(a) Any local or regional board of education that has a demonstrated shortage of certified teachers in those fields designated by the State Board of Education or that elects to expand the academic offerings to students in the areas identified by the Labor Commissioner and the Office of Workforce Competitiveness pursuant to the provisions of section 4-124w may solicit and accept qualified private sector specialists, not necessarily certified to teach, whose services to teach in shortage areas have been donated by business firms, as defined in section 12-631. Private sector specialists who donate their services may be permitted to offer instruction in existing or specially designed curricula, provided no private sector specialist shall be permitted to work more than one-half of the maximum classroom hours of a full-time certified teacher, and provided further no private sector specialist teaching in an area identified by the Labor Commissioner and the Office of Workforce Competitiveness pursuant to section 4-124w shall have sole responsibility for a classroom. No certified teacher may be terminated, transferred or reassigned due to the utilization of any private sector specialist. Local or regional boards of education shall annually review the need for private sector specialists and shall not renew or place a private sector specialist if certified teachers are available.
(b) No employer-employee relationship shall be deemed to exist between any local or regional board of education and a private sector specialist whose services are donated pursuant to this section. No local or regional board of education shall expend any funds for compensation or benefits in lieu of compensation when accepting the donation of services from a private sector specialist.
(c) The provisions of section 10-235 shall apply to any private sector specialist who donates services pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(P.A. 84-448, S. 2, 5; P.A. 03-66, S. 1; P.A. 13-247, S. 183.)
History: P.A. 03-66 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change, to add provision allowing local and regional boards of education to expand academic offerings in identified workforce shortage areas by permitting boards to hire qualified private sector specialists to teach in such shortage areas, and to eliminate provision re notice by Department of Education, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to Sec. 10a-163, effective July 1, 2013.