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Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together
13. Staffing and Personnel
Certification and Personnel Planning
The CSDE has maintained the timely processing of applications for certification during the
pandemic. The CSDE will continue to provide support to LEAs to hire appropriately certified
educators for the 2020–21 school year to help support equitable access to highly qualified
educators.
The employment of appropriately certified, authorized and/or permitted educators remains
crucial to the success of all students. To assist this goal, all LEA-based forms have been adopted
to accommodate the timely processing of temporary authorizations and requests including
Durational Shortage Area Permits (DSAPs), 90-Day Initial Certificates, Charter School Educator
Permits (CSEPs), Long Term Substitute Authorizations, Emergency Coaching Certificates
and Resident Educator Certificates. For additional information about processing these forms
remotely, please see the following CSDE educator certification newsletter.
Requirements
• Prepare with school human resources and board counsel to comply with legal and
regulatory requirements related to personnel, including but not limited to the EEOC
guidance related to the ADA and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Assess how to engage a full roster of staff, including potential substitute plan, and
whether stipends or changes in substitute pay is required to support the needs of the
school.
Guidance
• Engage certified and uncertified staff in surveying the experience from the Spring
of 2020 during the period of school disruption, and request implementable ideas to
support the LEA’s approach the fall 2020 reopening.
• Assess if schools will require increased certified staff, additional support staff, or new
positions related to care and cleaning of facilities.
• Utilize the EdSight Active Endorsement Search Tool to access Connecticut Educator
Certification data for strategic recruitment and hiring information to maximize student
access to qualified educators. For additional information, please see the EdSight
Secure FAQ.
• Plan to support staff health. Implement flexible sick leave policies and practices that
enable staff to stay home when sick, have been exposed, or are caring for the sick.
• Engage with staff labor representatives and consider whether Memoranda of
Understanding (MOUs) are appropriate or necessary to define the role for different
staff units in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Educator Evaluation and Support Plans
The CSDE, in consultation with stakeholders, will be issuing future guidance related to
Educator Evaluation and Support Plans for the 2020–2021 school year.