(a)(1) On and after July 1, 2022, the Technical Education and Career System board shall recommend a candidate for superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System to the executive director of the Technical Education and Career System. The executive director may hire or reject any candidate for superintendent recommended by the board. If the executive director rejects a candidate for superintendent, the board shall recommend another candidate for superintendent to the executive director until the executive director hires a candidate for superintendent.

(2) The term of office of the superintendent shall be three years and may be extended by the executive director, after consultation with the Technical Education and Career System board regarding such extension, for no more than three years at any one time.

(3) (A) No candidate may be hired as, or assume the duties and responsibilities of, the superintendent until the executive director receives written confirmation from the Commissioner of Education that such candidate is properly certified under chapter 166 or has been granted a waiver of certification by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (c) of § 10-157.

(B) The board may recommend, and the executive director may hire, a candidate who is not properly certified under chapter 166 to serve as acting superintendent for a probationary period not to exceed one school year, provided the executive director receives approval from the Commissioner of Education. During such probationary period such acting superintendent shall assume all duties of the superintendent for the time specified and shall successfully complete a school leadership program, approved by the State Board of Education, offered at a public or private institution of higher education in the state. At the conclusion of such probationary period, the executive director may request the commissioner to grant a waiver of certification for such acting superintendent pursuant to subsection (c) of § 10-157, or a one-time extension of such probationary period, not to exceed one additional school year, if the commissioner determines that the executive director has demonstrated a significant need or hardship for such extension.

(b) (1) The superintendent of the Technical Education and Career System shall be responsible for the operation, supervision and administration of the technical education and career schools and all other matters relating to vocational, technical, technological and postsecondary education in the system. The superintendent, in consultation with the executive director, shall develop and revise, as necessary, administrative policies for the operation of the technical education and career schools and programs offered in the system. Any such administrative policies developed or revised under this subdivision shall not be deemed to be regulations, as defined in § 4-166.

(2) The executive director, in consultation with the board, shall evaluate, at least annually, the performance of the superintendent in accordance with guidelines and criteria established by the executive director and the board.