While most of the sound and fury during this legislative session has centered on the state’s budget deficit, there are crucial education issues that cry out for attention. For example, Connecticut’s current statutes related to teacher employment and evaluation policies are out of date. They are unfair to students and our best teachers and give […]
June 1, 2011 @ 12:00 am
Posted inEducation
Teacher evaluation policies must reflect student needs
While most of the sound and fury during this legislative session has centered on the state’s budget deficit, there are crucial education issues that cry out for attention. For example, Connecticut’s current statutes related to teacher employment and evaluation policies are out of date. They are unfair to students and our best teachers and give […]
Posted inNews
Malloy’s UConn health center plan passes first hurdle in Senate
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s $864 million proposal to renovate and expand the UConn Health Center in Farmington passed the state Senate Wednesday, 15 days after it was first announced. Supporters of the bill cast the proposal as an urgently needed economic development plan that would create thousands of jobs while making the state a leader […]
Posted inNews
Election cops take the biggest hit in agency consolidation
Just a week after the Malloy Administration effortlessly filled a $400-million gap in the biennial budget, the state’s watchdog agencies were slashed Wednesday in a consolidation that saves a relatively modest $3.3 million in the next two years. Senate Democrats gave final legislative approval Wednesday to a budget bill that cuts the staffs of the […]
Posted inNews
Despite enrollment growth at charter schools, state still far behind
The State Board of Education Wedneday approved expanding the number of students Connecticut’s charter schools can enroll, but a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education ranks Connecticut well bellow the national average in the percentage of public school students that attend charters. It’s not a lack of demand: The State Department of Education […]
Posted inNews
DeLauro watching GOP reverse course of subcommittee she headed
WASHINGTON–Rep. Rosa DeLauro shook her head in quiet disbelief, as the House Appropriations Committee approved a provision that, in her view, amounted to a sneak attack on the Food and Drug Administration. Moments before, DeLauro had argued vehemently against the amendment, which requires the FDA to use so-called “hard science” in issuing new regulations. She […]
Posted inNews
Vo-tech schools still awaiting answers on equipment funding
State Board of Education members said Wednesday it would take $92 million to get the vocational-technical schools the equipment and building repairs needed to bring the schools into the 21st Century–but in a challenging budget year, the prospects for state funding remain uncertain. “The ability to secure capital funding has become even more challenging,” Pat […]
Posted inNews
Legislature hopes to expand school breakfasts for low-income students
With Connecticut ranking near the bottom among states in providing breakfast to low-income students, lawmakers are holding out a $600,000 carrot to entice districts to launch or maintain their breakfast programs. “School districts are really feeling the pinch,” said Beth Gankofskie, director of food services at Mansfield Public Schools, which serves about 600 students breakfast […]
Posted inEducation
House votes to delay education reforms
The State House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on a bill that delays the package of school reforms passed last year in the state’s bid to capture federal Race to the Top money. The legislature’s budget office estimates the increased graduation requirements alone would cost up to $29 million to hire the additional teachers needed for […]
Posted inEducation
Education changes headed for Malloy’s signature
The Senate has sent a bill to the governor’s desk that allows some towns to cut education funding when enrollment declines, reduces the state’s share of the cost of building new schools, merges several of the state’s public colleges and universities into one system and increases funding for urban students to attend surburban schools. The measure reflects most of […]
Posted inHealth
House passes bill requiring approval to close hospital programs
The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would require hospitals to get state approval before eliminating inpatient or outpatient services. The bill, which passed 93 to 53 and now goes to the Senate, was inspired by the closure of the birthing center at Rockville General Hospital last year. Until last year, hospitals seeking to […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Social service providers cheer state budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget might not have won him points in polls, but it did get administration officials several rounds of applause and more than a few “thank yous” from nonprofit social service providers and their clients Wednesday morning. They praised the administration and legislative leaders for protecting the safety net. Office of Policy […]
Posted inUncategorized
Greenhouse gas debates continue in state houses
Gov. Chris Christie’s announcement last week that New Jersey would leave the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was a major setback for the nation’s only operating cap-and-trade system, Josh Goodman writes at Stateline.org, but it’s only one development in the ongoing debate whether and how states should fight global warming. Though Christie’s decision pleased conservatives, his […]
Posted inUncategorized
Rep. Murphy says Navy should allow chaplains to perform same-sex marriages
Rep. Chris Murphy has asked Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to allow military chaplains to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies in Connecticut, as long as it doesn’t violate their personal beliefs. Murphy wrote to Mabus today, after the Navy reversed itself on the issue. In April, the Navy issued guidance that would have allowed the branch’s chaplains […]