Connecticut State Department of Education
Increasing Educator Diversity (IED) Policy Oversight Council
Overview
Increasing Educator Diversity (IED) Policy Oversight Council (formerly Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council)
Under Public Act 23-167 (Sec. 12) There is established [a Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council] an Increasing Educator Diversity Policy Oversight Council within the Department of Education. The council shall consist of (1) the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee, (2) two representatives from the Task Force to Diversify the Educator Workforce, established pursuant to section 10-156aa, (3) one representative from each of the exclusive bargaining units for certified employees, chosen pursuant to section 10-153b, (4) the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, or the president's designee, and (5) a representative from an alternate route to certification program, appointed by the Commissioner of Education.
The council shall hold quarterly meetings and advise, at least quarterly, the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee, on ways to (A) encourage [minority] diverse students in middle and secondary school [students] to attend institutions of higher education and enter teacher preparation programs, (B) recruit [minority] diverse students attending institutions of higher education to enroll in teacher preparation programs and pursue teaching careers, (C) recruit and retain [minority teachers] diverse educators in Connecticut schools, (D) recruit [minority teachers] diverse educators from other states to teach in Connecticut schools, and (E) recruit [minority] diverse professionals in other fields to enter teaching. The council shall report, annually, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the recommendations given to the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, pursuant to the provisions of this section, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education. For purposes of this section, ["minority"] "diverse" means individuals whose race is defined as other than white, or whose ethnicity is defined as Hispanic or Latino by the federal Office of Management and Budget for use by the Bureau of Census of the United States Department of Commerce.
Under (Sec. 13) Not later than January 1, 2019, the Department of Education, in consultation with the [Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council] Increasing Educator Diversity Policy Oversight Council, established pursuant to section 10-156bb, as amended by this act, shall (1) identify relevant research and successful practices to enhance [minority teacher] recruitment of diverse educators throughout the state, (2) identify and establish public, private and philanthropic partnerships to increase [minority teacher] recruitment of diverse educators, (3) utilize, monitor and evaluate innovative methods to attract [minority] diverse educator candidates to the teaching profession, particularly in subject areas in which a teacher shortage exists, as determined by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to section 10-8b, (4) modernize the process for educators to obtain educator certification under this chapter by eliminating obstacles to certification to increase competitiveness with other states, (5) identify and utilize high-quality, affordable and bias-free educator assessments, (6) adopt cut scores for educator assessments, that do not exceed the multistate cut scores, to increase competitiveness with surrounding states, (7) support new and existing educator preparation programs that commit to enrolling greater numbers of [minority teacher] diverse educator candidates in a manner that supports interstate reciprocity, (8) monitor, advise and support, and intervene in when necessary, local and regional boards of education's efforts to prioritize [minority teacher] recruitment of diverse educators and develop innovative strategies to attract and retain [minority teachers] diverse educators within their districts, (9) (A) on and after July 1, 2019, include a question regarding the demographic data of applicants for positions requiring educator certification in the department's annual hiring survey distributed to local and regional boards of education, and (B) not later than July 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on the applicant demographic data collected pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision to the Task Force to Diversify the Educator Workforce, established pursuant to section 10-156aa, and to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, and (10) not later than July 1, 2022, develop and make available, in consultation with the State Education Resource Center, a video training module for school district personnel involved in or responsible for hiring educators relating to implicit bias and anti-bias in the hiring process.