Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222tt: Building Educational Responsibility with Greater Improvement Networks Commission.

(a) There is established the Building Educational Responsibility with Greater Improvement Networks Commission. The commission shall study (1) issues relating to education funding entitled to local and regional boards of education, charter schools and operators of interdistrict magnet school programs under the provisions of section 10-262h and section 10-66ee, (2) accountability measures for (A) alliance districts, (B) charter schools, and (C) interdistrict magnet school programs, (3) the adequacy of financial reporting by (A) local and regional boards of education, including financial reporting associated with participation in the state-wide interdistrict public school attendance program, established pursuant to section 10-266aa, (B) the governing councils of state and local charter schools and charter management organizations, and (C) operators of interdistrict magnet school programs, and (4) the financial impact of interdistrict magnet school programs, charter schools and the state-wide interdistrict public school attendance program on local and regional boards of education, including, but not limited to, equalization aid grant amounts, transportation costs, special education services and other general educational costs for children who reside in the school district but do not attend a school under the jurisdiction of the board of education for such school district. The commission may form subcommittees, as necessary, in order to perform its responsibilities under subsection (c) of this section.

(b) (1) The portion of such study regarding issues relating to education funding entitled to local and regional boards of education, charter schools and interdistrict magnet schools shall include, but need not be limited to, an analysis of and recommendations relating to (A) the compensation, benefits, retention and recruitment of teachers, paraprofessionals and social workers, (B) restrictions on the use of any additional funds received pursuant to section 10-262h, (C) reporting requirements for school districts receiving additional funds provided under the provisions of section 10-262h, (D) optimal class sizes, and (E) the inclusion of special education as a need factor in the equalization aid grant formula under section 10-262h.

(2) The portion of such study regarding alliance districts shall include, but need not be limited to, (A) an analysis of the process by which alliance district plans are developed by boards of education and are reviewed and approved by the Commissioner of Education, and recommendations for narrowing the focus of or replacing such plans, (B) a consideration of the removal of the withholding of a portion of an alliance district's equalization aid grant under section 10-262u, (C) the feasibility of creating independent financial audits of the expenditures under the entire budget of boards of education for alliance districts, (D) the feasibility of requiring boards of education for alliance districts to hold hearings on interventions and make annual evaluations of any new programming established in the school district, (E) a consideration of establishing guidelines for the hiring of nonclassroom personnel, and (F) a consideration of interventions that the Department of Education may take in regard to the operations of an alliance district.

(3) The portion of such study regarding charter schools shall include, but need not be limited to, (A) the feasibility of allowing for a full grade expansion of existing charters, including grade expansion, (B) an examination of the impact of moratoriums on the granting of new charters, as well as the approval of new interdistrict magnet school programs, (C) a consideration of the duration of the length of a charter's validity, and (D) an examination of the charter renewal process, including the standards used by the State Board of Education during its determination of whether to renew a charter and the creation of an accountability scale.

(4) The portion of such study regarding interdistrict magnet schools shall include, but need not be limited to, oversight policies for interdistrict magnet school programs operated by regional education service centers relating to tuition increases, enrollment and funding caps.

(c) (1) The commission shall conduct a needs-based study to determine if additional special education programs and services are required in the state to meet student demand. In conducting such needs-based study, the commission shall review approved and nonapproved public and private special education schools and the programs and services provided by such schools, including whether such schools maintain a waitlist for such services. The Department of Education shall comply with all data and information requests made by the commission. The commission shall develop and recommend a new methodology that the Department of Education, in consultation with the Office of Policy and Management, shall use when reviewing applications submitted by a private provider of special education services to become an approved private provider of special education services, including application and applicant criteria.

(2) The commission shall study and consider recommendations for the creation of a peer review process for the special education program in each school district that will review each school district periodically in an effort to share best practices to duplicate or model in other school districts with similar special education and student needs.

(3) The commission shall examine the current utilization and implementation of Tier 2 interventions of multitiered systems of supports and scientific research-based interventions in public schools, and identify any potential benefits of implementing Tier 2 interventions and any barriers to such implementation and make recommendations to improve such implementation of Tier 2 interventions. As part of such examination, the commission shall consider, at a minimum, (A) requiring the Department of Education to revise existing guidelines concerning multitiered systems of support, response to intervention, and scientific research-based interventions to include current research and best practices, (B) requiring mandated training and certification of the staff supervising and implementing Tier 2 interventions, (C) requiring reading intervention before a special education placement is made if the primary reason for the placement is reading-related, and (D) methods of incentivizing boards of education to hire additional reading intervention teachers. The Department of Education shall comply with all data and information requests made by the commission.

(4) The commission shall review and recommend changes to the Department of Education's Connecticut Special Education Data System (CT-SEDS). Such review shall, at a minimum, consider the accessibility and usability of CT-SEDS by educators and parents and guardians of students and any requirements of CT-SEDS that exceed statutory and regulatory requirements for individualized education programs. Such recommendations may be developed, in part, on the findings of the report described in section 17 of this act* regarding the purpose of each CT-SEDS field.

(5) The commission shall conduct a study concerning access to respite care for families of children with disabilities in the state. Such study shall assess the current availability of respite services, identify gaps in access or delivery and evaluate how respite care supports families in keeping children with disabilities safely at home and within their communities.

(6) The commission shall develop recommendations for (A) standards for measuring the effectiveness of the delivery of special education services by local and regional boards of education, and (B) a system of publicly acknowledging those school districts that are consistently (i) meeting or exceeding such standards, and (ii) not meeting or are below such standards.

(7) The commission shall review and make recommendations for legislation concerning the implementation of the proposed state-wide special education workload analysis model, developed pursuant to section 16 of this act*.

(8) The commission, in consultation with the Office of Health Strategy, Office of the Healthcare Advocate and Department of Social Services, shall conduct a study to determine if certain special education services can be billed to Medicaid or other private insurance.

(d) The commission shall consist of the following initial members:

(1) The speaker of the House of Representatives, or the speaker's designee;

(2) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and one of whom is a representative of the RESC Alliance;

(3) The president pro tempore of the Senate, or the president pro tempore's designee;

(4) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom is a representative of Special Education Equity for Kids and one of whom is a representative of the Center for Children's Advocacy;

(5) Three appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut School Counselor Association, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Education Association and one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Voices for Children;

(6) Three appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom is a representative of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut, one of whom is a representative of ConnCAN and one of whom is a representative of the School and State Finance Project;

(7) Three appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of School Administrators and one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of School Business Officials, and one of whom is a member of a local or regional board of education for an alliance district, in consultation with the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education;

(8) Three appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Charter School Association, one of whom is the executive director of an agricultural science and technology education center and one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Council of Administrators of Special Education;

(9) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; and

(10) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee.

(e) The commission shall consist of the following additional members:

(1) Three appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a parent of a child receiving special education services in the state, one of whom is a representative of Disability Rights Connecticut and one of whom is an individual who may be a member of the General Assembly;

(2) Three appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom is a parent of a child receiving special education services in the state, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and one whom is an individual who may be a member of the General Assembly;

(3) Three appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a parent of a child receiving special education services in the state, one of whom is a special education teacher in the state and a member of the Connecticut Education Association and one of whom is an individual who may be a member of the General Assembly;

(4) Three appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom is a special education teacher in the state and a member of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Council of Administrators of Special Education and one of whom is an individual who may be a member of the General Assembly;

(5) Three appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a parent of a child receiving special education services in the state, one of whom is a special education teacher in the state and a member of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut and one of whom is an individual who may be a member of the General Assembly;

(6) Three appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom is a representative of the Connecticut Association of Private Special Education Facilities, one of whom is a special education teacher in the state and a member of the Connecticut Education Association and one of whom is an individual who may be a member of the General Assembly; and

(7) Two designated by the Commissioner of Education.

(f) (1) All initial appointments to the commission pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be made not later than July 28, 2023. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.

(2) All additional appointments to the commission pursuant to subsection (e) of this section shall be made not later than thirty days after June 23, 2025. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.

(g) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate, or their designees, shall serve as the chairpersons of the commission and shall schedule the first meeting of the commission, which shall be held not later than sixty days after June 23, 2025.

(h) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education shall serve as administrative staff of the commission.

(i) The Department of Education shall comply with all data and information requests made by the commission for purposes of this section.

(j) (1) Not later than January 15, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the portion of the study described in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations.

(2) Not later than January 15, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the portion of the study described in subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (b) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

(3) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the needs-based study described in subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Commissioner of Education and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations.

(4) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the study described in subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of Education and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

(5) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the examination described in subdivision (3) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of Education and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and appropriations.

(6) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the review and recommendations described in subdivision (4) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of Education and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

(7) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the study described in subdivision (5) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of Education and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education and public health.

(8) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit its recommendations described in subdivision (6) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the Commissioner of Education and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

(9) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit its review and recommendations described in subdivision (7) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education.

(10) Not later than December 1, 2026, the commission shall submit a report on the study described in subdivision (8) of subsection (c) of this section, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, human services and insurance.

(k) The commission shall terminate on the date that it submits the last of such reports or July 1, 2030, whichever is later.