As part of Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell’s “leadership strategies,” designed to urge superintendents to “encourage” parents to have their children take the SBAC test rather than to opt out, the commissioner called in superintendents from public school districts across the state to the department’s Hartford headquarters for a “training session” on how effectively to communicate with parents.
Parents’ rights group: Education officials’ behavior rude and appalling
Posted inNews
Schaghticoke group planning bid for federal recognition – and a casino
WASHINGTON – The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe of Kent, one of two rival groups in Connecticut with the Schaghticoke name, is preparing to make a bid for federal recognition, according to a Bureau of Indian Affairs official and a tribal consultant. Recognition would open the door to federal aid and the right to open a casino on tribal land.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy says layoffs, facility closings are unavoidable
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy jousted Wednesday night with state employees angry over his plans to shrink the state workforce and citizens frightened of what a smaller government will mean for disabled relatives dependent on state services. The governor offered little solace to either at his fourth town hall forum of the year.
Posted inHealth
For help with opioid addiction, CT offers one number to call
In an effort to better connect people with help for opioid addiction, the state has made available a single phone number residents can call to be connected with a local substance abuse walk-in assessment center.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy to businesses: Tell lawmakers to accept budget cuts
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy warned business leaders Wednesday that Connecticut faces five to six more years of “economic adjustment” and urged them to help convince unwilling legislators to support difficult state budget cuts.
Posted inEducation
Teachers expected to get 1-year pass on linking ratings to tests
Student test scores will not be required to be factored in teacher evaluations next school year as planned, members of the state panel that oversees the teacher rating system voted Wednesday. The State Board of Education is expected to vote on this one-year delay at its April 6 meeting, and typically agrees with its advisory panel.
Posted inNews
Where drug abusers overdose in Connecticut
Connecticut’s cities by far have the greatest number of drug-overdose deaths, but data show that people in the state’s rural towns can be statistically more likely to die. Third of four stories.
Posted inPolitics
Newtown Alliance slams Sanders for stance on gun-maker liability
WASHINGTON — The Newtown Alliance, a group created after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings to promote gun control, said it is “outraged” that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders doesn’t think gun manufacturers should be liable for harm caused by their firearms.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Why isn’t media asking presidential candidates about education?
It is difficult to believe as a life-long educator that the media has yet to ask any of the presidential candidates about their views on K-12 public education. It is a well known fact the public education in Connecticut and across the nation has suffered immensely as an outgrowth of the policies of the George W. Bush administration with its No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program. Likewise, public education continued its downward spiral as a result of President Barack Obama’s appointment of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who ushered in the disastrous Race to the Top along with the Common Core State Standards.
Posted inNews
Partisan split over state role in private-sector retirement
The investment industry and Senate Republicans lined up Tuesday against a Democratic proposal to create a state-sponsored retirement savings program for the 600,000 private-sector workers in Connecticut who have no access to a payroll savings plan.
Posted inEducation
Compromise would increase UConn Foundation transparency
State legislators have reached a compromise they hope will ease a dispute over transparency at the University of Connecticut Foundation. The foundation still would not be subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, however.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Malloy hints at layoffs before summer
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signaled an intention Tuesday to lay off state employees in the current fiscal year, saying the workforce must shrink substantially, and that the process must begin before the fiscal year ends on June 30. Malloy spoke to reporters after a meeting with legislative leaders, where he pressed them to offer their own cost-cutting ideas.
Posted inNews
Who is dying in Connecticut’s opioid overdose crisis
Questions have been raised about whether the attention paid to the rise in opioid deaths is related to its impact on whites. In Connecticut, that racial disparity is real and growing. Second of four stories.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Stop cable TV’s big lie from derailing CT-N’s State Civic Network
CT-N has just proposed a new State Civic Network with up to ten channels of coverage via the web. The technology would allow viewers to do a key-word search of archives, wading through hours of coverage to find exactly what matters to them. Citizens (and media) could lift video clips at no charge. And all this would cost cable subscribers just 40 cents a month.
Posted inPolitics
A legislative mystery: Who changed a watchdog’s bill?
The State Elections Enforcement Commission was surprised Monday to find a provision added to campaign finance legislation that, arguably at least, might undermine the commission in its litigation against the Connecticut Democratic Party. One reason for the surprise was that the unwanted language appeared in a bill proposed by the commission itself.