WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education has come to the aid of hundreds of Ridley-Lowell Business & Technical Institute students whose education came to an abrupt end last week when the school shut down without warning. The help includes allowing students file claims to have their student loans discharged.
Betsy DeVos
Posted inEducation
CT schools chief takes aim at Trump safety proposals
WASHINGTON — Connecticut Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell on Tuesday helped congressional Democrats push back against President Donald Trump’s school safety initiatives, including proposals to arm teachers and review Obama-era policies that encouraged educators to consider alternatives to detention and expulsion.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Sandy Hook parents tell Trump there’s no need to arm teachers
WASHINGTON — The parents of two children who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook school shooting told President Donald Trump the nation does not need to arm teachers, but should prevent mass shootings by training teachers to respond when a child displays certain signs of trouble. “Sandy Hook Promise has created something that works,” said Mark Barden, holding up a photo of his slain 6-year-old son Daniel.
Posted inEducation
CT joins suit against DeVos’ delay of rule protecting student borrowers
WASHINGTON — Connecticut joined 17 other states and the District of Columbia Thursday to sue the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos for delaying implementation of a new regulation aimed at protecting student borrowers. It was to become effective on July 1.
Posted inEducation
East Hartford responds to DeVos’s criticism: ‘She’s wrong’
Updated at 4:16 p.m.
With one voice Tuesday morning, about 200 East Hartford teachers, students and parents repudiated U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ grim appraisal of their public school system. As school buses dropped off students behind them, the protesters chanted in unison: “DeVos is wrong! East Hartford strong!”
Posted inEducation, Politics
Senate kills school accountability rule
WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday voted to overturn a key regulation that places tougher accountability measures on schools — measures backed by civil rights groups and those who advocate for disabled children. Sen. Chris Murphy said the move to kill the regulation was a GOP rejection “of a bipartisan rule that assured that civil rights are protected.”
Posted inJustice
Malloy rebukes Trump on rollback of transgender protections
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order Thursday reassuring transgender students of the protections afforded them under state law, his second action in as many days to limit the reach in Connecticut of policies enacted by the administration of President Trump. The action comes as Malloy departs for meetings in Washington, including a social for governors with the president and first lady.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Worried Betsy DeVos could ‘destroy’ public education? Here’s what you should know
Betsy DeVos earned more opposition than any of President Trump’s cabinet picks — and any nominee for education secretary in history. Now that DeVos has been confirmed, here’s what you should read to start getting a handle on the possibilities.
Posted inEducation, Politics
With Pence casting historic vote, DeVos is confirmed by Senate
Updated at 4:45 p.m.
WASHINGTON — With the help of Vice President Mike Pence, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to head the U.S. Department of Education. As a lightning rod candidate, DeVos’s confirmation provoked mixed reactions from school groups in Connecticut. .
Posted inEducation, Politics
Malloy: ‘Serious concerns’ about DeVos
WASHINGTON — Gov. Dannel Malloy on Wednesday joined the group of Democrats panning Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trumps’s choice to head the U.S. Department of Education. He said her testimony at a confirmation hearing “causes me to have serious concerns.”
Posted inEducation, Politics
Murphy presses DeVos on guns in schools
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chris Murphy asked Betsy DeVos, President- elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Department of Education, if she believed guns belonged in or around schools. “I believe that’s best left to the locales and states,” she answered.
Posted inPolitics
List of Trump nominees opposed by Blumenthal, Murphy grows
Connecticut’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, said Tuesday they will attend the inauguration Friday of Donald J. Trump as an endorsement of the peaceful transfer of power, even as they plan to fight many of the Republican president-elect’s policies and cabinet choices.