Connecticut

C.G.S.A. § 10-219

CONNECTICUT GENERAL STATUTES ANNOTATED

TITLE 10. EDUCATION AND CULTURE

CHAPTER 170. BOARDS OF EDUCATION

§ 10-219. Procedure for filling vacancy on local board of education

If a vacancy occurs in the office of any member of the local board of education, unless otherwise provided by charter or special act, such vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members of said board until the next regular town election, at which election a successor shall be elected for the unexpired portion of the term, the official ballot specifying the vacancy to be filled.

C.G.S.A. § 10-220a

§ 10-220a. In-service training. Professional development. Institutes for educators. Cooperating and beginning teacher programs, regulations

information on (1) the nature and the relationship of drugs, as defined in subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, and alcohol to health and personality development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health and mental health risk reduction education which includes, but need not be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as defined in section 19a-581, violence, child abuse and youth suicide, (3) the growth and development of exceptional children, including handicapped and gifted and talented children and children who may require special education, and methods for identifying, planning for and working effectively with special needs children in a regular classroom, (4) school violence prevention and conflict resolution, (5) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life saving procedures, and (6) computer and other information technology as applied to student learning and classroom instruction, communications and data management. The State Board of Education, within available appropriations and utilizing available materials, shall assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to include Holocaust education and awareness and the historical events surrounding the Great Famine in Ireland as part of in-service training programs pursuant to this subsection.

(a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or professional educator certificate. Such program shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Education and shall provide such teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) the nature and the relationship of drugs, as defined in subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, and alcohol to health and personality development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health and mental health risk reduction education which includes, but need not be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as defined in section 19a-581, violence, child abuse and youth suicide, (3) the growth and development of exceptional children, including handicapped and gifted and talented children and children who may require special education, and methods for identifying, planning for and working effectively with special needs children in a regular classroom, (4) school violence prevention and conflict resolution, (5) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life saving procedures, and (6) computer and

other information technology as applied to student learning and classroom instruction, communications and data management. The State Board of Education, within available appropriations and utilizing available materials, shall assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to include: (A) Holocaust education and awareness; (B) African-American history; (C) Puerto Rican history; (D) Native American history; (E) Personal financial management; and (F) Topics approved by the state board upon the request of local or regional boards of education as part of in-service training programs pursuant to this subsection.

(b) Not later than a date prescribed by the commissioner, each local and regional board of education shall develop, with the advice and assistance of the teachers and administrators employed by such boards, including representatives of the exclusive bargaining representative of such teachers and administrators chosen pursuant to section 10-153b, and such other resources as the board deems appropriate, a comprehensive professional development plan, to be implemented not later than the school year 1994-1995. Such plan shall be directly related to the educational goals prepared by the local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220, and shall provide for the ongoing and systematic assessment and improvement of both teacher evaluation and professional development of the professional staff

members of each such board, including personnel management and evaluation training or experience for administrators, shall be related to regular and special student needs and may include provisions concerning career incentives and parent involvement. The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines to assist local and regional boards of education in determining the objectives of the plans and in coordinating staff development activities with student needs and school programs.

(c) The State Department of Education, in cooperation with one or more regional educational service centers, is authorized to provide institutes annually for Connecticut educators. Such institutes shall serve as model programs of professional development and shall be taught by exemplary Connecticut teachers and administrators and by other qualified individuals as selected by the State Department of Education. The Department of Education shall charge fees for attending such institutes provided such fees shall be based on the actual cost of such institutes.

(d) The State Department of Education may fund, within available appropriations, in cooperation with one or more regional educational service centers: (1) A cooperating teacher program to train Connecticut public school teachers and certified teachers at private special education facilities approved by the Commissioner of Education and at other facilities designated by the commissioner, who participate in the supervision, training and evaluation of student teachers; (2) institutes to provide continuing education for Connecticut public school educators, assessors and cooperating teachers and teacher mentors, including institutes to provide continuing education for Connecticut public school educators offered in cooperation with the Connecticut Humanities Council; and (3) a beginning teacher support and assessment program to train Connecticut public school teachers and other qualified persons approved by the Commissioner of Education and certified teachers at such private special education and other designated facilities who serve as mentors or assessors for beginning teachers and who supervise, train and assist or assess beginning teachers in their initial years in teaching and to pay stipends to assessors. Funds available under this subsection shall be paid directly to school districts for the provision of substitute teachers when cooperating teachers, teacher mentors, beginning teachers and assessors are released from regular classroom responsibilities and for the provision of professional development activities for cooperating and student teachers, teacher mentors, assessors and beginning teachers. The cooperating teacher and beginning teacher support and assessment programs shall operate in accordance with regulations which shall be adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to chapter 54. > [FN1] Student teachers shall be placed with trained cooperating teachers. Beginning teachers shall participate in a beginning teacher support and assessment program as made available by the board. School districts shall be responsible for providing support to beginning teachers which shall include, but not be limited to, the placement of beginning teachers with trained teacher mentors who may be full or part-time teachers in the same or a different building than the beginning teacher and provision of trained assessors to conduct assessments of beginning teachers. Cooperating teachers, teacher mentors and assessors may serve concurrently in more than one capacity and may be assigned more than one student teacher or beginning teacher in each such capacity. The assessment of each beginning teacher shall be based upon, but not limited to, data obtained from observations conducted by assessors using an assessment instrument. Notwithstanding any regulation to the contrary, the State Board of Education may require less than six observations as part of such assessment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992, and may establish different assessment standards for use during such fiscal year. Notwithstanding any regulation to the contrary, a beginning teacher need not be assessed by a certified teacher who holds a certification endorsement in the same general subject area as such beginning teacher. Cooperating teachers and teacher mentors who are Connecticut public school teachers and assessors who are employed by school districts shall be selected by local and regional boards of education. Cooperating teachers and teacher mentors and assessors at such private special education and other designated facilities shall be selected by the authority responsible for the operation of such facilities. If a board of education is unable to identify a sufficient number of individuals to serve in such positions, the commissioner may select qualified persons who are not employed by the board of education to serve in such positions. Such regulations shall require primary consideration of teachers' classroom experience and recognized success as educators. The provisions of sections 10- 153a to 10-153n, inclusive, shall not be applicable to the selection, placement and compensation of persons participating in the cooperating teacher and beginning teacher support and assessment programs pursuant to the provisions of this section and to the hours and duties of such persons. The State Board of Education shall protect and save harmless, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-235, any cooperating teacher, teacher mentor or assessor while serving in such capacity.

C.G.S.A. § 10-46

CONNECTICUT GENERAL STATUTES ANNOTATED

TITLE 10. EDUCATION AND CULTURE

CHAPTER 164. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

PART III. REGIONAL SCHOOLS

§ 10-46. Regional board of education

(a) The affairs of the regional school district shall be administered by a regional board of education, which shall consist of not fewer than five members. Each member town shall elect at least one member. The committee report shall determine the number of members of such regional board and the representation of each town. The first members of such regional board of education shall be nominated and elected at a meeting of the legislative body of each town held within thirty days after the referendum creating the district. The regional board of education at its first meeting, called by the Commissioner of Education within ten days from the time the last member town to appoint members to the regional board has done so, shall organize and the

members shall serve until their successors are elected and qualify. At such meeting, the board shall determine the term of office of each member according to the following principles: (1) The term of office of each successor shall be four years; (2) to establish a continuity of membership, a system of rotation shall be used; if the board has an even number of members, one-half of such number shall be elected every two years and if the board has an uneven number of members, no more than a bare majority or a bare minority shall be elected every two years, except when the unexpired portion of the term of a vacated office must be filled; (3) the same system of rotation shall be used for election of the representatives of each member town, if possible; (4) if necessary, it shall be determined by lot which of the initial members shall serve the short terms; (5) at the first election of members in accordance with subsection (b) or (c) of this section, no more than half the offices held by initial board members shall be filled; (6) the offices held by the remaining initial board members shall be filled at the second election held in accordance with subsection (b) or (c) of this section. Thereafter, members of the board shall be nominated and elected in their respective towns in accordance with subsection (b) or (c) of this section as determined by the legislative body of each town.

(b) (1) At least thirty days before the expiration of the term of office of

any board member, a town meeting shall be held in accordance with chapter 90 > [FN1] to nominate and elect a successor. Any person who is an elector of such town may vote at such meeting. If a vacancy occurs in the office of any member of the regional board of education, the town affected, at a town meeting called within thirty days from the beginning of such vacancy, shall nominate and elect a successor to serve for the unexpired portion of the term in accordance with the above procedure. (2) Where members of the regional school board are to be elected at-large under a plan for reapportionment recommended under subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-63l, and approved under sections 10-63m and 10-63n, at least thirty days before the expiration of the term of office of any board member, a meeting of the voters of the entire regional school district shall be held to nominate and elect successors in accordance with subsection (e) of this section. Any person who is an elector of any member town may vote at such regional meeting. Vacancies shall be filled by a regional meeting called within thirty days from the beginning of such vacancy.

(c) Board members shall be nominated and elected in the same manner as town officers in accordance with the provisions of title 9 except that (1) section 9-167a and parts II and III of chapter 146 > [FN2] shall not apply, (2) the board members so elected shall take office in accordance with subsection (d) of this section and if members of the regional school board are elected at-large under a plan for reapportionment recommended under subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 10-63 l, and approved under sections 10-63m and 10- 63n, a caucus of the voters of the entire regional school district shall be held to nominate candidates for election to the board in accordance with subsection (e) of this section. At such caucus, any person who is an elector of any member town may vote. If a vacancy occurs in the office of any member of the regional board of education, the legislative body of the town affected shall elect a successor to serve until the next general election, at which time a successor shall be elected to serve any unexpired portion of such term, except that if members are elected at-large, such successor shall be nominated and elected at a meeting of the entire regional school district held as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) All members of a regional board of education, except those members regularly elected in the month of May, shall take office on the first day of the month following their election. Those members of a regional board of education regularly elected in the month of May shall take office on the first day of July. Such board shall hold an organizational meeting in the month following the last election of members thereof held in the member towns in any calendar year at which time the board shall elect by ballot from its membership

a chairperson, a secretary, a treasurer and any other officer deemed necessary and may annually thereafter elect such officers. In the case of a tie vote in the balloting for any officer, such tie shall be broken by lot. The treasurer shall give bond to the regional board of education in an amount determined by the members thereof. The cost of such bond shall be borne by the district.

(e) Each regional school district meeting and caucus held pursuant to subsection (b) and (c) of this section shall be conducted in accordance with standard parliamentary practice. A moderator shall be chosen to preside over such meeting or caucus. A majority of those present and eligible to vote at such meeting or caucus shall determine the manner in which any vote shall be taken. The moderator shall certify all results of such meeting or caucus to the Secretary of the State who shall then officially notify each town within the regional school district of the result.

C.G.S.A. S 10-219

§ 10-219. Procedure for filling vacancy on local board of education