House Bill No. 5181, reported favorably by the Committee on Education, proposes a mandate for the Department of Education to conduct a study on public education in Connecticut. The bill requires the department to submit a report on the study's findings to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly that oversees education matters by May 26, 2024. This requirement is to be enacted as a new section in the law, effective immediately upon passage.
The bill is accompanied by a Fiscal Impact Statement from the Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA), which indicates that there will be no state or municipal fiscal impact. The OFA expects that the State Department of Education can fulfill the requirements of the study using existing resources. The bill analysis by the Office of Legislative Research does not provide an analysis for Special Acts, and the Education Committee has expressed a joint favorable opinion with a vote of 34 in favor and 10 against on March 6, 2024. The bill includes the insertion of "File No. 54" to indicate its file number in the legislative process.