Gov. Dannel P. Malloy tapped a former Obama administration official Thursday as commissioner of the Office of Early Childhood, naming David Wilkinson to oversee a relatively new state agency that has been squeezed by shifting federal priorities and Connecticut’s chronic budget pressures.
Early Childhood Education
Posted inEducation
Growing wait list for child care subsidies taking its toll
Thousands of low-income families hoping to receive child care subsidies are stuck in limbo as a wait list for the program swells. The number could grow to 5,000 families by this summer, advocates say.
Posted inEducation
DeVos, reportedly opposed to rolling back transgender protections, defends the changes
If Education Secretary Betsy DeVos opposed rolling back protections for transgender students behind the scenes, she wasn’t letting it show last week when she spoke to many of the country’s staunchest conservatives.
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
DeVos’ code words for creationism offshoot raise concerns about ‘junk science’
Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s pick for education secretary, says she supports science teaching that “allows students to exercise critical thinking.” This seemingly innocuous statement has raised alarms among science education advocates, and buoyed the hopes of conservative Christian groups that, if confirmed, DeVos may use the U.S. Department of Education to undermine the teaching of evolution in public schools.
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.
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Troubled schools on trial: Who’s in charge? State vs. local control
Introducing bold reforms or enforcing standards to aid struggling students in poor districts have largely stalled at the state Capitol or the State Department of Education amid conflict over policy, local control or whether resources are adequate. Fourth of seven stories.
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Child care subsidies limited to existing recipients or those on welfare
A program that subsidizes child care so low-income parents can work or teen parents can finish high school will soon stop enrolling new children unless their families are receiving welfare benefits.
Posted inEducation
State says bailout unlikely for Care4Kids child care subsidies
“I don’t have any money to bail them out,” said Benjamin Barnes, the secretary of the governor’s Office of Policy and Management.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money
State agencies offer more painful possibilities for budget cuts
State agencies have offered the governor’s budget office options as it prepares a 2017-18 state budget proposal. Among those just made public: Some DMV offices could close. Housing subsidies for those with AIDS could be cut. And hundreds more state jobs could be eliminated by privatizing services for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
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For dyslexia, politics takes the day off in Hartford
The softer side of Connecticut politics was on display Monday in Hartford as Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, called Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, an ally and friend, and Fasano praised Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as a role model. Their common ground was bipartisan efforts to address learning dyslexia.
Posted inEducation
Average cost of child care in CT as much as in-state tuition
WASHINGTON — Child care in Connecticut is of good quality and widely available, but it can easily cost more than in-state college tuition. A report released this week by Washington, D.C., think tank New America, determined the average cost of in-home, or “nanny care” in Connecticut was $31,162 a year and the average cost of a day care center was $11,456 per child per year.
Posted inEducation, Money
Ruling may end ‘hold harmless’ principle in CT budget politics
Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher’s ruling Wednesday may lead to a major redistribution of state education aid.
Posted inEducation
Text of Judge Moukawsher’s ruling
Here is the entire text of Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s ruling on the landmark school funding case.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Early Childhood Commissioner Myra Jones-Taylor to step down
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Friday that Myra Jones-Taylor, commissioner of the state Office of Early Childhood, will step down from her position effective Sept. 1. She is leaving to pursue “new professional opportunities,” the governor’s office said.