Sec. 5-177. Credit for out-of-state or foreign service to educational institutions.

      Sec. 5-177. Credit for out-of-state or foreign service to educational institutions. Any person in the unclassified service employed full time by the Board of Trustees of The University of Connecticut, the State Board of Education, the Board of Education and Services for the Blind, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the American School for the Deaf, the Connecticut Institute for the Blind, the Newington Children's Hospital, the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System or the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges, as a teacher or administrator in a position directly involved in educational activities in any state-operated institution or the Board of Governors of Higher Education, who served prior to his employment by the state in a full-time teaching, administrative or research position in an educational institution in or under the authority of a state department of education or a department of education for the blind in the United States approved by the Retirement Commission, or who was employed by such institution but served all or part of such service time in a foreign country, for which service he has received or will receive no retirement benefit or pension, may gain credit for such prior service, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate, by making retirement contributions for each year of such prior service equal to six per cent of his annual rate of compensation when he first became a full-time employee of this state; provided such payment shall be made within one year of his first full-time employment with the state, or before July 1, 1968, whichever is later, but for the Board of Higher Education and Technical Colleges, July 1, 1974. When a person who has gained credit for such prior service retires, not more than one year of such service may be counted for each two years of state service; provided, if such person has purchased more of such service than can be counted, refund on the amount paid on the extra years of service shall be made.

      (1959, P.A. 517; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 26; 435; 1963, P.A. 534; 1967, P.A. 868; P.A. 73-526; P.A. 74-171, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 39, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5; P.A. 85-510, S. 24, 35; P.A. 86-403, S. 10, 132; P.A. 89-260, S. 4, 41; P.A. 91-256, S. 41, 69.)

      History: 1961 acts added employees of state board of education, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Mystic Oral School and American School at Hartford for Deaf to purview of section, included research as well as teaching and administrative positions for which credit could be given, included service in a foreign country and removed limitation that last sentence apply only to those retiring before reaching sixty-five and "restated" state employees retirement act "in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form"; 1963 act added employees of board of education and services for the blind, gave credit for service to other such boards and increased the period during which payment could be made by present employees from July 1, 1962, to July 1, 1964; 1967 act included employees of state and community colleges and certified teachers in state-operated institutions under provisions of section and changed date for payment from July 1, 1964 to July 1, 1968; P.A. 73-526 included employees of commission for higher education and provided separate deadline for payments to gain credit; P.A. 74-171 included employees of technical colleges and made deadline same as for commission employees, i.e. July 1, 1974; P.A. 77-573 substituted board of higher education for commission for higher education; P.A. 82-218 replaced board of higher education with board of governors and "state colleges" with "Connecticut State University", pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 84-241 added "of higher education" to board of governors title; P.A. 85-510 included any person in the unclassified service employed full time by the Connecticut Institute for the Blind or the Newington Children's Hospital or as an administrator in a position directly involved in educational activities in any state-operated institution, and deleted requirement that teachers in state-operated institutions be "certified" for purposes of this section; P.A. 86-403 made technical changes; P.A. 89-260 provided that for constituent units of the state system of higher education the employer is the board of trustees of the unit rather than the unit itself, substituted the community-technical colleges for the community and state technical colleges, deleted obsolete reference to the Mystic Oral School and made a technical change; P.A. 91-256 made a technical change.

      The legislature, by passage of this statute, determined that the state owes more to those who previously gave it service than to others. Statute has rational basis and does not violate equal protection clause of either federal or state constitutions. 1 CA 454.