff to such acts and any consequences that may result from the commission of further acts of bullying. For purposes of this section, "bullying" means any overt acts by a student or a group of students directed against another student with the intent to ridicule, harass, humiliate or intimidate the other student while on school grounds, at a school-sponsored activity or on a school bus, which acts are repeated against the same student over time. Such policies may include provisions addressing bullying outside of the school setting if it has a direct and negative impact on a student's academic performance or safety in school.

      (P.A. 02-119, S. 1; P.A. 06-115, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 02-119 effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 06-115 added annual notification requirement in Subdiv. (1), added Subdiv. (9) re interventions, redefined "bullying" to include harassment and behavior on a school bus and added language re policies to address bullying outside of the school setting, effective July 1, 2006.

      Sec. 10-222e. Policy on evaluation and termination of athletic coaches. (a) Local and regional boards of education that employ athletic coaches shall require the coaches' immediate supervisor to evaluate such coaches on an annual basis and to provide such coaches with copies of such evaluations.

      (b) Any local or regional board of education acting directly, or through its duly authorized agent, that terminates or declines to renew the coaching contract of an athletic coach who has served in the same coaching position for three or more consecutive school years shall inform such coach of such decision no later than ninety days after the completion of the sport season covered by the contract. Such coach shall have an opportunity to appeal such decision to the local or regional board of education in a manner prescribed by such local or regional board of education. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a local or regional board of education from terminating the coaching contract of an athletic coach at any time (1) for reasons of moral misconduct, insubordination or a violation of the rules of the board of education, or (2) because a sport has been cancelled by the board of education.

      (c) For the purposes of this section, "athletic coach" means any person holding a coaching permit who is hired by a local or regional board of education to coach for a sport season.

      (P.A. 04-243, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 04-243 effective July 1, 2004.

      See Sec. 10-151b re evaluation of teachers.

      Sec. 10-223. Separate high school accounts. Section 10-223 is repealed, effective June 3, 1996.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1481; P.A. 78-218, S. 148; P.A. 96-161, S. 12, 13.)

      Sec. 10-223a. Promotion and graduation policies. Basic skills necessary for graduation; assessment process. (a) On or before July 1, 2000, each local and regional board of education shall review and revise its policies for promotion from grade to grade and for graduation in order to ensure that such policies foster student achievement, reduce the incidence of social promotion and meet the requirements of this section. On and after said date, such policies shall: (1) Include objective criteria for the promotion and graduation of students, (2) provide for the measuring of the progress of students against such criteria and the reporting of such information to parents and students, (3) include alternatives to promotion such as transition programs, and (4) provide for supplemental services, and such policies may require students who have substantial academic deficiencies that jeopardize their eligibility for promotion or graduation to attend after school programs, summer school or other programs offered by the school district that are designed to assist students in remedying such deficiencies.

      (b) On or before September 1, 2002, each local and regional board of education shall specify the basic skills necessary for graduation for classes graduating in 2006, and for each graduating class thereafter, and include a process to assess a student's level of competency in such skills. The assessment criteria shall include, but shall not exclusively be based on, the results of the tenth grade mastery examination pursuant to section 10-14n. Each local and regional board of education shall identify a course of study for those students who have not successfully completed the assessment criteria to assist such students to reach a satisfactory level of competency prior to graduation.

      (P.A. 99-288, S. 1, 6; P.A. 01-166.)

      History: P.A. 99-288 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 01-166 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re basic skills necessary for graduation and assessment of competency.

      Secs. 10-223b to 10-223d. List of schools in need of improvement; process for improving school performance. Grants for schools in need of improvement. Identification of successful programs and methods. Sections 10-223b to 10-223d, inclusive, are repealed, effective August 15, 2002.

      (P.A. 99-288, S. 2, 6; P.A. 00-187, S. 1, 2, 75; 00-193, S. 2, 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 36, 54; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 110.)

      Sec. 10-223e. State-wide education accountability plan. (a) In conformance with the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110, the Commissioner of Education shall prepare a state-wide education accountability plan, consistent with federal law and regulation. Such plan shall identify the schools and districts in need of improvement, require the development and implementation of improvement plans and utilize rewards and consequences.

      (b) Public schools identified by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-223b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2001, as schools in need of improvement shall: (1) Continue to be identified as schools in need of improvement, and continue to operate under school improvement plans developed pursuant to said section 10-223b through June 30, 2004; (2) on or before February 1, 2003, be evaluated by the local board of education and determined to be making sufficient or insufficient progress; (3) if found to be making insufficient progress by a local board of education, be subject to a new remediation and organization plan developed by the local board of education; (4) continue to be eligible for available federal or state aid; (5) beginning in February, 2003, be monitored by the Department of Education for adequate yearly progress, as defined in the state accountability plan prepared in accordance with subsection (a) of this section; and (6) be subject to rewards and consequences as defined in said plan.

      (May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 6.)

      History: May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 effective August 15, 2002.

      Sec. 10-224. Duties of the secretary. The secretary of the board of education shall keep a record of all its proceedings in a book which such secretary shall provide for that purpose at the expense of the town and shall submit to the town at its annual meetings a report of the doings of the board. The report of the secretary and of the superintendent of schools shall be printed with the reports of the town officers. The superintendent of schools shall report to the Commissioner of Education such returns and statistics respecting the schools of the town as the commissioner requests.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1482; P.A. 77-167, S. 1, 3; 77-614, S. 302, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 149; P.A. 90-325, S. 8, 32.)

      History: P.A. 77-167 deleted requirement that two copies of report be sent to secretary of the state board on or before October fifteenth and replaced it with more general requirement that report to secretary consist of "such returns and statistics ... as said board requests"; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of the state board of education, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 deleted references to supervising agents and replaced "he" with "such secretary"; P.A. 90-325 provided that the returns and statistics reported by the superintendent be as requested by the commissioner of education, rather than the board of education.

      Mandamus does not lie to compel secretary to insert in minutes acts of board of which he has no knowledge. 97 C. 434.

      Sec. 10-225. Salaries of secretary and attendance officers. The salaries and compensation of the secretary of the board of education and of the attendance officers may be fixed by the town, as provided in section 7-460, but, until the town acts, the board of education shall fix such salary or compensation; provided no member of the board of education shall receive any compensation for services rendered as such member, but such member may be paid necessary expenses when performing a duty delegated by said board.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1483; 1957, P.A. 13, S. 63; P.A. 78-218, S. 150.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "such member" for "he" and deleted "his" in phrase "his necessary expenses".

      Sec. 10-226. Reports to Commissioner of Education. Each local and regional board of education shall annually, before the first of October, return to the Commissioner of Education the name and the address of employment and contractual annual salary, or the equivalent thereof, of each teacher, principal and superintendent or other certified person which it employs. Each local and regional board of education shall submit to the Commissioner of Education, within seven days after receipt of notice of the decision to accept a contract offer for employment as a new superintendent, the name and address of the person accepting such offer.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1484; February, 1965, P.A. 282, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 90, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 302, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 151; P.A. 83-116, S. 1, 2; P.A. 85-54, S. 2, 3.)

      History: 1965 act changed deadline for reporting information re board members to secretary of state board from "annually before the fifteenth of October" to "within thirty days of the date of election" of the members but kept October fifteenth deadline for reporting information re teachers, principals and superintendents; 1971 act changed report date for teacher, principal and superintendent information to October first and required inclusion in report of data concerning "other certified" personnel; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of the state board of education, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education, deleted references to school districts and substituted "which it employs" for "employed in the public schools within its town or district"; P.A. 83-116 deleted requirement that boards of education report to commissioner of education names and addresses of their members; P.A. 85-54 added requirement that hiring board notify commissioner of name and address of person accepting offer of contract.

      Sec. 10-226a. Documentation of pupils and teachers of racial minorities and pupils eligible for free or reduced price lunches. (a) Each local or regional board of education shall annually submit to the State Board of Education at such time and in such manner as the state board may prescribe such data as the state board may require in order to determine the total number of pupils and teachers of racial minorities and pupils eligible for free or reduced price lunches in the schools under the jurisdiction of each local or regional board and, in such cases as the state board shall determine, the number of pupils and teachers of racial minorities and pupils eligible for free and reduced price lunches in each school and in each grade.

      (b) As used in sections 10-226a to 10-226e, inclusive, "pupils and teachers of racial minorities" means those whose race is defined as other than white, or whose ethnicity is defined as Hispanic or Latino by the federal Office of Management and Budget for use by the Bureau of Census of the United States Department of Commerce.

      (1969, P.A. 773, S. 1; P.A. 74-149; P.A. 78-218, S. 152; P.A. 98-252, S. 40, 80; P.A. 03-174, S. 4.)

      History: P.A. 74-149 redefined "pupils of racial minorities" by deleting clause "and whose color, appearance ... are distinguishable from persons whose ancestry is totally Caucasian"; P.A. 78-218 specified "local and regional" boards rather than "town boards"; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (a) to add teachers of racial minorities and pupils eligible for free or reduced price lunches and amended Subsec. (b) to add teachers and to change the definition of racial minorities to the definition for other than white used by the Bureau of Census of the United States Department of Commerce, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 03-174 amended Subsec. (b) by substituting "race" for "racial ancestry" and by adding provision re ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino, effective, July 1, 2003.

      Cited. 238 C. 1.

      Sec. 10-226b. Existence of racial imbalance. (a) Whenever the State Board of Education finds that racial imbalance exists in a public school, it shall notify in writing the board of education having jurisdiction over said school that such finding has been made.

      (b) As used in sections 10-226a to 10-226e, inclusive, "racial imbalance" means a condition wherein the proportion of pupils of racial minorities in all of the grades of a public school of the secondary level or below taken together substantially exceeds or falls substantially short of the proportion of such public school pupils in all of the same grades of the school district in which said school is situated taken together.

      (1969, P.A. 773, S. 2.)

      Cited. 21 CA 67.

      Sec. 10-226c. Plan to correct imbalance. (a) Any board of education receiving notification of the existence of racial imbalance as specified in section 10-226b shall forthwith prepare a plan to correct such imbalance and file a copy of said plan with the State Board of Education. Said plan may be limited to addressing the imbalance existing at any school and need not result in a district-wide plan or district-wide pupil reassignment. A school district may request an extension of time in cases in which the number of students causing said imbalance is fewer than five students at a school.

      (b) Any plan submitted by the board of education of any town under sections 10-226a to 10-226e, inclusive, shall include any proposed changes in existing school attendance districts, the location of proposed school building sites as related to the problem, any proposed additions to existing school buildings and all other means proposed for the correction of said racial imbalance. The plan shall include projections of the expected racial composition of all public schools in the district. The plan may include provision for cooperation with other school districts to assist in the correction of racial imbalance.

      (1969, P.A. 773, S. 3, 4; P.A. 98-252, S. 41, 80.)

      History: P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (a) to allow the plan to address imbalance existing at any school and not require a district-wide plan or pupil reassignment and to provide for extensions of time under specified circumstances, and amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 1998.

      Sec. 10-226d. Approval of plan by state board. Upon receipt of any plan required under the provisions of subsection (b) of section 10-226c, the State Board of Education shall review said plan. If it determines that the plan is satisfactory, it shall approve the plan and shall provide to the board of education such assistance and services as may be available. The board of education shall submit annual reports on the implementation of the approved plan, as the State Board of Education may require.

      (1969, P.A. 773, S. 5; P.A. 98-252, S. 42, 80.)

      History: P.A. 98-252 substituted annual reports for quarterly reports, effective July 1, 1998.

      Sec. 10-226e. Regulations. The State Board of Education shall have the authority to establish regulations for the operation of sections 10-226a to 10-226e, inclusive, including times and procedures for reports to said board, and the criteria for approval of plans to correct racial imbalance and fix standards for determination as to racial imbalance. Such regulations shall include voluntary enrollment plans approved by the State Board of Education as an alternative to mandatory pupil reassignment, allowance for diverse schools existing in school districts with minority enrollments of fifty per cent or more and require equitable allocation of resources within any cited school districts.

      (1969, P.A. 773, S. 6; P.A. 86-78, S. 1, 2; P.A. 98-252, S. 43, 80.)

      History: P.A. 86-78 added provisions for alternative regulations for school districts with minority student enrollments of seventy per cent or more; P.A. 98-252 deleted language allowing regulations to include separate times and procedures for reports, criteria for plan approvals and standards for racial imbalance determinations for school districts with minority student enrollments of seventy per cent or more and substituted requirement for regulations to include voluntary enrollment plans as an alternative for mandatory pupil reassignment, allowance for diverse schools existing in school districts with minority enrollment of fifty per cent or more and a requirement for equitable allocation of resources within cited school districts, effective July 1, 1998.

      Sec. 10-226f. Coordinator of intergroup relations. The State Board of Education shall select one of its employees to assume responsibility, in addition to whatever other duties said board may prescribe, as coordinator of intergroup relations, and shall prescribe duties for such coordinator and for any other of its employees as may be necessary to carry out effectively the purposes of subsection (b) of section 10-145a, this section and section 10-226g.

      (P.A. 75-372, S. 1; P.A. 78-218, S. 153; P.A. 81-472, S. 124, 159; P.A. 82-314, S. 55, 63; P.A. 92-170, S. 11, 26.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 deleted obsolete reference to July 1, 1975, as date for selection of coordinator of intergroup relations and changed from February first to February fifteenth the deadline for progress reports on intergroup relations programs P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A. 82-314 changed official name of education committee; P.A. 92-170 removed a requirement that state board report to the education committee of the general assembly on programs in intergroup relations.

      See Sec. 10-226g re intergroup relations training for teachers.

      Sec. 10-226g. Intergroup relations training for teachers. Each regional and local board of education may, in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the State Board of Education, provide a program in intergroup relations training for all teachers employed in the public schools of the district. In addition, each such board may select one of its employees to assume responsibility as coordinator of intergroup relations. No regulation of the State Board of Education shall require a local or regional board of education to hire new personnel to carry out the purposes of subsection (b) of section 10-145a, section 10-226f and this section. Each such coordinator shall, utilizing local resources to the extent available, with the assistance of the coordinator of intergroup relations for the State Board of Education: (1) Provide for the conduct of workshops and training programs in intergroup relations for all teachers in each school; (2) evaluate, and recommend the use of, textbooks and curricula material concerning racial and cultural minorities; and (3) introduce and implement programs of intergroup relations in such schools.

      (P.A. 75-372, S. 2; P.A. 78-218, S. 154; P.A. 81-472, S. 125, 159.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 specified applicability to regional and local boards, deleted reference to town boards and school districts and deleted obsolete reference to December 1, 1975, as deadline for provision of teacher training program in intergroup relations; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes.

      See Sec. 10-226f re coordinator of intergroup relations.

      Sec. 10-226h. Programs and methods to reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation. (a) A local or regional board of education for purposes of subdivision (3) of section 10-4a, may offer such programs or use such methods as: (1) Interdistrict magnet school programs; (2) charter schools; (3) interdistrict after-school, Saturday and summer programs and sister-school projects; (4) intradistrict and interdistrict public school choice programs; (5) interdistrict school building projects; (6) interdistrict program collaboratives for students and staff; (7) distance learning through the use of technology; and (8) any other experience that increases awareness of the diversity of individuals and cultures.

      (b) Each local and regional board of education shall report by July 1, 2000, and biennially thereafter, to the regional educational service center for its area on the programs and activities undertaken in its school district to reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation, including (1) information on the number and duration of such programs and activities and the number of students and staff involved, and (2) evidence of the progress over time in the reduction of racial, ethnic and economic isolation.

      (c) Each regional educational service center shall report by October 1, 2000, and biennially thereafter, to the Commissioner of Education on the programs and activities undertaken in its region to reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation.

      (d) The Commissioner of Education shall report, by January 1, 1999, and biennially thereafter, in accordance with section 10-4a, to the Governor and the General Assembly on activities and programs designed to reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation. The report shall include statistics on any growth in such programs or expansion of such activities over time, an analysis of the success of such programs and activities in reducing racial, ethnic and economic isolation, a recommendation for any statutory changes that would assist in the expansion of such programs and activities and the sufficiency of the annual grant pursuant to subsection (e) of section 10-266aa and whether additional financial incentives would improve the program established pursuant to section 10-266aa.

      (P.A. 97-290, S. 2, 29; P.A. 98-252, S. 14, 80; P.A. 00-220, S. 11, 43.)

      History: P.A. 97-290 effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (a) to delete Subdiv. (7) re minority staff recruitment and renumber the remaining Subdivs., effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to change the reporting dates and amended Subsec. (d) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2000.

      See Sec. 10-220(a) re required development and implementation of plan for minority staff recruitment.

      Sec. 10-227. Returns of receipts, expenditures and statistics to Commissioner of Education. Verification mandated. Penalty. Each board of education shall cause the superintendent to make returns not later than September first of each year to the Commissioner of Education of the receipts, expenditures and statistics, as prescribed by the commissioner, provided each such board may submit revisions to the returns in such form and with such documentation as required by the commissioner no later than December thirty-first of each year following the September submission. Such reports or returns required shall be made in accordance with the instructions furnished by the commissioner, shall be certified no later than December thirty-first of each year by the independent public accountant selected pursuant to section 7-392 for the purpose of auditing municipal accounts, and shall be subject to Department of Education verification. If the returns and statistics and revisions called for by said commissioner are not sent on or before the days specified in this section or if the returns are not certified as required by the commissioner on or before December thirty-first, each local and regional board of education required by law to make separate returns, whose returns and statistics or revisions are delayed until after those days, shall forfeit of the total sum which is paid for such board of education from the State Treasurer an amount to be determined by the State Board of Education, which amount shall be not less than one thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars. The amount so forfeited shall be withheld from a subsequent grant payment as determined by the commissioner. Notwithstanding the penalty provision of this section, the Commissioner of Education may waive said forfeiture for good cause.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1485; P.A. 77-167, S. 2, 3; 77-614, S. 302, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 155; P.A. 79-128, S. 7, 36; P.A. 83-363, S. 4, 5; P.A. 84-221, S. 1, 2; P.A. 89-237, S. 3, 11; P.A. 91-303, S. 16, 22; 91-401, S. 13, 20; P.A. 98-252, S. 16, 80; P.A. 03-76, S. 18.)

      History: P.A. 77-167 changed return deadline from August to September first in each year; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of the state board of education, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 deleted references to returns made by "supervisor of schools", substituted "each local and regional school district" for "each town and each school district"; P.A. 79-128 substituted "board of education" for "school district", changed basis of penalty from "sum per child" to "total sum ... paid from the state treasury" and replaced one, two, three, five and ten per cent penalty assessments with one, two, three and five-hundred-dollar and one-thousand-dollar penalty assessments; P.A. 83-363 provided cutoff for submission of revisions, required certification of reports or returns no later than December thirty-first by independent public accountant selected for purpose of auditing municipal accounts and required reports or returns to be subject to state department verification, including audit; P.A. 84-221 deleted weekly penalty provisions and substituted flat rate of one thousand to ten thousand dollars, to be determined by the state board of education, added that the penalty would be withheld from a subsequent grant payment and that the state board may waive the forfeiture if failure to file data in a timely manner was due to extenuating circumstances; P.A. 89-237 allowed waivers of the forfeiture for failure to submit unaudited data in a timely manner; P.A. 91-303 removed requirement that reports be made under oath or affirmation and made technical changes; P.A. 91-401 repealed provision making reports and returns subject to state department of education audit, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 98-252 changed the basis for a waiver from circumstances beyond the control of the board to good cause and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 03-76 made a technical change, effective June 3, 2003.

      Cited. 187 C. 187. Cited. 195 C. 24.

      Sec. 10-228. Free textbooks, supplies, material and equipment. Each local and regional board of education shall purchase such books, either as regular texts, as supplementary books or as library books, and such supplies, material and equipment, as it deems necessary to meet the needs of instruction in its schools. In day and evening schools of elementary and secondary grades, all books and equipment, including, but not limited to, assistive devices, shall be loaned and materials and supplies furnished to all pupils free of charge, subject to such rules and regulations as to their care and use as the board of education prescribes. For purposes of this section "assistive device" means assistive device, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-76y.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1486; 1971, P.A. 186; P.A. 78-218, S. 156; P.A. 05-257, S. 1.)

      History: 1971 act replaced references to towns with references to school districts, deleted reference to district committees and made specific mention of library books, material and equipment; P.A. 78-218 specified local and regional boards and deleted references to school districts; P.A. 05-257 added language re assistive devices, effective July 1, 2005.

      Sec. 10-228a. Free textbook loans to pupils attending nonpublic schools. Each local and regional board of education may, at the request of any nonpublic elementary or secondary school pupil, including a kindergarten pupil, residing in and attending a nonpublic school in such district, or at the request of the parent or guardian of such pupil, arrange for a loan of textbooks currently in use in the public schools of such district to such pupil, free of charge, provided the loan of any such textbook shall be requested for not less than one semester's use.

      (P.A. 75-397; P.A. 78-218, S. 157.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 specified local and regional boards and deleted reference to school districts.

      Sec. 10-228b. Tax credits for donation of computers to schools. (a) The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall grant a credit against any tax due under the provisions of chapter 207, 208, 209, 210, 211 or 212, for the donation to a local or regional board of education or a public or nonpublic school of new computers or used computers that are not more than two years old at the time of the donation in accordance with this section. The amount of the credit shall not exceed fifty per cent of the fair market value of the new or used computer at the time of donation as described in this section.

      (b) Any business firm may apply to the Commissioner of Revenue Services for a tax credit under this section. The commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education, shall develop an application form for such credit which shall contain, but not be limited to, the following information: (1) The number of computers to be donated, (2) to whom the donation will be made, (3) when the donation will be made, (4) the fair market value of the donated computers at the time of donation, and (5) such additional information as the commissioner may prescribe. A copy of a written agreement between the business firm and the local or regional board of education or public or nonpublic school shall be submitted with the application. The agreement shall provide for the acceptance of the computers by the board of education or public or nonpublic school, an acknowledgement that the computers are in good working condition and a requirement for the business firm to install, set up and provide training to school staff on such computers.

      (c) Such applications may be submitted to the Commissioner of Revenue Services on an ongoing basis. The commissioner shall review each application and shall, not later than thirty days following its receipt, approve or disapprove the application. The decision of the commissioner to approve or disapprove an application pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be in writing and, if the commissioner approves the proposal, the commissioner shall state the maximum credit allowable to the business firm.

      (d) (1) The amount of the credit granted to any business firm under the provisions of this section shall not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars annually. The total amount of all tax credits allowed to all business firms pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not exceed one million dollars in any one fiscal year. (2) The credit may only be used to reduce the taxpayer's tax liability for the year in which the donation is made and shall not be used to reduce such liability to less than zero.

      (P.A. 00-170, S. 20, 42; P.A. 06-145, S. 1; 06-159, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 00-170 effective May 26, 2000, and applicable to income years commencing on and after January 1, 2000; P.A. 06-145 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by permitting donations to nonpublic schools to be eligible for credit, effective July 1, 2006, and applicable to income years commencing on or after January 1, 2006; P.A. 06-159 amended Subsec. (c) to remove requirement that copy of decision be submitted with tax return, effective June 6, 2006, and applicable to taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2006.

      Sec. 10-229. Change of textbooks. (a) No board of education shall change any textbooks used in the public schools except by a two-thirds vote of all the members of the board, notice of such intended change having been previously given at a meeting of such board held at least one week previous to the vote upon such change.

      (b) If a board of education does change its textbooks pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, such board of education may donate the used textbooks to another board of education.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1487; P.A. 78-218, S. 158; P.A. 95-259, S. 18, 32.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 deleted phrase "of any town" with reference to boards of education; P.A. 95-259 added Subsec. (b) re donation of books, effective July 6, 1995.

      Sec. 10-230. Flags in schoolrooms and schools. Policy on the reciting of the "Pledge of Allegiance". (a) Each local and regional board of education shall provide a United States flag for each schoolroom and shall cause such flag to be displayed therein during each day school is in session. Each such board shall also provide each school with a United States flag of silk or bunting, not less than four feet in length, and a suitable flagstaff or other arrangement whereby such flag may be displayed on the schoolhouse grounds each school day when the weather will permit and on the inside of the schoolhouse on other school days, and renew such flag and apparatus when necessary. If any board of education fails to provide either of the flags or the apparatus as required in this section or to renew any such flag or apparatus when necessary for a period of thirty days after the reception by it of written notice from the State Board of Education that such schoolhouse is not provided with such flag or apparatus or that such flag or apparatus should be renewed, each member of such board of education who has so received notice shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars.

      (b) The chief executive officer of any municipality is authorized to direct the board of education to display at half-staff all flags at all schools and other buildings administered by said board when flags are being displayed at half-staff on other buildings of the municipality.

      (c) Each local and regional board of education shall develop a policy to ensure that time is available each school day for students in the schools under its jurisdiction to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance". The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to require any person to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance".

      (1949 Rev., S. 1488, 1489; 1969, P.A. 394; P.A. 78-218, S. 159; P.A. 02-119, S. 2.)

      History: 1969 act added Subsec. (b) re display of flags at half-mast; P.A. 78-218 specified local and regional boards rather than town boards in Subsec. (a) and simply referred to "school" rather than "schoolhouse in which a school is maintained within such town" and substituted "municipality" for "city or town" in Subsec. (b); P.A. 02-119 added Subsec. (c) re the reciting of the "Pledge of Allegiance".

      Sec. 10-231. Fire drills. Crisis response drills. Each local and regional board of education shall provide for a fire drill to be held in the schools of such board at least once each month, except that once every three months a crisis response drill may be substituted for a fire drill.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1490; P.A. 78-218, S. 160; P.A. 00-220, S. 12, 43.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 specified local and regional boards of education and deleted references to towns; P.A. 00-220 added provision re crisis response drill, effective July 1, 2000.

      Sec. 10-231a. Pesticide applications at schools: Definitions. As used in sections 10-231b to 10-231d, inclusive, and section 19a-79a, (1) "pesticide" means a fungicide used on plants, an insecticide, a herbicide or a rodenticide, but does not mean a sanitizer, disinfectant, antimicrobial agent or pesticide bait, (2) "lawn care pesticide" means a pesticide registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and labeled pursuant to the federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act for use in lawn, garden and ornamental sites or areas, and (3) "integrated pest management" means use of all available pest control techniques, including judicious use of pesticides, when warranted, to maintain a pest population at or below an acceptable level, while decreasing the use of pesticides.

      (P.A. 99-165, S. 1, 6; P.A. 05-252, S. 2; P.A. 06-14, S. 1; 06-196, S. 223.)

      History: P.A. 99-165 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 05-252 added subdivision designators and definitions of "lawn care pesticide" and "integrated pest management", effective January 1, 2006; P.A. 06-14 made a technical change; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes, effective June 7, 2006.

      Sec. 10-231b. Pesticide applications at schools: Authorized applicators. Exception. (a) No person, other than a pesticide applicator with supervisory certification under section 22a-54 or a pesticide applicator with operational certification under section 22a-54 under the direct supervision of a supervisory pesticide applicator, may apply pesticide within any building or on the grounds of any school, other than a regional vocational agriculture center. This section shall not apply in the case of an emergency application of pesticide to eliminate an immediate threat to human health where it is impractical to obtain the services of any such applicator provided such emergency application does not involve a restricted use pesticide, as defined in section 22a-47.

      (b) No person shall apply a lawn care pesticide on the grounds of any public or private preschool or public or private elementary school, except that (1) on and after January 1, 2006, until July 1, 2008, an application of a lawn care pesticide may be made at a public or private elementary school on the playing fields and playgrounds of such school pursuant to an integrated pest management plan, which plan (A) shall be consistent with the model pest control management plan developed by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 22a-66l, and (B) may be developed by a local or regional board of education for all public schools under its control, and (2) an emergency application of a lawn care pesticide may be made to eliminate a threat to human health, as determined by the local health director, the Commissioner of Public Health, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or, in the case of a public elementary school, the school superintendent.

      (P.A. 99-165, S. 2, 6; P.A. 05-252, S. 3; P.A. 06-14, S. 2; 06-196, S. 224.)

      History: P.A. 99-165 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 05-252 designated existing language as Subsec. (a) and made a technical change therein, and added Subsec. (b) to prohibit, with certain exceptions, the use of lawn care pesticides on the grounds of a public or private preschool or public or private elementary school, effective January 1, 2006; P.A. 06-14 amended Subsec. (b) to make technical changes; P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective June 7, 2006.

      Sec. 10-231c. Pesticide applications at schools without an integrated pest management plan. (a) As used in this section, "local or regional board of education" means a local or regional board of education that does not have an integrated pest management plan for the schools under its control that is consistent with an applicable model plan provided by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection under section 22a-66l and "school" means a school, other than a regional vocational agriculture center, under the control of a local or regional board of education.

      (b) On and after July 1, 2000, at the beginning of each school year, each local or regional board of education shall provide the staff of each school and the parents or guardians of each child enrolled in each school with a written statement of the board's policy on pesticide application on school property and a description of any pesticide applications made at the school during the previous school year. Such statement and description shall be provided to the parents or guardian of any child who transfers to a school during the school year. Such statement shall (1) indicate that the staff, parents or guardians may register for prior notice of pesticide applications at the school, and (2) describe the emergency notification procedures provided for in this section. Notice of any modification to the pesticide application policy shall be sent to any person who registers for notice under this section.

      (c) On and after July 1, 2000, parents or guardians of children in any school and school staff may register for prior notice of pesticide application at their school. Each school shall maintain a registry of persons requesting such notice. Prior to providing for any application of pesticide within any building or on the grounds of any school, the local or regional board of education shall provide for the mailing of notice to parents and guardians who have registered for prior notice under this section such that the notice is received no later than twenty-four hours prior to such application. Notice shall be given by any means practicable to school staff who have registered for such notice. Notice under this subsection shall include (1) the name of the active ingredient of the pesticide being applied, (2) the target pest, (3) the location of the application on the school property, (4) the date of the application, and (5) the name of the school administrator, or a designee, who may be contacted for further information.

      (d) On and after July 1, 2000, no application of pesticide may be made in any building or on the grounds of any school during regular school hours or during planned activities at any school except that an emergency application may be made to eliminate an immediate threat to human health if (1) it is necessary to make the application during such a period, and (2) such emergency application does not involve a restricted use pesticide, as defined in section 22a-47. No child may enter an area where such application has been made until it is safe to do so according to the provisions on the pesticide label.

      (e) On and after July 1, 2000, a local or regional board of education may make an emergency application of pesticide without prior notice under this section in the event of an immediate threat to human health provided the board provides for notice, by any means practicable, on or before the day that the application is to take place to any person who has requested prior notice under this section.

      (f) A copy of the record of each pesticide application at a school shall be maintained at the school for a period of five years. Such record shall include the information required under section 22a-66a.

      (P.A. 99-165, S. 3, 6.)

      History: P.A. 99-165 effective July 1, 1999.

      Sec. 10-231d. Pesticide applications at schools with an integrated pest management plan. (a) As used in this section, "local or regional board of education" means a local or regional board of education which has an integrated pest management plan for the schools under its control that is consistent with an applicable model plan provided by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection under section 22a-66l and "school" means a school, other than a regional vocational agriculture center, under the control of a local or regional board of education.

      (b) On and after July 1, 2000, at the beginning of each school year, each local or regional board of education shall provide the staff of each school with written guidelines on how the integrated pest management plan is to be implemented and shall provide the parents or guardians of each child enrolled in each school with a statement that shall include a summary of the integrated pest management plan for the school. Such statement shall be provided to the parents or guardian of any child who transfers to a school during the school year. Such statement shall (1) indicate that the staff, parents or guardians may register for notice of pesticide applications at the school, and (2) describe the emergency notification procedures provided for in this section. Notice of any modification to the integrated pest management plan shall be sent to any person who registers for notice under this section.

      (c) On and after July 1, 2000, parents or guardians of children in any school and school staff may register for notice of pesticide application at their school. Each school shall maintain a registry of persons requesting such notice. Notice under this subsection shall include (1) the name of the active ingredient of the pesticide being applied, (2) the location of the application on the school property, (3) the date of the application, and (4) the name of the school administrator, or a designee, who may be contacted for further information.

      (d) On and after July 1, 2000, a local or regional board of education shall provide notice, by any means practicable, to any person who has requested notice under this section on or before the day that any application of pesticide is to take place at a school. No application of pesticide may be made in any building or on the grounds of any school during regular school hours or during planned activities at any school except that an emergency application may be made to eliminate an immediate threat to human health if (1) it is necessary to make the application during such a period and (2) such emergency application does not involve a restricted use pesticide, as defined in section 22a-47. No child may enter an area of such application until it is safe to do so according to the provisions on the pesticide label.

      (e) A copy of the record of each pesticide application at a school shall be maintained at the school for a period of five years. Such record shall include the information required under section 22a-66a.

      (P.A. 99-165, S. 4, 6.)

      History: P.A. 99-165 effective July 1, 1999.

      Sec. 10-231e. Maintenance of heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. (a) For purposes of this section "Standard 62" means the American Society of Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Engineers Standard 62 entitled "Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality", as referenced by the State Building Code adopted under section 29-252.

      (b) Each local or regional board of education shall ensure that its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is (1) maintained and operated in accordance with the prevailing maintenance standards, such as Standard 62, at the time of installation or renovation of such system, and (2) operated continuously during the hours in which students or school personnel occupy school facilities, except (A) during scheduled maintenance and emergency repairs, and (B) during periods for which school officials can demonstrate to the local or regional board of education's satisfaction that the quantity of outdoor air supplied by an air supply system that is not mechanically driven meets the Standard 62 requirements for air changes per hour.

      (c) Each local or regional board of education shall maintain records of the maintenance of its heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for a period of not less than five years.

      (P.A. 03-220, S. 7.)

      History: P.A. 03-220 effective July 1, 2003.

      Sec. 10-231f. Indoor air quality committee. Each local and regional board of education may establish an indoor air quality committee for each school district or facility to increase staff and student awareness of facets of the environment that affect the health of the occupants of school facilities including, but not limited to, air quality, water quality and the presence of radon. Such committee shall include, but not be limited to, at least one administrator, one maintenance staff member, one teacher, one school health staff member, one parent of a student and two members-at-large from the school district. No local or regional board of education, superintendent or school administrator may prohibit a school safety committee established pursuant to section 10-220f from addressing indoor air quality issues that affect the health of occupants of school facilities.

      (P.A. 03-220, S. 9.)

      History: P.A. 03-220 effective July 1, 2003.

      Sec. 10-232. Restrictions on employment of members of board of education. Notwithstanding the provisions of any special act to the contrary, no member of the board of education shall be employed for compensation by the board of which he or she is a member in any position in the school system. If any member of such board is employed contrary to the provisions of this section, the office to which he or she was elected or appointed shall become vacant. No provision of this section shall be construed to prohibit any member of a board of education from serving as a member of any school building committee established by a town or regional school district to undertake a school building project as defined in section 10-282.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1493; 1953, S. 948d; 1963, P.A. 303; February, 1965, P.A. 281, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 154; P.A. 78-218, S. 161.)

      History: 1963 act clarified that prohibition relates to employment as teacher or janitor "by" town rather than "in" town; 1965 act prohibited construction of statute to prevent school board member from serving on school building committee; 1967 act added "Notwithstanding the provisions of any special act to the contrary" and prohibited employment of board member, whether appointed or elected, "in any position in the school system", replacing provisions prohibiting employment as teacher or school janitor; P.A. 78-218 added feminine personal pronouns.

      Cited. 152 C. 568. Cited. 182 C. 253.

      Sec. 10-233. Suspension of pupils. Section 10-233 is repealed.

      (1949, S. 959d; P.A. 75-609, S. 6.)

      Sec. 10-233a. Definitions. Whenever used in sections 10-233a to 10-233g, inclusive:

      (a) "Exclusion" means any denial of public school privileges to a pupil for disciplinary purposes.

      (b) "Removal" means an exclusion from a classroom for all or part of a single class period, provided such exclusion shall not extend beyond ninety minutes.

      (c) "In-school suspension" means an exclusion from regular classroom activity for no more than five consecutive school days, but not exclusion from school, provided such exclusion shall not extend beyond the end of the school year in which such in-school suspension was imposed.

      (d) "Suspension" means an exclusion from school privileges or from transportation services only for no more than ten consecutive school days, provided such exclusion shall not extend beyond the end of the school year in which such suspension was imposed.

      (e) "Expulsion" means an exclusion from school privileges for more than ten consecutive school days and shall be deemed to include, but not be limited to, exclusion from the school to which such pupil was assigned at the time such disciplinary action was taken, provided such exclusion shall not extend beyond a period of one calendar year.

      (f) "Emergency" means a situation under which the continued presence of the pupil in school poses such a danger to persons or property or such a disruption of the educational process that a hearing may be delayed until a time as soon after the exclusion of such pupil as possible.

      (g) "School" means any school under the direction of a local or regional board of education or any school for which one or more such boards of education pays eighty per cent or more of the tuition costs for students enrolled in such school.

      (h) "School-sponsored activity" means any activity sponsored, recognized or authorized by a board of education and includes activities conducted on or off school property.

      (P.A. 75-609, S. 1; P.A. 78-218, S. 162; P.A. 79-136, S. 1, 2; 79-236, S. 1; P.A. 80-483, S. 42, 186; P.A. 83-119, S. 1, 8; P.A. 86-398, S. 1; P.A. 95-304, S. 4, 9.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 specified local or regional boards in Subsec. (f) and replaced "school boards" with "boards of education"; P.A. 79-136 redefined "expulsion" to replace requirement that exclusion from school not extend beyond school year in which imposed with provision that exclusion may carry over but may not be for more than one hundred eighty consecutive school days; P.A. 79-236 inserted definition of "in-school suspension" as Subsec. (c) and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 80-483 extended applicability of definitions by substituting "10-233g" for "10-233e"; P.A. 83-119 redefined "suspension" to include exclusion from transportation services only; P.A. 86-398 added Subdiv. (h) defining "school-sponsored activity"; P.A. 95-304 amended Subsec. (e) to base time limitation on expulsions on calendar year rather than school year, effective July 1, 1995.

      Cited. 193 C. 93.

      Sec. 10-233b. Removal of pupils from class. (a) Any local or regional board of education may authorize teachers in its employ to remove a pupil from class when such pupil deliberately causes a serious disruption of the educational process within the classroom, provided no pupil shall be removed from class more than six times in any school year nor more than twice in one week unless such pupil is referred to the building principal or such principal's designee and granted an informal hearing in accordance with the provisions of section 10-233c.

      (b) Whenever any teacher removes a pupil from the classroom, such teacher shall send such pupil to a designated area and shall immediately inform the building principal or such principal's designee as to the name of the pupil against whom such disciplinary action was taken and the reason therefor.

      (P.A. 75-609, S. 2; P.A. 78-218, S. 163; P.A. 84-255, S. 11, 21.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education, deleted references to school boards and school districts and replaced masculine personal pronouns with appropriate nouns; P.A. 84-255 amended Subsec. (a) to clarify that removal of a pupil from the classroom may only occur six times per "school" year.

      Cited. 193 C. 93.

      Sec. 10-233c. Suspension of pupils. (a) Any local or regional board of education may authorize the administration of the schools under its direction to suspend from school privileges any pupil whose conduct on school grounds or at a school sponsored activity is violative of a publicized policy of such board or is seriously disruptive of the educational process or endangers persons or property or whose conduct off school grounds is violative of such policy and is seriously disruptive of the educational process. In making a determination as to whether conduct is seriously disruptive of the educational process, the administration may consider, but such consideration shall not be limited to: (1) Whether the incident occurred within close proximity of a school; (2) whether other students from the school were involved or whether there was any gang involvement; (3) whether the conduct involved violence, threats of violence or the unlawful use of a weapon, as defined in section 29-38, and whether any injuries occurred; and (4) whether the conduct involved the use of alcohol. Any such board may authorize the administration to suspend transportation services for any pupil whose conduct while awaiting or receiving transportation to and from school endangers persons or property or is violative of a publicized policy of such board. Unless an emergency exists, no pupil shall be suspended without an informal hearing by the administration, at which such pupil shall be informed of the reasons for the disciplinary action and given an opportunity to explain the situation, provided nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a more formal hearing from being held if the circumstances surrounding the incident so require, and further provided no pupil shall be suspended more than ten times or a total of fifty days in one school year, whichever results in fewer days of exclusion, unless such pupil is granted a formal hearing pursuant to sections 4-176e to 4-180a, inclusive, and section 4-181a. If an emergency situation exists, such hearing shall be held as soon after the suspension as possible.

      (b) In determining the length of a suspension period, the administration may receive and consider evidence of past disciplinary problems which have led to removal from a classroom, suspension or expulsion of such pupil.

      (c) Whenever any administration suspends a pupil, such administration shall within twenty-four hours notify the superintendent or such superintendent's designee as to the name of the pupil against whom such disciplinary action was taken and the reason therefor.

      (d) Any pupil who is suspended shall be given an opportunity to complete any classwork including, but not limited to, examinations which such pupil missed during the period of suspension.

      (e) Whenever a pupil is suspended pursuant to the provisions of this section, notice of the suspension and the conduct for which the pupil was suspended shall be included on the pupil's cumulative educational record. Such notice shall be expunged from the cumulative educational record by the local or regional board of education if a pupil graduates from high school.

      (P.A. 75-609, S. 3; P.A. 78-218, S. 164; P.A. 79-115, S. 1, 3; P.A. 83-119, S. 2, 8; P.A. 84-546, S. 24, 173; P.A. 88-317, S. 56, 107; P.A. 94-221, S. 3; P.A. 96-244, S. 18, 63; P.A. 97-247, S. 16, 27; P.A. 98-139, S. 1, 3.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 specified local boards of education rather than town boards, deleted reference to school districts and substituted "such principal's" for "his" in Subsec. (a); P.A. 79-115 inserted new Subsec. (b) re consideration of past disciplinary problems in determining length of suspension and relettered former Subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d); P.A. 83-119 authorized boards of education to suspend transportation services from any pupil whose conduct while waiting for or receiving transportation endangers person or property or violates published policy of the board, and changed references from "building principal" or his designee to "administration"; P.A. 84-546 made technical changes in Subsec. (a); P.A. 88-317 amended reference to Secs. 4-177 to 4-180 in Subsec. (a) to include new sections added to Ch. 54, effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 94-221 added Subsec. (e) re inclusion of notice of suspension in the cumulative educational record; P.A. 96-244 amended Subsec. (a) to add provisions relating to where the conduct took place and establishing distinct criteria for suspension for conduct (1) on school grounds or at a school sponsored activity and (2) off school grounds, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 97-247 amended Subsec. (e) to eliminate a requirement to expunge the notice if a pupil is not expelled or suspended again during the two-year period commencing on the date of his return to school from the suspension, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-139 amended Subsec. (a) to add criteria for consideration in determining whether conduct is seriously disruptive of the educational process, effective June 4, 1998.

      Annotation to former section 10-233:

      Suspension distinguished from expulsion. Grounds of suspension under school dress code an unconstitutional invasion of student's right to privacy. 28 CS 375.

      Annotations to present section:

      Cited. 193 C. 93. Cited. 238 C. 1.

      Cited. 36 CS 357.

      Sec. 10-233d. Expulsion of pupils. (a)(1) Any local or regional board of education, at a meeting at which three or more members of such board are present, or the impartial hearing board established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, may expel, subject to the provisions of this subsection, any pupil whose conduct on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity is violative of a publicized policy of such board or is seriously disruptive of the educational process or endangers persons or property or whose conduct off school grounds is violative of such policy and is seriously disruptive of the educational process, provided a majority of the board members sitting in the expulsion hearing vote to expel and that at least three affirmative votes for expulsion are cast. In making a determination as to whether conduct is seriously disruptive of the educational process, the board of education or impartial hearing board may consider, but such consideration shall not be limited to: (A) Whether the incident occurred within close proximity of a school; (B) whether other students from the school were involved or whether there was any gang involvement; (C) whether the conduct involved violence, threats of violence or the unlawful use of a weapon, as defined in section 29-38, and whether any injuries occurred; and (D) whether the conduct involved the use of alcohol.

      (2) Expulsion proceedings pursuant to this section, except as provided in subsection (i) of this section shall be required whenever there is reason to believe that any pupil (A) on school grounds or at a school sponsored activity, was in possession of a firearm, as defined in 18 USC 921, as amended from time to time, or deadly weapon, dangerous instrument or martial arts weapon, as defined in section 53a-3, (B) off school grounds, did possess such a firearm in violation of section 29-35 or did possess and use such a firearm, instrument or weapon in the commission of a crime under chapter 952, or (C) on or off school grounds, offered for sale or distribution a controlled substance, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 21a-240, whose manufacture, distribution, sale, prescription, dispensing, transporting or possessing with intent to sell or dispense, offering, or administering is subject to criminal penalties under sections 21a-277 and 21a-278. Such a pupil shall be expelled for one calendar year if the local or regional board of education or impartial hearing board finds that the pupil did so possess or so possess and use, as appropriate, such a firearm, instrument or weapon or did so offer for sale or distribution such a controlled substance, provided the board of education or the hearing board may modify the period of expulsion for a pupil on a case by case basis.

      (3) Unless an emergency exists, no pupil shall be expelled without a formal hearing held pursuant to sections 4-176e to 4-180a, inclusive, and section 4-181a, provided whenever such pupil is a minor, the notice required by section 4-177 and section 4-180 shall also be given to the parents or guardian of the pupil. If an emergency exists, such hearing shall be held as soon after the expulsion as possible.

      (b) For purposes of conducting expulsion hearings as required by subsection (a) of this section, any local or regional board of education or any two or more of such boards in cooperation may establish an impartial hearing board of one or more persons. No member of any such board or boards shall be a member of the hearing board. The hearing board shall have the authority to conduct the expulsion hearing and render a final decision in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-176e to 4-180a, inclusive, and section 4-181a.

      (c) In determining the length of an expulsion and the nature of the alternative educational opportunity to be offered under subsection (d), the local or regional board of education, or the impartial hearing board established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, may receive and consider evidence of past disciplinary problems which have led to removal from a classroom, suspension or expulsion of such pupil.

      (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-220, local and regional boards of education shall only be required to offer an alternative educational opportunity in accordance with this section. Any pupil under sixteen years of age who is expelled shall be offered an alternative educational opportunity during the period of expulsion, provided any parent or guardian of such pupil who does not choose to have his or her child enrolled in an alternative program shall not be subject to the provisions of section 10-184. Any pupil expelled for the first time who is between the ages of sixteen and eighteen and who wishes to continue his or her education shall be offered an alternative educational opportunity if he or she complies with conditions established by his or her local or regional board of education. Such alternative may include, but shall not be limited to, the placement of a pupil who is at least sixteen years of age in an adult education program pursuant to section 10-69. A local or regional board of education shall count the expulsion of a pupil when he was under sixteen years of age for purposes of determining whether an alternative educational opportunity is required for such pupil when he is between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. A local or regional board of education may offer an alternative educational opportunity to a pupil for whom such alternative educational opportunity is not required pursuant to this section.

      (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d) of this section concerning the provision of an alternative educational opportunity for pupils between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, local and regional boards of education shall not be required to offer such alternative to any pupil between the ages of sixteen and eighteen who is expelled because of conduct which endangers persons if it is determined at the expulsion hearing that the conduct for which the pupil is expelled involved (1) possession of a firearm, as defined in 18 USC 921, as amended from time to time, or deadly weapon, dangerous instrument or martial arts weapon, as defined in section 53a-3, on school property or at a school-sponsored activity or (2) offering for sale or distribution on school property or at a school-sponsored activity a controlled substance, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 21a-240, whose manufacture, distribution, sale, prescription, dispensing, transporting or possessing with the intent to sell or dispense, offering, or administration is subject to criminal penalties under sections 21a-277 and 21a-278. If a pupil is expelled pursuant to this section for possession of a firearm or deadly weapon the board of education shall report the violation to the local police department or in the case of a student enrolled in a regional vocational-technical school to the state police. If a pupil is expelled pursuant to this section for the sale or distribution of such a controlled substance, the board of education shall refer the pupil to an appropriate state or local agency for rehabilitation, intervention or job training, or any combination thereof, and inform the agency of its action. Whenever a local or regional board of education notifies a pupil between the ages of sixteen and eighteen or the parents or guardian of such pupil that an expulsion hearing will be held, the notification shall include a statement that the board of education is not required to offer an alternative educational opportunity to any pupil who is found to have engaged in the conduct described in this subsection.

      (f) Whenever a pupil is expelled pursuant to the provisions of this section, notice of the expulsion and the conduct for which the pupil was expelled shall be included on the pupil's cumulative educational record. Such notice, except for notice of an expulsion based on possession of a firearm or deadly weapon as described in subsection (a) of this section, shall be expunged from the cumulative educational record by the local or regional board of education if a pupil graduates from high school.

      (g) A local or regional board of education may adopt the decision of a pupil expulsion hearing conducted by another school district provided such local or regional board of education or impartial hearing board shall hold a hearing pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section which shall be limited to a determination of whether the conduct which was the basis for the expulsion would also warrant expulsion under the policies of such board. The pupil shall be excluded from school pending such hearing. The excluded student shall be offered an alternative educational opportunity in accordance with the provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of this section.

      (h) Whenever a pupil against whom an expulsion hearing is pending withdraws from school after notification of such hearing but before the hearing is completed and a decision rendered pursuant to this section, (1) notice of the pending expulsion hearing shall be included on the pupil's cumulative educational record and (2) the local or regional board of education or impartial hearing board shall complete the expulsion hearing and render a decision. If such pupil enrolls in school in another school district, such pupil shall not be excluded from school in the other district pending completion of the expulsion hearing pursuant to this subsection unless an emergency exists, provided nothing in this subsection shall limit the authority of the local or regional board of education for such district to suspend the pupil or to conduct its own expulsion hearing in accordance with this section.

      (i) Prior to conducting an expulsion hearing for a child requiring special education and related services described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a, a planning and placement team shall convene to determine whether the misconduct was caused by the child's disability. If it is determined that the misconduct was caused by the child's disability, the child shall not be expelled. The planning and placement team shall reevaluate the child for the purpose of modifying the child's individualized education program to address the misconduct and to ensure the safety of other children and staff in the school. If it is determined that the misconduct was not caused by the child's disability, the child may be expelled in accordance with the provisions of this section applicable to children who do not require special education and related services. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of this section, whenever a child requiring such special education and related services is expelled, an alternative educational opportunity, consistent with such child's educational needs shall be provided during the period of expulsion.

      (j) An expelled pupil may apply for early readmission to school. Except as provided in this subsection, such readmission shall be at the discretion of the local or regional board of education. The board of education may delegate authority for readmission decisions to the superintendent of schools for the school district. If the board delegates such authority, readmission shall be at the discretion of the superintendent. Readmission decisions shall not be subject to appeal to Superior Court. The board or superintendent, as appropriate, may condition such readmission on specified criteria.

      (k) Local and regional boards of education shall submit to the Commissioner of Education such information on expulsions for the possession of weapons as required for purposes of the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, 20 USC 8921 et seq., as amended from time to time.

      (P.A. 75-609, S. 4; P.A. 78-218, S. 165; P.A. 79-115, S. 2, 3; 79-369, S. 1, 2; P.A. 81-215, S. 1, 3; P.A. 82-118, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-218, S. 1, 2; 83-587, S. 70, 96; P.A. 84-546, S. 25, 173; P.A. 86-398, S. 2; P.A. 88-317, S. 57, 107; P.A. 92-37, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-35, S. 1-3; P.A. 94-221, S. 2; P.A. 95-304, S. 5, 9; P.A. 96-146, S. 9, 12; 96-244, S. 19-21, 63; P.A. 98-139, S. 2, 3; P.A. 00-157, S. 4, 8.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education, deleted reference to school districts and included feminine personal pronoun in Subsec. (c); P.A. 79-115 inserted new Subsec. (b) re consideration of past disciplinary problems in determining length of expulsion and alternative educational opportunity to be offered and relettered former Subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d); P.A. 79-369 required presence of at least three members at meeting for expulsion and required majority vote, with at least three votes in favor of expulsion, for expulsion to be effected in Subsec. (a) and made technical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 81-215 inserted new Subsec. (b) authorizing boards of education to establish impartial hearing boards for the purpose of conducting expulsion hearings, relettering remaining Subsecs. accordingly and amended Subsec. (e) to limit the mandatory provision of an alternative educational opportunity to pupils under eighteen years of age, but specified that age limitation shall not apply to special education pupils; P.A. 82-118 repealed Subsec. (d) which required notification be sent to state board of education of any student against whom disciplinary action was taken, relettering Subsec. (e) accordingly, reduced age limitation on offering of alternative educational opportunities to expelled students from eighteen to sixteen and made offering of such programs to sixteen to eighteen year olds made conditional on students' acceptance of board of education requirements in newly relettered Subsec. (d); P.A. 83-218 added Subsec. (e) limiting requirement that boards of education offer alternative educational opportunities to expelled students between the ages of sixteen and eighteen; P.A. 83-587 made technical change in Subsec. (e); P.A. 84-546 made technical change, substituting references to pupils for references to students in Subsecs. (d) and (e); P.A. 86-398 amended Subsec. (e) by restructuring it and by not requiring boards of education to offer alternative educational opportunities to students expelled for offering controlled substances for sale or distribution and by imposing certain duties on boards of education; P.A. 88-317 amended references to Secs. 4-177 to 4-180 in Subsecs. (a) and (b) to include new sections added to Ch. 54, effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 92-37 added Subsecs. (f) and (g) concerning the notice on the cumulative educational record and the adoption of the decision of another school district, respectively; P.A. 93-35 amended Subsec. (g) to limit the scope of the hearing and added Subsec. (h) concerning procedure when pupil who faces expulsion hearing withdraws from school, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-221 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for mandatory expulsion proceedings whenever there is reason to believe that a pupil was in possession of a weapon on school grounds and to provide for mandatory expulsion if it is determined as a result of the proceedings that the pupil did so possess the weapon and expanded Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (e) to include firearms and deadly weapons, to apply the provisions to school-sponsored activities and to provide for the referral to a planning and placement team of special education students; P.A. 95-304 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for expulsions for conduct off school grounds, to change the provisions concerning possession of a weapon and to provide for case by case modification of the period of expulsion, amended Subsec. (d) to limit the requirement for the provision of an alternative educational opportunity for pupils between sixteen and eighteen years of age to such pupils "expelled for the first time", to add provision on the counting of expulsions prior to sixteen years of age, to remove language concerning special education students and language specifying that an alternative educational placement may include placement in a regular classroom program in another school and to add language on placement in an adult education program, amended Subsec. (e) to add requirement for report to the police in specified cases, to delete requirement for the board to report to the Commissioner of Education referrals based on the sale or distribution of controlled substances and to delete provisions concerning special education students, amended Subsec. (f) to add exception for possession of a firearm or deadly weapon, added Subsec. (i) re special education students and Subsec. (j) re information on expulsions for the possession of weapons and made technical corrections, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-146 made technical change in Subsec. (i), effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 96-244 amended Subsec. (a) to rewrite the criteria for expulsion for conduct based on where the conduct took place, to insert Subdiv. and Subpara. designations, to make the existing language Subpara. (A) and to apply it to conduct on school grounds or at a school sponsored activity, in Subpara. (A) to delete requirement that the possession be in violation of Secs. 29-35 or 53a-3, to add the cite to federal law for the definition of "firearm", to add "dangerous instrument or martial arts weapon", to add Subpara. (B) re conduct off school grounds and Subpara. (C) re controlled substances, amended Subsec. (e) to apply the federal definition for "firearm", to add "martial arts weapon" and to make technical changes and amended Subsec. (f) to delete provision requiring removal of the notice of expulsion from the cumulative record if the pupil is not expelled again or suspended one or more times during the two-year period commencing on the date of return to school from the expulsion, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 98-139 amended Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (a) to add criteria for consideration in determining whether conduct is seriously disruptive of the educational process, added new Subsec. (j) re readmission and redesignated existing Subsec. (j) as Subsec. (k), effective June 4, 1998 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (a)(1)(D) the word "in" in the phrase "whether the conduct involved in the use of alcohol" was deleted editorially by the Revisors for grammatical accuracy); P.A. 00-157 amended Subsec. (d) to specify that boards of education are only required to offer an alternative educational opportunity in accordance with this section, effective July 1, 2001.

      Annotation to former section 10-234:

      Where suspension of student for violation of public school dress code was in fact an expulsion and regulation was violation of his right to privacy, defendant school administrators were enjoined. 28 CS 375.

      Annotations to present section:

      Cited. 193 C. 93. Cited. 238 C. 1.

      Cited. 36 CS 357.

      Subsec. (a):

      Subdiv. (1): Conduct that is "seriously disruptive of the educational process" means conduct that markedly interrupts or severely impedes day-to-day operation of a school. Statute void for vagueness since it did not provide student with constitutionally adequate notice that having marijuana in the trunk of a car off school grounds after school hours was seriously disruptive of educational process and would subject him to expulsion. 246 C. 89.

      Sec. 10-233e. Notice as to disciplinary policies and action. Each local or regional board of education shall inform all pupils within its jurisdiction and their parents, guardians and surrogate parents, if appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, at least annually, of the board policies governing student conduct and school discipline. Each board shall further provide an effective means of notifying the parents, guardian or surrogate parent, if appointed, of any minor pupil against whom the disciplinary action authorized by the provisions of this section and sections 10-233a to 10-233d, inclusive, has been taken. Such notice shall be given within twenty-four hours of the time such pupil has been excluded.

      (P.A. 75-609, S. 5; P.A. 78-218, S. 166; P.A. 94-221, S. 6; P.A. 00-48, S. 8, 12.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" board of education; P.A. 94-221 required that parents and guardians as well as students be informed of school policies on conduct and expanded the matters to be covered to include school discipline; P.A. 00-48 added provisions re surrogate parents, effective July 1, 2000.

      Cited. 193 C. 93.

      Sec. 10-233f. In-school suspension of pupils. Reassignment. (a) Any local or regional board of education may authorize the administration of schools under its direction to impose an in-school suspension on any pupil whose conduct endangers persons or property or is seriously disruptive of the educational process, or is violative of a publicized policy of such board. No pupil shall be placed in in-school suspension without an informal hearing before the building principal or such principal's designee at which such pupil shall be informed of the reasons for the disciplinary action and given an opportunity to explain the situation, provided no pupil shall be placed in in-school suspension more than fifteen times or a total of fifty days in one school year, whichever results in fewer days of exclusion.

      (b) A local or regional board of education may reassign a pupil to a regular classroom program in a different school in the school district and such reassignment shall not constitute a suspension pursuant to section 10-233c, or an expulsion pursuant to section 10-233d.

      (P.A. 79-236, S. 2; P.A. 80-233, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-546, S. 26, 173; P.A. 95-304, S. 6, 9.)

      History: P.A. 80-233 allowed in-school suspensions for conduct which "is violative of a publicized policy" of the board of education as well as for conduct which endangers persons or property or which disrupts the educational process as previously provided; P.A. 84-546 made technical change substituting "pupil" for "student"; P.A. 95-304 added Subsec. (b) re reassignment, effective July 1, 1995.

      Cited. 193 C. 93.

      Sec. 10-233g. Reports of principals to police authority concerning physical assaults upon school employees by students. (a) Where there is a physical assault made by a student upon a teacher or other school employee on school property or in performance of school duties and such teacher or employee files a written report with the school principal based upon such assault, the school building principal shall report such physical assault to the local police authority.

      (b) No school administrator shall interfere with the right of a teacher or other employee of a board of education to file a complaint with the local police authority in cases of threats of physical violence and in cases of physical assaults by a student against such teacher or employee.

      (P.A. 79-464; P.A. 83-44, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-353, S. 32, 52.)

      History: P.A. 83-44 amended Subsec. (a) to require filing of reports annually rather than semiannually; P.A. 93-353 deleted Subsec. (a) requiring each local or regional board of education to submit an annual report to the state board of education re school violence and Subsec. (d) requiring the state board of education to adopt regulations for such reports, relettering Subsecs. (b) and (c) as (a) and (b), effective July 1, 1993.

      Sec. 10-233h. Arrested students. Reports by police, disclosure, confidentiality. Police testimony at expulsion hearings. If any person who is at least seven years of age but less than twenty-one years of age and an enrolled student is arrested for a violation of section 53-206c, a class A misdemeanor or a felony, the municipal police department or Division of State Police within the Department of Public Safety that made such arrest shall, not later than the end of the weekday following such arrest, orally notify the superintendent of schools of the school district in which such person resides of the identity of such person and the offense or offenses for which he was arrested and shall, within seventy-two hours of such arrest, provide written notification of such arrest, containing a brief description of the incident, to such superintendent. The superintendent shall maintain such written report in a secure location and the information in such report shall be maintained as confidential in accordance with section 46b-124. The superintendent may disclose such information only to the principal of the school in which such person is a student or to the principal or supervisory agent of any other school in which the superintendent knows such person is a student. The principal or supervisory agent may disclose such information only to special services staff or a consultant, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker, for the purposes of assessing the risk of danger posed by such person to himself, other students, school employees or school property and effectuating an appropriate modification of such person's educational plan or placement, and for disciplinary purposes. If the arrest occurred during the school year, such assessment shall be completed not later than the end of the next school day. If an expulsion hearing is held pursuant to section 10-233d, a representative of the municipal police department or the Division of State Police, as appropriate, may testify and provide reports and information on the arrest at such hearing, provided such police participation is requested by any of the following: The local or regional board of education, the impartial hearing board, the principal of the school or the student or his parent or guardian. Such information with respect to a child under sixteen years of age shall be confidential in accordance with section 46b-124, and shall only be disclosed as provided in this section and shall not be further disclosed.

      (P.A. 94-221, S. 10; P.A. 95-304, S. 7, 9; P.A. 97-149, S. 1, 2.)

      History: P.A. 95-304 applied provisions of the section to persons arrested for class A misdemeanors, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-149 deleted language limiting the applicability of the section to arrests during the school year and specified the time frame for assessments applied to arrest during the school year, made the section applicable to arrests for violations of Sec. 53-206c, changed the time frame for oral notification from the end of the "next school day" to the "weekday" following the arrest, and added provision concerning testimony and the provision of reports and information at expulsion hearings by representatives of the municipal police department and the Division of the State Police, effective July 1, 1997.

      Sec. 10-233i. Students placed on probation by a court. A student placed on probation by a court may return to school on a conditional basis, within the limits prescribed by the court, provided the court has requested, from the superintendent of schools of the school district in which the student resides, and considered (1) information on the student's school attendance, adjustment and behavior and (2) any recommendations for conditions for disposition or sentencing. Superintendents of schools shall provide such information to the court in a timely manner.

      (P.A. 94-221, S. 11.)

      Sec. 10-233j. Student possession and use of telecommunication devices. (a) No student in a public school in the state shall possess or use a remotely activated paging device unless such student obtains the written permission of the school principal for such possession and use. The principal shall grant such permission only if the student or his parent or guardian establishes to the satisfaction of the principal that a reasonable basis exists for the possession and use of the device.

      (b) A local or regional board of education may restrict the student possession or use of cellular mobile telephones in the schools under its jurisdiction. In determining whether to restrict such possession or use, the local or regional board of education shall consider the special needs of parents and students.

      (P.A. 95-304, S. 8, 9; P.A. 96-108, S. 1, 3.)

      History: P.A. 95-304 effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-108 designated the existing Sec. Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re cellular mobile telephones, effective July 1, 1996.

      Sec. 10-233k. Notification of school officials of potentially dangerous students. Provision of educational records of children returning to school from detention centers. (a) If the Department of Children and Families believes, in good faith, that there is a risk of imminent personal injury to the person or other individuals from a child in its custody who has been adjudicated a serious juvenile offender, the department shall notify the superintendent of schools for the school district in which such child may be returning to attend school or was attending prior to the adjudication of such determination, prior to the child's return. The superintendent of schools shall notify the principal at the school the child will be attending that the child is potentially dangerous. The principal may disclose such information only to special services staff or a consultant, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker, for the purpose of assessing the risk of danger posed by such child to himself, other students, school employees or school property and effectuating an appropriate modification of such child's educational plan or placement and for disciplinary reasons.

      (b) The Department of Children and Families and the Judicial Department or the local or regional board of education shall provide to the superintendent of schools any educational records within their custody of a child seeking to enter or return to a school district from a juvenile detention center, the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, or any other residential placement, prior to the child's entry or return. The agencies shall also require any contracting entity that holds custody of such records to provide them to the superintendent of schools prior to the child's entry or return. Receipt of the educational records shall not delay a child from enrolling in school. The superintendent of schools shall provide such information to the principal at the school the child will be attending. The principal shall disclose such information to appropriate staff as is necessary to the education or care of the child.

      (P.A. 99-247, S. 4; P.A. 01-176.)

      History: P.A. 01-176 added language requiring the provision of educational records of a child seeking to enter or return to a school district from a juvenile detention center, the Connecticut Juvenile Training School or any other residential placement prior to the child's entry or return (Revisor's note: The language added by P.A. 01-176 was designated editorially by the Revisors as Subsec. (b), and the existing provisions as Subsec. (a)).

      Sec. 10-234. Expulsion of pupils. Section 10-234 is repealed.

      (1949, S. 960d; 1957, P.A. 92; P.A. 75-609, S. 6.)

      Sec. 10-235. Indemnification of teachers, board members, employees and certain volunteers and students in damage suits; expenses of litigation. (a) Each board of education shall protect and save harmless any member of such board or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff, and the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of Higher Education, the board of trustees of each state institution and each state agency which employs any teacher, and the managing board of any public school, as defined in section 10-183b, including the governing council of any charter school, shall protect and save harmless any member of such boards, or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff employed by it, from financial loss and expense, including legal fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand, suit or judgment by reason of alleged negligence or other act resulting in accidental bodily injury to or death of any person, or in accidental damage to or destruction of property, within or without the school building, or any other acts, including but not limited to infringement of any person's civil rights, resulting in any injury, which acts are not wanton, reckless or malicious, provided such teacher, member or employee, at the time of the acts resulting in such injury, damage or destruction, was acting in the discharge of his or her duties or within the scope of employment or under the direction of such board of education, the Board of Governors of Higher Education, board of trustees, state agency, department or managing board; provided that the provisions of this section shall not limit or otherwise affect application of section 4-165 concerning immunity from personal liability. For the purposes of this section, the terms "teacher" and "other employee" shall include (1) any person who is a cooperating teacher, teacher mentor or assessor pursuant to section 10-220a, (2) any student teacher doing practice teaching under the direction of a teacher employed by a local or regional board of education or by the State Board of Education or Board of Governors of Higher Education, (3) any student enrolled in a regional vocational-technical high school who is engaged in a supervised health-related field placement program which constitutes all or part of a course of instruction for credit by a regional vocational-technical school, provided such health-related field placement program is part of the curriculum of such vocational-technical school, and provided further such course is a requirement for graduation or professional licensure or certification, (4) any volunteer approved by a board of education to carry out a duty prescribed by said board and under the direction of a certificated staff member including any person, partnership, limited liability company or corporation providing students with community-based career education, (5) any volunteer approved by a board of education to carry out the duties of a school bus safety monitor as prescribed by said board, (6) any member of the faculty or staff or any student employed by The University of Connecticut Health Center or health services, (7) any student enrolled in a constituent unit of the state system of higher education who is engaged in a supervised program of field work or clinical practice which constitutes all or part of a course of instruction for credit by a constituent unit, provided such course of instruction is part of the curriculum of a constituent unit, and provided further such course (i) is a requirement for an academic degree or professional licensure or (ii) is offered by the constituent unit in partial fulfillment of its accreditation obligations and (8) any student enrolled in a constituent unit of the state system of higher education who is acting in the capacity of a member of a student discipline committee established pursuant to section 4-188a.

      (b) In addition to the protection provided under subsection (a) of this section, each local and regional board of education and each charter school shall protect and save harmless any member of such local or regional board of education or charter school governing council, or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff from financial loss and expense, including legal fees and costs, if any, arising out of any claim, demand or suit instituted against such member, teacher or other employee by reason of alleged malicious, wanton or wilful act or ultra vires act, on the part of such member, teacher or other employee while acting in the discharge of his duties. In the event such member, teacher or other employee has a judgment entered against him for a malicious, wanton or wilful act in a court of law, such board of education or charter school shall be reimbursed by such member, teacher or other employee for expenses it incurred in providing such defense and shall not be held liable to such member, teacher or other employee for any financial loss or expense resulting from such act.

      (c) Legal fees and costs incurred as a result of the retention, by a member of the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of Higher Education or the board of trustees of any state institution or by a teacher or other employee of any of them or any member of the supervisory or administrative staff of any of them, or by a teacher employed by any other state agency, of an attorney to represent his or her interests shall be borne by said State Board of Education, Board of Governors of Higher Education, board of trustees of such state institution or such state agency employing such teacher, other employee or supervisory or administrative staff member, as the case may be, only in those cases wherein the Attorney General, in writing, has stated that the interests of said board, Board of Governors of Higher Education, board of trustees or state agency differ from the interests of such member, teacher or employee and has recommended that such member, teacher, other employee or staff member obtain the services of an attorney to represent his interests and such member, teacher or other employee is thereafter found not to have acted wantonly, recklessly or maliciously.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1494; 1949, 1951, 1955, S. 951d; 1959, P.A. 521, S. 1; February, 1965, P.A. 330, S. 43; 1971, P.A. 344; 1972, P.A. 201, S. 1; P.A. 73-651; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; P.A. 78-54; 78-65; 78-208, S. 30, 35; 78-218, S. 167; P.A. 79-63; P.A. 80-197, S. 3; P.A. 81-450, S. 2; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5; P.A. 88-273, S. 7, 9; P.A. 90-230, S. 15, 101; 90-325, S. 21, 32; P.A. 93-259, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-79, S. 186, 189; P.A. 96-214, S. 7.)

      History: 1959 act extended protection of state board of education, etc., to members of the board, other employees, and members of the supervisory or administrative staff as well as to teachers; 1965 act included commission for higher education under provisions of section; 1971 act included definition of "other employee" and extended definition of "teachers" and "other employees" to include faculty, staff and student employees of University of Connecticut Health Center or health services; 1972 act included protection for acts resulting in injury "which acts are not wanton, reckless or malicious" and included in definition of terms volunteers approved by boards of education to carry out prescribed duty under direction of certificated staff member; P.A. 73-651 included protection for acts which may infringe on person's civil rights and added Subsec. (b) re payment of legal fees and costs; P.A. 77-573 replaced commission for higher education with board of higher education; P.A. 78-54 included in definition of terms students enrolled in higher education institution engaged in supervised field work or clinical practice under certain conditions; P.A. 78-65 included in definition "any person, partnership or corporation providing students with community-based career education"; P.A. 78-208 substituted Sec. 10-183b for reference to repealed Sec. 10-161; P.A. 78-218 substituted "local or regional" boards of education for "town" boards in Subsec. (a), included feminine personal pronoun in Subsecs. (a) and (b) and made other technical changes; P.A. 79-63 included in definition students in vocational-technical high schools who are engaged in supervised health-related field placement programs under certain conditions; P.A. 80-197 explicitly stated in Subsec. (a) that provisions do not "limit or otherwise affect application of section 4-165 concerning immunity from personal liability"; P.A. 81-450 included student members of discipline committees with the definition of "other employee" for purposes of indemnification; 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. 88-273 in Subsec. (a) amended the definition of "teacher" and "other employee" to include a person who is a cooperating teacher, teacher mentor or assessor; P.A. 90-230 made technical corrections to the internal numbering of Subsec. (a); P.A. 90-325 added new Subsec. (b) re protection against alleged malicious, wanton, wilful etc., acts and relettered previous Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 93-259 amended Subsec. (a) to include in the definition of "teacher" and "other employee" volunteer school bus safety monitors, effective June 28, 1993; P.A. 95-79 amended Subsec. (a) to include in Subdiv. (4) a "limited liability company" providing students with community-based career education; P.A. 96-214 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to include charter schools and charter school governing councils.

      See Sec. 10-212a re indemnification of school personnel in cases involving administration of medicines.

      Cited. 180 C. 96. Cited 196 C. 151. Cited. 203 C. 324.

      Cited. 28 CA 272. Cited. 30 CA 594. Cited. 42 CA 542.

      Statute provides teacher with indemnification from loss, not indemnification from liability; board of education not deprived of defense of governmental immunity. 19 CS 396. Board of education could not interpose defense of governmental immunity to action by student against teacher which joined board as defendant as well as teacher. 27 CS 337. Demurrer to count of complaint for injuries sustained in school track meet which joined board of education in suit against school coaches was proper as this statute provides for indemnification from loss of coaches who may ultimately have cause of action against board for reimbursement. 28 CS 198.

      Subsec. (a):

      Indemnification available for losses sustained from claims or suits for injunctive relief as well as for damages. 195 C. 70.

      Subsec. (b):

      Board of education not required to provide teacher with legal representation in suit alleging malicious, wanton or willful conduct, but board may have duty to indemnify under specified circumstances. 260 C. 167.

      Sec. 10-236. Liability insurance. Each such board of education, board of trustees, state agency or managing board may insure against the liability imposed upon it by sections 10-220 and 10-235 in any insurance company organized in this state or in any insurance company of another state authorized by law to write such insurance in this state, or may elect to act as self-insurer of such liability.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1495; 1949, S. 952d; P.A. 84-460, S. 4, 16.)

      History: P.A. 84-460 added reference to Sec. 10-220.

      Sec. 10-236a. Indemnification of educational personnel assaulted in the line of duty. (a) Each board of education shall protect and save harmless any member of such board or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff, and the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of Higher Education, the board of trustees of each state institution and each state agency which employs any teacher, and the managing board of any public school, as defined in section 10-183b, shall protect and save harmless any member of such boards, or any teacher or other employee thereof or any member of its supervisory or administrative staff employed by it, from financial loss and expense, including payment of expenses reasonably incurred for medical or other service necessary as a result of an assault upon such teacher or other employee while such person was acting in the discharge of his or her duties within the scope of his employment or under the direction of such board of education, Board of Governors of Higher Education, board of trustees, state agency, department or managing board, which expenses are not paid by the individual teacher's or employee's insurance, workers' compensation or any other source not involving an expenditure by such teacher or employee.

      (b) Any teacher or employee absent from employment as a result of injury sustained during an assault or for a court appearance in connection with such assault shall continue to receive his or her full salary, while so absent, except that the amount of any workers' compensation award may be deducted from salary payments during such absence. The time of such absence shall not be charged against such teacher or employee's sick leave, vacation time or personal leave days.

      (c) For the purposes of this section, the terms "teacher" and "other employee" shall include any student teacher doing practice teaching under the direction of a teacher employed by a local or regional board of education or by the State Board of Education or Board of Governors of Higher Education, and any member of the faculty or staff or any student employed by The University of Connecticut Health Center or health services.

      (P.A. 73-492; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; P.A. 78-208, S. 31, 35; 78-218, S. 168; P.A. 79-376, S. 16; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5.)

      History: P.A. 77-573 replaced commission for higher education with board of higher education; P.A. 78-208 substituted Sec. 10-183b for reference to repealed Sec. 10-161; P.A. 78-218 included feminine personal pronouns in Subsecs. (a) and (b), substituted "local or regional" board of education for "town" board in Subsec. (c) and made technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 79-376 substituted "workers' compensation" for "workmen's compensation"; 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.

      Sec. 10-237. School activity funds. (a) Any local or regional board of education may establish and maintain in its custody a school activity fund through which it may handle (1) the finances of that part of the cost of the school lunch program not provided by town appropriations, (2) the finances of that part of the cost of driver education courses furnished by such board of education and not provided by town appropriations and (3) such funds of schools and school organizations as such board from time to time determines to be desirable, which funds may include amounts received as gifts or donations. Whenever a board of education establishes a school activity fund, it shall designate one of its members or some other person to serve as treasurer of such fund and shall fix his or her salary, which shall be paid from the regular town appropriation for school purposes. Such treasurer shall be bonded and shall keep separate accounts for each school lunch program, for each driver education program and for each school fund and each school organization fund included in the school activity fund and shall make expenditures from such fund in the manner and upon such authorizations as the board of education by regulation prescribes, provided the control of school funds and the funds of all school organizations shall remain in the name of the respective schools and organizations. The accounts of the school activity fund shall be considered town accounts and shall be audited by the town auditor in the same manner as all other town accounts.

      (b) The accounts of any public school lunch program, whether maintained directly by the board of education or through an agent, shall be kept in accordance with regulations prescribed by the board of education and may include a petty cash fund on the imprest basis and shall be subject to the regular audit of town accounts as provided in section 7-392.

      (c) Any local or regional board of education may receive and accept any donation or gift of personal property to be used for the educational benefit of students.

      (1953, 1955, S. 953d; 1959, P.A. 672, S. 4; 1963, P.A. 493; P.A. 78-218, S. 169; P.A. 85-92, S. 1, 2; P.A. 91-401, S. 14, 20.)

      History: 1959 act added Subdiv. (b) of Subsec. (1); 1963 act added to Subdiv. (c) provision regarding gifts and donations for scholarships and student loans: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local or regional" board of education for "town" board and included feminine personal pronoun; P.A. 85-92 replaced numeric Subsec. indicators with alphabetic indicators and alphabetic Subdiv. indicators with numeric indicators to conform with general practice throughout statutes, deleted reference in Subsec. (a) to school boards' power to manage gifts or donations "for purposes of scholarships or student loans" and added Subsec. (c) empowering boards of education to accept donations or gifts for students' "educational benefit"; P.A. 91-401 deleted reference to Sec. 7-392 in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1993.

      Sec. 10-238. Petition for hearing by board of education. The board of education of any municipality, upon written petition signed by one per cent of the electors of such municipality or fifty such electors, whichever is greater, the signatures thereon to be verified by the clerk of the municipality, shall hold a public hearing on any question specified in such petition. Such hearing shall be held at a time and place to be designated by such board, not later than three weeks after receipt by the board of such petition.

      (1953, S. 954d; 1957, P.A. 13, S. 64.)

      Cited. 170 C. 318.

      Sec. 10-239. Use of school facilities for other purposes. (a) Any local or regional board of education may provide for the use of any room, hall, schoolhouse, school grounds or other school facility within its jurisdiction for nonprofit educational or community purposes whether or not school is in session.

      (b) Any local or regional board of education may grant the temporary use of rooms, halls, school buildings or grounds or any other school facilities under its management or control for public, educational or other purposes or for the purpose of holding political discussions therein, at such time when the school is not in session and shall grant such use for any purpose of voting under the provisions of title 9 whether or not school is in session, in each case subject to such restrictions as the authority having control of such room or building, grounds or other school facility considers expedient.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1492; 1959, P.A. 122; 1963, P.A. 155; P.A. 78-21, S. 1, 2.)

      History: 1959 act applied provisions to use of school grounds or other school facilities; 1963 act added specific provision for use of schools as voting places; P.A. 78-21 divided section into Subsecs. (a) and (b), replaced requirements that two-thirds vote at any legal meeting required for use of school facilities for nonschool uses and that such use to be allowed only when not used for school purposes with provision that board of education makes decision and that use for nonprofit educational or community purposes may be allowed whether or not school is in session and deleted references to school districts, towns, cities and boroughs.

      Sec. 10-239a. Demonstration scholarship program. Short title. Legislative intent. Sections 10-239a to 10-239h, inclusive, shall be known and may be cited as the Demonstration Scholarship Program Authorization Act of 1972. It is the intent of the legislature to enable up to six local or regional boards of education to participate in a demonstration program designed to develop and test the use of education scholarships for school children. The purpose of this demonstration scholarship program is to develop and test education scholarships as a way to improve the quality of education by making schools, both public and private, more responsive to the needs of children and parents, to provide greater parental choice, and to determine the extent to which the quality and delivery of educational services are affected by economic incentives. The demonstration scholarship program authorized by sections 10-239a to 10-239h, inclusive, shall aid students and shall not be used to support or to benefit any particular schools.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 1; P.A. 78-218, S. 170.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education.

      Sec. 10-239b. Definitions. As used in sections 10-239a to 10-239h, inclusive:

      (1) "Demonstration area" means the area designated by the participating local or regional board of education for the purposes of a demonstration scholarship program defined in subsection (2) of this section, which area shall include a substantial number of needy or disadvantaged students;

      (2) "Demonstration scholarship program" means a program for developing and testing the use of educational scholarships for all pupils eligible to attend public or private schools within the demonstration area, which scholarships shall be made available to the parents or legal guardians of a scholarship recipient in the form of a drawing right, negotiable certificate or other document which may not be redeemed except for educational purposes at schools fulfilling the requirements of subsection (a) of section 10-239e;

      (3) "Demonstration board" means a board established by the local or regional board of education to conduct the demonstration scholarship program;

      (4) "Contract" means the agreement entered into by the local or regional board of education and a federal governmental agency for the purpose of conducting a demonstration scholarship program.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 2; P.A. 78-218, S. 171.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education.

      Sec. 10-239c. Contract with federal agency for funds. The local or regional board of education may contract with a federal governmental agency for funds to establish a demonstration scholarship program to exist for a period of up to five years, such board to receive such state and local aid for any of its students as would otherwise be provided by law regardless of whether or not such students participate in a demonstration scholarship program, which funds may be expended under the demonstration scholarship program as the demonstration contract shall provide and within the demonstration area.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 3; P.A. 78-218, S. 172.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education.

      Sec. 10-239d. Demonstration board and staff. Scholarships. The local or regional board of education may establish a demonstration board and staff and may authorize it to administer the demonstration project authorized by sections 10-239a to 10-239h, inclusive, provided the costs of such organization shall be borne by the contracting federal agency. The members of the demonstration board, if it is not the local or regional board of education itself, shall serve for the terms established by the appointing board.

      (1) The demonstration board may: (a) Employ a staff for the demonstration board, (b) receive and expend funds to support the demonstration board and scholarships for children in the demonstration area, (c) contract with other government agencies and private persons or organizations to provide or receive services, supplies, facilities and equipment, (d) determine rules and regulations for use of scholarships in the demonstration area, (e) adopt rules and regulations for its own government, (f) receive and expend funds from the federal governmental agency necessary to pay for the costs incurred in administering the program, (g) otherwise provide the specified programs, services and activities.

      (2) The demonstration board shall award a scholarship to each school child residing in the demonstration area, subject only to such age and grade restrictions which it may establish. The scholarship funds shall be made available to the parents or legal guardian of a scholarship recipient in the form of a drawing right, certificate or other document which may not be redeemed except for educational purposes.

      (3) The demonstration board shall establish the amount of the scholarship in a fair and impartial manner as follows: There shall be a basic scholarship equal in amount to every other basic scholarship for every eligible student in the demonstration area. In no case shall the amount of the basic scholarship fall below the level of average current expense per pupil for corresponding grade levels in the public schools in the demonstration area in the year immediately preceding the demonstration program.

      (4) In addition to each base scholarship, compensatory scholarships shall be given to disadvantaged children. The amount of such compensatory scholarships and the manner by which children may qualify for them shall be established by the demonstration board.

      (5) Adequate provision for the pro rata or incremental redemption of scholarships shall be made.

      (6) The contract shall provide sufficient money to pay all actual and necessary transportation costs incurred by parents in sending their children to the school of their choice within the demonstration area, subject to distance limitations imposed by existing law.

      (7) The contract shall specify that the contracting federal governmental agency shall hold harmless the participating board from any possible decreased economies of scale or increased costs per pupil caused by the transition to a demonstration program.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 4; P.A. 78-218, S. 173.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" boards of education.

      Sec. 10-239e. Use of scholarships. Eligibility of schools. (a) The demonstration board shall authorize the parents or legal guardian of scholarship recipients to use the demonstration scholarships at any public or private school in which the scholarship recipient is enrolled provided such public or private school: (1) Meets all educational, fiscal, health and safety standards required by law, (2) does not discriminate against the admission of students and the hiring of teachers on the basis of race, color or economic status and has filed a certificate with the State Board of Education that the school is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (3) in no case levies or requires any tuition, fee or charge above the value of the education scholarship, (4) is free from sectarian control or influence except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, (5) provides public access to all financial and administrative records and provides to the parent or guardian of each eligible child in the demonstration area comprehensive information, in written form, on the courses of study offered, curriculum, materials and textbooks, the qualifications of teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals, the minimum school day, the salary schedules, financial reports of money spent per pupil and such other information as may be required by the demonstration board, (6) provides periodic reports to the parents on the average progress of the pupils enrolled, (7) meets any additional requirements established for all participating schools by the demonstration board.

      (b) In compliance with the constitutional guarantee of free exercise of religion, schools may be exempted from subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this section if they meet all other requirements for eligibility.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 5, 6.)

      Sec. 10-239f. Collective bargaining by teachers. Nothing contained in sections 10-239a to 10-239h, inclusive, shall be construed to interfere in any way with the rights of teachers of participating local or regional boards of education to organize and to bargain collectively regarding the terms and conditions of their employment. Teachers employed in the demonstration area shall be bound by the terms of such bargaining in the same way and to the same extent as if there were no demonstration area.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 7; P.A. 78-218, S. 174.)

      History: P.A. 78-218 substituted "local" for "town" and "boards of education" for "school districts".

      Sec. 10-239g. Evaluation of quality of education and satisfaction with schools under program. The demonstration board shall provide for a valid test for judging the quality of education and satisfaction with schools resulting from the demonstration scholarship program as compared to the present system of public and private schools. All evaluations done shall be reported in detail to the State Board of Education and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 8; P.A. 82-314, S. 56, 63.)

      History: P.A. 82-314 changed official name of education committee.

      Sec. 10-239h. Liberal construction. The provisions of sections 10-239a to 10-239h, inclusive shall be liberally construed, the legislature's intent being to enable up to six Connecticut school districts to participate in this demonstration scholarship program.

      (1972, P.A. 122, S. 9.)

      Sec. 10-239i. Participation in the National Assessment of Educational Progress or other national or international assessment. Each local and regional board of education, as may be designated by the Commissioner of Education, shall participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress or in any other national or international measure of student progress as may be determined by the commissioner.

      (P.A. 90-324, S. 2, 13; P.A. 06-192, S. 10.)

      History: P.A. 06-192 added provision re other national or international measure of progress as determined by commissioner, effective July 1, 2006.

      Sec. 10-239j. Disclosure of accreditation reports. Notification requirements. (a) Within forty-five days of receipt of a New England Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation report for any public school, the local or regional board of education which has jurisdiction over such school shall publicly disclose the results of the report at a public meeting of the board of education and shall make the report available for inspection upon request.

      (b) If the New England Association of Schools and Colleges places a school on probation or otherwise notifies the local or regional board of education or the superintendent of schools that a school in the district is at risk of losing its accreditation, the local or regional board of education shall notify the Department of Education of such placement or problems relating to accreditation and the department shall notify the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education of such placement or problems.

      (P.A. 90-324, S. 5, 13; P.A. 98-252, S. 17, 80.)

      History: P.A. 98-252 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re notification requirements, effective July 1, 1998.