Substitute Bill No. 363 proposes revisions to the education statutes, with most changes taking effect on July 1, 2024. The bill mandates the inclusion of various subjects in the public school curriculum, such as recycling and renewable energy, and emphasizes arts, career education, consumer education, personal financial management, health and safety, language arts, mathematics, physical education, science with climate change curriculum, and social studies with a focus on cultural and historical studies. It allows for the exemption of deaf or hard of hearing students from world language requirements upon written parental request. The bill also requires local and regional boards of education to annually confirm their compliance with the instructional program requirements to the State Board of Education, which in turn is responsible for providing curriculum materials and support for developing instructional programs on topics like Holocaust and genocide education, African-American and black studies, Puerto Rican and Latino studies, Native American studies, financial literacy, CPR and defibrillator training, labor history, climate change, and recycling and renewable energy. The bill includes minor deletions, such as the removal of the word "the" before the list of subjects and a reference change for Asian American and Pacific Islander studies.

Additionally, the bill modifies professional development requirements for school nurses and nurse practitioners, including training on individualized education programs and Section 504 plans, and orientation to school health services. It changes the deadline for boards of education to submit financial and statistical returns to the Commissioner of Education from December to January thirty-first of the following year and moves the date for the Department of Education to publish data on its website from February 15, 2024, to March 15, 2025. The bill also outlines penalties for late submissions and allows for waivers. Furthermore, it changes the deadline for the Department of Education to publish financial comparison data to March 15, starting in 2025, and provides a guide with definitions for expenditure and funding source categories. It specifies conditions under which expenditures for special education services provided by private entities will be paid, including detailed program descriptions and cost calculations. The bill mandates the Commissioner of Education to allocate funds to the State Education Resource Center for services to educational entities and changes the use of the edTPA assessment. It also requires new school playgrounds to adhere to universal design principles and restructures the Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success, detailing the responsibilities of its director and the composition of the Reading Leadership Implementation Council.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 10-357e
ED Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference: 10-357e