Connecticut’s public colleges and universities turned to tuition hikes more than any other state between 2014 and 2015 to cover their budget deficits, according to a report released this week by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
Session Notes
Posted inPolitics
Geraldo Reyes Jr. declared winner in Waterbury special election
Geraldo Reyes, Jr., was declared the winner Wednesday of a special election to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Rep. Victor Cuevas, D-Waterbury, the secretary of the state’s office said.
Posted inEducation
CT’s Senate’s only Hispanic would have voted ‘no’ on aid to undocumented students
The state Senate’s only Hispanic member missed a vote Wedensday night on a bill that would make undocumented students eligible for a pool of college financial aid money. The bill passed 21-13 and was sent to the House, but Sen. Art Linares now says he would have voted against it.
Posted inHealth
Session Notes: House passes new water fluoridation standard
Water fluoridation has strong support from public health officials and dentists, but also frequently sparks intense opposition from those who believe it should not be added to public water supplies. Nonetheless, the bill cleared the House by a wide margin after little debate.
Posted inNews
Session Notes: Legalizing pot gets its hearing
It’s a steep climb for proponents of legalized marijuana in Connecticut. The legislature’s Judiciary Committee killed a legalization bill without even holding a public hearing this year, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy appears unalterably opposed. But the issue cleared one threshold Tuesday: It was the subject of an informational hearing.
Posted inPolitics
Session Notes: Using gay rights for economic development
Can strong gay rights laws be an economic development tool? A group of state legislators in Connecticut is trying to find out with a letter asking the Bank of America to consider relocating from Charlotte, N.C.
Posted inEducation
Union steps up lobbying despite movement on teacher evaluation
Despite indications the state will delay linking student test scores to teacher evaluations for another year and will scale back how heavily those scores must be weighed, the state’s largest teachers’ union is stepping up its lobbying efforts.
Posted inHealth
Session Notes: Governor names certificate of need task force
The task force, created by a February executive order, will review the state’s certificate of need process, which governs whether hospitals, nursing homes, residential care facilities and certain physician organizations can open certain facilities, acquire certain equipment, change ownership or eliminate services.
Posted inJustice
Session Notes: See what Malloy saw in a German prison
CBS’s 60 Minutes takes viewers Sunday on the same tour of Germany’s prison system that inspired Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his correction commissioner, Scott Semple, to try a different way to treat younger defendants and inmates.
Posted inEducation
Session notes: Leader of CT higher education agency retiring
Jane Ciarleglio, the longtime leader of the state agency that oversees state financial aid and for-profit colleges, is retiring Friday.
Posted inNews
Session Notes: Malloy hits N.C. on anti-LGBT law
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced an executive order Thursday banning official state travel to North Carolina, joining a growing list of public officials and corporations to condemn that state’s passage of a law hostile to the gay and transgender communities.
Posted inEducation
Board of Regents gives final okay to tuition hikes
The Board of Regents for Higher Education approved 3.5 to 5 percent tuition hikes for the 17 schools in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system with only one dissenting vote.
Posted inEducation
Session Notes: Meeting at the education department? B.Y.O.R.
Need a quick pick-me-up to get through a long meeting at the Connecticut State Department of Education? You’ll need to bring your own coffee.
Posted inEducation
Session notes: Tuition hikes net mixed reactions from legislators
Proposed tuition and fee increases of $480 for the four regional public universities and $141 for the 12 community colleges have been called “fair” by the college president, “disturbing” by a Republican legislator and “inevitable” by the House chair of the Higher Education Committee.
Posted inEducation
Session notes: School security standards updated
School security safety standards created after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School have been updated by state officials to ensure that experts provide feedback on fire and safety drills each year and that plans are in place for recovery from an emergency.