AN ACT CONCERNING THE TEACHING OF THE GREAT FAMINE IN IRELAND IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:


                Senate Bill No. 81
                Senate Bill No. 81

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-45


AN ACT CONCERNING THE TEACHING OF THE GREAT FAMINE
IN IRELAND IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section  1.  Section  10-16b  of  the  general
statutes  is  repealed  and   the   following   is
substituted in lieu thereof:
    (a)  In  the  public  schools  the  program of
instruction offered shall  include  at  least  the
following  subject  matter,  as  taught by legally
qualified teachers, the  arts;  career  education;
consumer  education; health and safety, including,
but not limited to, human growth and  development,
nutrition,    first   aid,   disease   prevention,
community and consumer  health,  physical,  mental
and  emotional  health,  including  youth  suicide
prevention, substance  abuse  prevention,  safety,
which  may include the dangers of gang membership,
and accident prevention; language arts,  including
reading,  writing, grammar, speaking and spelling;
mathematics; physical education;  science;  social
studies,    including,   but   not   limited   to,
citizenship, economics, geography, government  and
history;   and   in  addition,  on  at  least  the
secondary level, one or more foreign languages and
vocational   education.   For   purposes  of  this
subsection, language  arts  may  include  American
sign  language  or  signed  English, provided such
subject matter is taught by a qualified instructor
under  the  supervision  of  a teacher who holds a
certificate  issued  by   the   State   Board   of
Education.
    (b)  If a local or regional board of education
requires its pupils to take a course in a  foreign
language,  the  parent  or  guardian  of  a  pupil
identified as deaf or hearing impaired may request
in  writing  that such pupil be exempted from such
requirement and, if such a request is  made,  such
pupil shall be exempt from such requirement.
    (c)   Each   local   and   regional  board  of
education shall on September 1, 1982, and annually
thereafter  at such time and in such manner as the
Commissioner of Education shall request, attest to
the  State  Board  of Education that such local or
regional board of education offers  at  least  the
program  of  instruction required pursuant to this
section, and that such program of  instruction  is
planned, ongoing and systematic.
    (d)  The  State  Board of Education shall make
available  curriculum  materials  and  such  other
materials  as may assist local and regional boards
of education in developing instructional  programs
pursuant  to  this  section.  The  State  Board of
Education,  within  available  appropriations  and
utilizing   available  resource  materials,  shall
assist and encourage local and regional boards  of
education  to include: (1) Holocaust education and
awareness;   AND   (2)   THE   HISTORICAL   EVENTS
SURROUNDING THE GREAT FAMINE IN IRELAND as part of
the program of  instruction  offered  pursuant  to
subsection (a) of this section.
    Sec.  2.  Subsection (a) of section 10-220a of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
    (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   be   submitted   to   the
Commissioner  of  Education and 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,   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, and (6) computer and other information
technology  as  applied  to  student  learning and
classroom  instruction,  communications  and  data
management.  The  State Board of Education, within
available appropriations and  utilizing  available
materials,  shall  assist  and encourage local and
regional boards of education to include  Holocaust
education  and awareness AND THE HISTORICAL EVENTS
SURROUNDING THE GREAT FAMINE IN IRELAND as part of
in-service  training  programs  pursuant  to  this
subsection.

Approved May 14, 1997