General Assembly |
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January Session, 2017 |
*_____HB07271APP___051517____* |
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM AS AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-95 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(a) The State Board of Education may establish and maintain a state-wide system of technical high schools to be known as the technical high school system. The technical high school system shall be governed by a board that shall consist of [eleven] seventeen members as follows: (1) Four executives of Connecticut-based employers who shall be nominated by the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission established pursuant to section 31-3h, and appointed by the Governor, (2) five members appointed by the State Board of Education, (3) the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, [and] (4) the Labor Commissioner, and (5) six members, one appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, and one appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint the chairperson. The chairperson of the technical high school system board shall serve as a nonvoting ex-officio member of the State Board of Education.
(b) The technical high school system board shall offer full-time, part-time and evening programs in vocational, technical and technological education and training. The board may make [regulations] policies controlling the admission of students to any such school. The [Commissioner of Education] superintendent of the technical high school system, in accordance with policies established by the board, may [appoint] hire, within available resources and without the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and remove members of the staffs of such schools and make rules for the management of and expend the funds provided for the support of such schools. The board may enter into cooperative arrangements with local and regional boards of education, private occupational schools, institutions of higher education, job training agencies and employers in order to provide general education, vocational, technical or technological education or work experience.
(c) The board [and the Commissioner of Education] shall [jointly] recommend a candidate for superintendent of the technical high school system who shall be appointed as superintendent by the [State Board of Education] Governor. Such superintendent shall be responsible for the operation and administration of the technical high school system.
(d) If the New England Association of Schools and Colleges places a technical high school on probation or otherwise notifies the superintendent of the technical high school system that a technical high school is at risk of losing its accreditation, the [Commissioner of Education] superintendent of the technical high school system, on behalf of the technical high school system board, shall notify the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education of such placement or problems relating to accreditation.
(e) The technical high school system board shall establish specific achievement goals for students at the technical high schools at each grade level. The board shall measure the performance of each technical high school and shall identify a set of quantifiable measures to be used. The measures shall include factors such as the performance of students in grade ten or eleven on the mastery examination, under section 10-14n, trade-related assessment tests, dropout rates and graduation rates.
Sec. 2. Section 10-95 of the general statutes, as amended by section 1 of this act, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019):
(a) [The State Board of Education may establish and maintain a state-wide system of technical high schools to be known as the technical high school system.] There is established a state-wide system of technical high schools to be known as the Technical High School System. The system shall offer full-time, part-time and evening programs in vocational, technical and technological education and training. The [technical high school] system shall be governed by [a board] the Technical High School System Board that shall consist of seventeen members as follows: (1) Four executives of Connecticut-based employers who shall be nominated by the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission established pursuant to section 31-3h, and appointed by the Governor, (2) five members appointed by the State Board of Education, (3) the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, (4) the Labor Commissioner, and (5) six members, one appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, and one appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint the chairperson. The chairperson of the [technical high school system board] Technical High School System Board shall serve as a nonvoting ex-officio member of the State Board of Education.
(b) [The technical high school system board shall offer full-time, part-time and evening programs in vocational, technical and technological education and training. The board may make policies controlling the admission of students to any such school. The superintendent of the technical high school system, in accordance with policies established by the board, may hire, within available resources and without the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and remove members of the staffs of such schools and make rules for the management of and expend the funds provided for the support of such schools.] The Technical High School System Board shall organize the Technical High School System into such bureaus, divisions and other units as may be necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the system, and may, from time to time, create, abolish, transfer or consolidate within the system any bureau, division or other unit as may be necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the board. The board may create any advisory boards or appoint any committees as it deems necessary for the efficient conduct of the business of the system. The board may appoint, and may prescribe the duties of any subordinates, agents and employees as it finds necessary in the conduct of its business. The board may enter into cooperative arrangements with local and regional boards of education, private occupational schools, institutions of higher education, job training agencies and employers in order to provide general education, vocational, technical or technological education or work experience. The board may accept gifts, grants and donations on behalf of the system, including, but not limited to, in-kind donations, designated for the purchase of equipment or materials, the hiring of teachers at a technical high school or the acquisition of real property and construction of facilities.
(c) The board shall recommend a candidate for [superintendent of the technical high school system] Superintendent of the Technical High School System who shall be appointed as superintendent by the Governor, [. Such] in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-5 to 4-7, inclusive. The superintendent shall serve a term of four years to be coterminous with the term of the Governor. The superintendent shall be the administrative officer of the system and shall be responsible for the operation and administration of the technical high school system in accordance with the policies established by the board, and may hire, within available resources and without the approval of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and terminate the employment of members of the staffs of technical high schools and make rules for the management of and expend the funds provided for the support of the system and technical high schools. The superintendent shall serve as secretary to the board and the superintendent may appoint assistant superintendents, provided neither the superintendent nor any assistant superintendent shall be a member of the board. The superintendent shall record all acts of the board and certify the same to all concerned and shall be the custodian of its records and papers; shall prepare such routine business for presentation to said board as may be necessary or advisable; shall compile and publish, under the direction of the board, all policies and acts which may be required and shall perform such duties as the board prescribes.
(d) If the New England Association of Schools and Colleges places a technical high school on probation or otherwise notifies the superintendent [of the technical high school system] that a technical high school is at risk of losing its accreditation, the superintendent, [of the technical high school system,] on behalf of the [technical high school system] board, shall notify the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education of such placement or problems relating to accreditation.
(e) The board may make policies controlling the admission of students to any technical high school. The [technical high school system] board shall establish specific achievement goals for students at the technical high schools at each grade level. The board shall measure the performance of each technical high school and shall identify a set of quantifiable measures to be used. The measures shall include factors such as the performance of students in grade ten or eleven on the mastery examination, under section 10-14n, trade-related assessment tests, dropout rates and graduation rates.
Sec. 3. Section 10-99f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(a) For the fiscal [year] years ending June 30, 2011, [and each fiscal year thereafter] to June 30, 2019, inclusive, the budget for the technical high school system shall be a separate budgeted agency from the Department of Education.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the Governor shall not reduce allotment requisitions or allotments in force concerning the technical high school system.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, and each fiscal year thereafter, the budget for the technical high school system shall be a separate budgeted agency.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the appropriations recommended for the Technical High School System shall be the estimates of expenditure requirements transmitted to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management by the Technical High School System Board and the recommended adjustments and revisions of such estimates shall be the recommended adjustments and revisions, if any, transmitted by said board to the Office of Policy and Management.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the Governor shall not reduce allotment requisitions or allotments in force concerning the Technical High School System.
Sec. 5. Section 10-99g of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019):
(a) (1) [Each] For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, and each fiscal year thereafter, each technical high school shall prepare a proposed operating budget for the next succeeding school year beginning July first and submit such proposed operating budget to the [superintendent of the technical high school system] Technical High School System Board. Such proposed operating budget shall include a statement of the staffing needs for such technical high school. The [superintendent] board may consult with the superintendent and shall collect, review and use the proposed operating budget for each technical high school to guide the preparation of [a proposed operating] the budget for the [technical high school system] Technical High School System.
(2) [The superintendent of the technical high school system shall submit a proposed operating budget for the technical high school system to the technical high school system board. Such proposed operating budget shall include a statement of the staffing needs for the technical high school system.] The board shall [review, amend and approve such proposed operating budget and] submit the [approved] budget to [the State Board of Education. The state board shall review, but shall not amend, and submit such approved operating budget, with any comments or recommendations for revisions, to the Secretary of] the Office of Policy and Management in accordance with the provisions of section 4-77. The [superintendent] board shall submit a copy of (A) [the proposed operating budgets] an itemized operating budget for each technical high school, including the statement of the staffing needs for each technical high school, and (B) the [proposed operating] budget for the [technical high school] system, including the statement of the staffing needs for the [technical high school system, and (C) the approved operating budget for the technical high school] system to the [Office of Policy and Management and the] joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. [The superintendent shall communicate directly with the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management regarding the creation or filling of staff positions included in the approved operating budget for the technical high school system.]
(b) The [superintendent of the technical high school system] board shall semiannually submit the operating budget and expenses for each individual technical high school, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the director of the legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis and to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.
(c) The superintendent [of the technical high school system] shall make available and update on the [technical high school system] Technical High School System Internet web site and the Internet web site of each technical high school the operating budget for the current school year of each individual technical high school.
Sec. 6. Subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 10-95h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(2) The superintendent of the technical high school system shall submit the following to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, higher education and employment advancement and labor: (A) Information ensuring that the curriculum of the technical high school system is incorporating those workforce skills that will be needed for the next thirty years, as identified by the Labor Commissioner in subdivision (1) of this subsection, into the technical high schools; (B) information regarding the employment status of students who graduate from or complete an approved program of study at the technical high school system, including, but not limited to: (i) Demographics such as age and gender, (ii) course and program enrollment and completion, (iii) employment status, and (iv) wages prior to enrolling and after graduating; (C) an assessment of the adequacy of the resources available to the technical high school system as the system develops and refines programs to meet existing and emerging workforce needs; (D) recommendations to the technical high school system board to carry out the provisions of subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of this subdivision; [and] (E) information regarding staffing at each technical high school for the current academic year; and (F) information regarding the transition process of the technical high school system as an independent agency, including, but not limited to, the actions taken by the technical high school system board and the superintendent to create a budget process and maintain programmatic consistency for students enrolled in the technical high school system. The superintendent of the technical high school system shall collaborate with the Labor Commissioner to obtain information as needed to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2017) The superintendent of the technical high school system shall consult with any local or regional boards of education for a town in which a technical high school is located and that offers any career and technical education programs, for the purpose of reducing redundancies and consolidating programmatic offerings.
Sec. 8. Section 4-5 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019):
As used in sections 4-6, 4-7 and 4-8, the term "department head" means Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, Commissioner of Administrative Services, Commissioner on Aging, Commissioner of Revenue Services, Banking Commissioner, Commissioner of Children and Families, Commissioner of Consumer Protection, Commissioner of Correction, Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, State Board of Education, Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Public Health, Insurance Commissioner, Labor Commissioner, Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Commissioner of Social Services, Commissioner of Developmental Services, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, Commissioner of Transportation, Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, Commissioner of Housing, Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services, the Commissioner of Early Childhood, [and] the executive director of the Office of Military Affairs and the Technical High School System Board. As used in sections 4-6 and 4-7, "department head" also means the Commissioner of Education and the Superintendent of the Technical High School System.
Sec. 9. Section 4-38c of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019):
There shall be within the executive branch of state government the following departments: Office of Policy and Management, Department of Administrative Services, Department on Aging, Department of Revenue Services, Department of Banking, Department of Agriculture, Department of Children and Families, Department of Consumer Protection, Department of Correction, Department of Economic and Community Development, State Board of Education, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Department of Public Health, Board of Regents for Higher Education, Insurance Department, Labor Department, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Department of Developmental Services, Department of Social Services, Department of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles, [and] Department of Veterans Affairs and the Technical High School System.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2017 |
10-95 |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2019 |
10-95 |
Sec. 3 |
July 1, 2017 |
10-99f |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2019 |
New section |
Sec. 5 |
July 1, 2019 |
10-99g |
Sec. 6 |
July 1, 2017 |
10-95h(b)(2) |
Sec. 7 |
July 1, 2017 |
New section |
Sec. 8 |
July 1, 2019 |
4-5 |
Sec. 9 |
July 1, 2019 |
4-38c |
ED |
Joint Favorable Subst. |
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APP |
Joint Favorable |