(a) After the Commissioner of Education has notified in writing a regional board of education and the chief executive officer of each town within a regional school district that representation on the regional board of education is not consistent with federal constitutional standards, the commissioner shall keep informed of and assist in the progress toward establishment of a plan of representation. If the commissioner determines that significant progress is not being made, such as the refusal of the legislative body of a town to appoint members to a regional school reapportionment committee, the refusal of a regional school reapportionment committee to submit a plan of representation which has the approval of the State Board of Education, the rejection of a plan by the voters of any participating town within a regional school district, or any other block in the progress toward establishing a plan of representation, the commissioner shall notify in writing the regional board of education, the regional school reapportionment committee, if one has been appointed, and the chief executive officer of each participating town that unless significant progress toward the establishment of a plan of representation is made within thirty days of the date of such notice, the regional board of education shall be required to act only by weighted vote. If at the end of said thirty day period, the commissioner determines that significant progress has not been made toward the establishment of a plan of representation, the commissioner shall notify the regional board in writing that after ten days from said notice, the regional board shall act only by weighted vote and after said specified date, the regional board shall be authorized or empowered to act only by weighted vote.

(b) As herein used in subsection (a) of section 10-46 and sections 10-63j to 10-63t, inclusive, “weighted vote” means that the voting power on the regional board shall be distributed among the members in such a manner that each member shall have a weight attached to such member's vote, or shall be entitled to cast a number of votes, equal to the proportion, within permissible deviant limits consistent with federal constitutional standards, that the population of such member's town bears to the total population of the entire school district, with members on the board from each town dividing the weight or the number of votes accorded to that town equally among them.

(c) If within three months after the Commissioner of Education has specified the date after which the regional board can act only by weighted vote, a plan of representation has not been established for the regional school district, the State Board of Education shall establish a plan of representation for that regional school district and file it with the town clerk of each participating town. Said plan shall have the full force of law and shall remain in effect until a plan of representation has been adopted by the towns within the regional school district in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-46 and sections 10-63j to 10-63t, inclusive.

(P.A. 75-644, S. 10, 14; P.A. 77-614, S. 302, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 45; 78-303, S. 85, 136; P.A. 93-353, S. 5, 52; P.A. 97-247, S. 11, 27.)

History: P.A. 77-614 and P.A. 78-303 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of the state board of education, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 substituted Sec. 10-63t for repealed Sec. 10-63u and made technical changes; P.A. 93-353 amended Subsec. (c) to change the authority for setting the date after which the regional board can only act by weighted vote from the state board to the commissioner, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 97-247 amended Subsec. (b) to delete provision requiring regulations to implement the manner of the weighted vote, effective July 1, 1997.