Public Act No. 24-41 Summary

• Extends initial educator certificates from 3 years to 10 years for certificates issued on or after July 1, 2025, and extends all prior certificates to 10 years if not expired by that date.

• Eliminates the edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) as a requirement for initial educator certificate issuance and prohibits teacher preparation programs from using it as a program completion requirement as of July 1, 2024.

• Establishes the Connecticut Educator Preparation and Certification Board to modernize educator preparation and certification standards, with annual reporting requirements and authority shared with the State Board of Education.

• Expands mandated reporter requirements to include school employees reporting suspected abuse or trafficking of students educated in public schools and nonpublic schools, with criminal penalties for failure to report and allows preliminary inquiries before reporting.

• Changes terminology from "paraprofessional" to "paraeducator" throughout education statutes and extends family/medical leave benefits to paraeducators employed in educational settings with at least 12 months employment and 950 hours of service.