Connecticut HB 5033: AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EDUCATION.

Bill Text

LCO  
 
1 of 3 
  
General Assembly  
Substitute Bill No. 5033  
February Session, 2026 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET 
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EDUCATION.  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 10-145o of the 2026 supplement to 1 
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2 
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 3 
(i) The Department of Education [, in consultation with EASTCONN,] 4 
shall create a data system for local and regional school districts to access 5 
the resources and record-keeping tools to manage the teacher education 6 
and mentoring program at the local level. Such data system shall include 7 
(1)  templates  for  (A)  writing  and  updating  each  district's  plan,  (B) 8 
recording  each  teacher's  completion  of  each  of  the  five  instructional 9 
modules,  and  (C)  teachers  to  record  the  completion  of  instructional 10 
module activities and submit written reflection papers or projects, and 11 
(2)  links  to  on-line  programs  or  workshops  that  are  part  of  the  five 12 
modules. 13 
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 10-76mmm of the 2026 supplement to 14 
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 15 
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 16 
(a)  For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  2027,  and  each  fiscal  year 17 

Substitute Bill No. 5033 
 
 
LCO      2 of 3 
 
thereafter,   the   Department   of   Education   shall,   within   available 18 
appropriations, administer  the  special  education  training,  education 19 
and  testing  competitive  grant  program.  Under  the  grant  program, the 20 
department    shall    award    grants    to    individual    educators    and 21 
paraeducators for the purpose of covering the costs associated with any 22 
professional  training,  education  and  testing  requirements  relating  to 23 
such  individual's  ability  to  provide  special  education  and  related 24 
services.  The  department  shall  develop  criteria  for  reviewing  and 25 
awarding  grants  under  the  program,  and  such  criteria  shall  take  into 26 
consideration  the  financial  need  of  the  applicant  and  give  priority  to 27 
those applicants with the greatest financial need. As used in this section, 28 
"educators and paraeducators" includes individuals who are enrolled in 29 
a teacher preparation program, as defined in section 10-10a, candidates 30 
for professional certification as an educator under chapter 166, teachers 31 
employed  by  a  local  or  regional  board  of  education,  prospective 32 
paraeducators and paraeducators employed by a local or regional board 33 
of education. 34 
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 10-76nnn of the 2026 supplement to 35 
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 36 
thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 37 
(a)  For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  2026,  and  each  fiscal  year 38 
thereafter,    the    Department    Education    shall,    within    available 39 
appropriations, establish a grant program to support local and regional 40 
boards  of  education  in  providing  support  services  for  students  who 41 
require   special   education   and   have   experienced   trauma   or   have 42 
behavioral  health  needs.  Such  grant  shall  be  available  to  each  local  or 43 
regional  board of  education  that  provides  support  services,  including, 44 
but  not  limited  to,  trauma-informed  care  coordination  and  family 45 
outreach,  for  such  students  and  such  students'  families  in  partnership 46 
with community service providers, including, but not limited to, family 47 
service centers. Grants shall be funded in an amount prescribed by the 48 
Commissioner of Education. 49 
Sec. 4. Section 10-4x of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is 50 

Substitute Bill No. 5033 
 
 
LCO      3 of 3 
 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 51 
2026): 52 
For  the  school  year  commencing  July  1,  2026,  and  each  school  year 53 
thereafter,   the   Department   of   Education   shall, within   available 54 
appropriations, at  least  quarterly,  host  trainings  for  persons  hired  or 55 
designated to serve as an instructional support partner, as described in 56 
section 10-220t. Such training shall include, but need not be limited to, 57 
effective   literacy   and   math   instruction,   personalized   learning  and 58 
individualized  instruction  for  students  with  disabilities,  improving 59 
classroom management, effective instructional methods and behavioral 60 
supports, and transition plans for students with disabilities. 61 
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 62 
2027, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Department of Education shall, 63 
within  available  appropriat