Connecticut SB 351: AN ACT ESTABLISHING STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR TEACHER TERMINATION DECISIONS AND REQUIRING TERMINATION HEARINGS TO BE BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 351
February Session, 2026

AN ACT ESTABLISHING STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR TEACHER
TERMINATION DECISIONS AND REQUIRING TERMINATION
HEARINGS TO BE BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsections (c) to (e), inclusive, of section 10-151 of the 1
general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 3
(c) The contract of employment of a teacher who has not attained 4
tenure may be terminated at any time for any of the reasons enumerated 5
in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (d) of this section. [; 6
otherwise] The standard of review for all such reasons shall be the same 7
standard applied in other disciplinary actions under the terms of such 8
teacher's collective bargaining agreement. Otherwise the contract of 9
such teacher shall be continued into the next school year unless such 10
teacher receives written notice by May first in one school year that such 11
contract will not be renewed for the following year. Upon the teacher's 12
written request, not later than three calendar days after such teacher 13
receives such notice of nonrenewal or termination, a notice of 14
nonrenewal or termination shall be supplemented not later than four 15
calendar days after receipt of the request by a statement of the reason or 16
reasons for such nonrenewal or termination. Such teacher, upon written 17
request filed with the board of education not later than ten calendar 18

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days after the receipt of notice of [termination, or] nonrenewal or 19
termination shall be entitled to a hearing, except as provided in this 20
subsection, (1) before the board, or (2) if indicated in such request and if 21
designated by the board, before an impartial hearing officer chosen by 22
the teacher and the superintendent in accordance with the provisions of 23
subsection (d) of this section. Such hearing shall commence not later 24
than fifteen calendar days after receipt of such request unless the parties 25
mutually agree to an extension not to exceed fifteen calendar days. The 26
impartial hearing officer or a subcommittee of the board of education, if 27
the board of education designates a subcommittee of three or more 28
board members to conduct hearings, shall submit written findings and 29
recommendations to the board for final disposition. The teacher shall 30
have the right to appear with counsel of the teacher's choice at the 31
hearing. A teacher who has not attained tenure shall not be entitled to a 32
hearing concerning nonrenewal if the reason for such nonrenewal is 33
either elimination of position or loss of position to another teacher. [The 34
board of education shall rescind a nonrenewal decision only if the board 35
finds such decision to be arbitrary and capricious.] Any such teacher 36
whose contract is terminated for the reasons enumerated in 37
subdivisions (3) and (4) of subsection (d) of this section shall have the 38
right to appeal in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of this 39
section. 40
(d) The contract of employment of a teacher who has attained tenure 41
shall be continued from school year to school year, except that it may be 42
terminated at any time for one or more of the following reasons: (1) 43
Inefficiency, incompetence or ineffectiveness, provided [, if a teacher is 44
notified on or after July 1, 2014, that termination is under consideration 45
due to incompetence or ineffectiveness, the] any determination of 46
incompetence or ineffectiveness is based on evaluation of the teacher 47
using teacher evaluation guidelines established pursuant to section 10-48
151b; (2) insubordination against reasonable rules of the board of 49
education; (3) moral misconduct; (4) disability, as shown by competent 50
medical evidence; (5) elimination of the position to which the teacher 51
was appointed or loss of a position to another teacher, if no other 52

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position exists to which such teacher may be appointed if qualified, 53
provided such teacher, if qualified, shall be appointed to a position held 54
by a teacher who has not attained tenure, and provided further that 55
determination of the individual contract or contracts of employment to 56
be terminated shall be made in accordance with either (A) a provision 57
for a layoff procedure agreed upon by the board of education and the 58
exclusive employees' representative organization, or (B) in the absence 59
of such agreement, a written policy of the board of education; or (6) 60
other due and sufficient [cause] reasons. The standard of review for all 61
such reasons shall be the same standard applied in other disciplinary 62
actions under the terms of such teacher's collective bargaining 63
agreement. Nothing in this section or in any other section of the general 64
stat