Bill > SB00298

This bill makes several changes to state law, primarily concerning education and elections. It reallocates funds by reducing appropriations to the Department of Social Services by $3.4 million for Temporary Family Assistance and appropriates $1.7 million to the Labor Department to offset declining federal funds for unemployment compensation personnel and support IT integration, and another $1.7 million to the Department of Education for Adult Education, with unexpended balances carrying over to the next fiscal year. The bill also transfers $174,000 from the Department of Education to the Department of Economic and Community Development for a grant to the New London VFW, and allocates $70,000 from the Judicial Department for a grant to the Village Initiative Project. Additionally, it makes changes to the University of Connecticut Health Center's Center of Excellence for Neuromodulation Treatments, allowing it to collaborate with a hospital to conduct research and provide treatments to disabled veterans. The bill also appropriates $1.5 million for high-acuity, school-based mental health programming in specific school districts and modifies school building project reimbursement rates for Windham, Fairfield, Roxbury, New London, and Cheshire. It also extends construction deadlines for several Hartford school projects and establishes criteria for a Connecticut State Seal of Civics Education and Engagement on diplomas, effective July 1, 2026. Furthermore, the bill updates the state-wide public school information system to include data on academic progress in bilingual education programs and measures for evaluating bilingual education programs, and revises the bill of rights for parents of multilingual learners to include access to publicly available data on bilingual education programs. It also expands the curriculum materials that the State Board of Education will make available to include Islamic and Arab studies and establishes a working group to address antisemitism in public schools. The bill also makes changes to early admission policies for children turning five, delays notification requirements for racial imbalance in schools until July 1, 2030, and modifies requirements for school budget preparation and submission to include detailed historical financial data. It also updates requirements for school resource officer memorandums of understanding, allows regional school districts to deposit funds from capital reserve funds into educational expenditure reserve funds, and expands vision screening to include preschool and second grade. The bill also includes provisions related to the Police Officer Standards and Training Council's curriculum for police officers interacting with individuals with mental or physical disabilities, expands the State Properties Review Board, and adjusts a fee for the firefighters cancer relief account. It also modifies building code provisions to encourage the construction of safe three-unit and four-unit residential buildings. The bill also makes significant changes to election laws, including establishing early voting periods for all regular elections, primaries, and special elections, and allowing same-day election registration during early voting and on election day. It also revises procedures for ballot preparation, absentee ballot handling, recanvasses, and voter registration data disclosure, and clarifies rules for candidate certifications and nominations for minor parties. Finally, it exempts ballots from Freedom of Information Act disclosure, except for recanvass or audit purposes.

https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00298&which_year=2026