File No. 481

House of Representatives, April 7, 2015

The Committee on Education reported through REP. FLEISCHMANN of the 18th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT ESTABLISHING QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION.

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

Section 1. Section 10-3a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) There shall be a Department of Education which shall serve as the administrative arm of the State Board of Education. The department shall be under the direction of the Commissioner of Education, whose appointment shall be recommended to the Governor by the State Board of Education for a term of four years to be coterminous with the term of the Governor. Such appointment shall be in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-5 to 4-7, inclusive. For any appointment made on or after the effective date of this section, the Commissioner of Education shall be a qualified person with a master's degree or higher in an education-related field, five or more years' experience as a teacher in this state or another state and three or more years' experience as an administrator of a school or school district in this state or another state. The Commissioner of Education shall be the administrative officer of the department and shall administer, coordinate and supervise the activities of the department in accordance with the policies established by the board.

(b) The State Board of Education shall organize the Department of Education into such bureaus, divisions and other units as may be necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the department, and may, from time to time, create, abolish, transfer or consolidate within the department any bureau, division or other unit as may be necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of said board. Upon such organization or reorganization the board shall adopt regulations pursuant to the provisions of chapter 54. The board may create such advisory boards as it deems necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the department.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.


OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill, which adds additional qualifications that the Commissioner of Education must meet, will not result in a fiscal impact, as the bill does not alter salary specifications.

The Out Years

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

OLR Bill Analysis

HB 6977

AN ACT ESTABLISHING QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION.

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the state education commissioner to be a qualified person with a master's or a higher degree in an education-related field and at least the following experience in a school or district in Connecticut or another state: (1) five years as a teacher and (2) three years as an administrator. Under current law, the commissioner is not required to hold a degree or have any experience in education. By law, the selection process requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to recommend a commissioner candidate to the governor, who then nominates the person and forwards the nomination to the General Assembly for confirmation. The commissioner serves as the head of the Education Department, which is the administrative arm of SBE.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

COMMITTEE ACTION

Education Committee

Joint Favorable