Substitute House Bill No. 7011 seeks to amend Connecticut's laws regarding student state-wide assessments by repealing Section 10-14n and introducing new provisions effective July 1, 2025. The bill outlines that mastery examinations will be administered to students in grades three to eight starting in the 2025-26 school year, with specific assessments for grades four, six, and eight beginning in the 2026-27 school year. It also maintains science assessments for students in grades five, eight, and eleven, and requires eleventh graders to take a nationally recognized college readiness assessment. Notably, the bill eliminates the annual mastery exam requirement for grades three to eight, focusing instead on specific grades.

Additionally, the bill mandates that the Department of Education notify local boards of education of student scores by August 15 each year, with a requirement for these boards to inform parents or guardians by October 1. It includes provisions to ensure that the scores of multilingual learners enrolled for less than twenty months do not impact the accountability index of schools. The bill also makes technical adjustments, such as inserting the term "required subjects" to clarify the subjects for which mastery exams are administered. Importantly, the legislation does not impose any fiscal impact on the state or municipalities, as it aligns with federal requirements for standardized assessments necessary for Title I funding.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 10-14n
ED Joint Favorable Substitute: 10-14n
File No. 721: 10-14n