Sec.10-226e-5. Plans

(a) Any board of education which has received notification from the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 10-226e-3 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies shall submit to the State Board of Education a plan to correct racial imbalance in the school which has been determined to be racially imbalanced. All plans shall be subject to the requirements of this section; provided, however, that any school district so notified, which has a minority student enrollment of fifty percent or more may, in lieu of filing a plan, demonstrate that such racially imbalanced school is a diverse school.

(b) Preparation of the plan.

(1) Upon notification of a determination of racial imbalance, the board of education shall prepare a policy statement addressing racial imbalance in the school district.

(2) The board of education may, in writing, request technical assistance from the Commissioner of Education for the development of a plan. The Commissioner shall, within the limits of available resources, provide such assistance.

(3) The board of education shall conduct a public hearing on its plan prior to submission to the State Board of Education. Adequate notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published and a complete record of such hearing shall be kept.

(4) A plan shall be submitted to the State Board of Education within 120 days following receipt of notification of a determination of racial imbalance, except that a school district may request an extension of time, not to exceed ninety days, if the number of students causing said imbalance in any school is fewer than five.

(c) Content of the plan.

A plan shall include at least the following items:

(1) The board of education policy statement addressing racial imbalance in the school district;

(2) A description of the process the board of education undertook to prepare the plan;

(3) Presentation and analysis of relevant data, including (A) projections of the racial composition of the public schools in the school district for the subsequent five-year period under the proposed plan, (B) analysis of conditions that have caused or are contributing to racial imbalance in the school district, and (C) analysis of student achievement in the cited school as compared to other schools in the district;

(4) The proposed methods for eliminating racial imbalance and for preventing its recurrence in the school district. These methods may include voluntary interdistrict and intradistrict enrollment plans acceptable to the State Board of Education as an alternative to mandatory pupil reassignment, provided any such voluntary enrollment plan addresses methods which will be used to increase student achievement;

(5) Identification of proposed school construction and school closings, if any, and an explanation of any impact on the plan;

(6) Specific proposals for minimizing any disruptive effects of plan implementation;

(7) Provisions for monitoring plan implementation and evaluating plan effectiveness, including procedures for revising and updating the plan, if necessary;

(8) A timetable for completion of each step in the plan and for implementation of the plan as a whole;

(9) Demonstration that school district resources have been equitably allocated among all schools within the district; and

(10) Demonstration that any disparity in student achievement levels among schools is being addressed and a description of the methods being used to decrease the disparity.

(c) Other plan requirements.

(1) Any inconvenience caused by implementation of the plan shall not be borne disproportionately by any single racial minority nor disproportionately by racial minorities as a whole within the school district.

(2) Implementation of the plan shall not result in segregation within schools, or among or within programs. Any substantially disproportionate racial minority representation within school classes and programs shall (A) be justified solely on the basis of educational need and (B) occur less than a majority of the time during the school day with the exception of pupils enrolled in bilingual education.

(3) A plan shall not include reassignment of pupils whose dominant language is other than English and whose proficiency in English is limited if such reassignment is a denial of existing participation in a program of bilingual education.

(4) Upon submission of a plan, a board of education may request exceptions to one or more of the plan requirements pursuant to this section. The State Board of Education (A) may grant such exception when said board finds such exception shall otherwise contribute to the purposes of Sections 10-226a to 10-226e, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes; and (B) shall grant such exception when the plan is in compliance with a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction or federal administrative agency order which addresses the requirements of Sections 10-226a to 10-226e, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes and which addresses the current condition of racial imbalance found in accordance with Section 10-226e-3 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

(Effective April 1, 1980; Amended November 29, 1999)