State Representative Mike Molgano (R- Stamford) recently joined the majority of his colleagues in the legislature to support the Governor’s proposed education reform bill. Finally, after months of negotiations and debate, Molgano joined Governor Malloy and legislators to welcome the legislation into law on Tuesday, May 15th.
S.B. 458 took the initial steps toward improving low-performing schools through increased funding, educator evaluations, and a new focus on both reading and early childhood programs.
“This legislation signifies our legislative and executive branches finally coming together to combat our state’s achievement gap – which is currently the largest in the nation,” said Molgano. “This bill provides a great framework for improving literacy rates in our children’s early education. One initiative I am particularly proud of is the increased access to 1,000 new pre-school slots for our low-income communities. This provides our families with the opportunity to give their children access to high-quality early education.”
While Rep. Molgano was pleased with the legislation, he emphasized the importance of maintaining fair and efficient collaboration between teachers and the State Department of Education.
“I will keep working with my colleagues in the legislature to ensure that our teachers are working side-by-side with the State Department and local boards of education. Our educators deserve to have an equal voice while these new reforms are taking shape in our state.”
Reforms in the Education Bill Include:
o Authorizing State interventions and enabling the supports necessary to turn around Connecticut’s lowest performing schools and districts via a newly created Commissioners Network.
o Expanding the availability of high-quality school models by increasing funding to traditional schools, magnets, and charters.
o Ensuring that schools employ the best teachers and principals by establishing a fair and equitable evaluation system that values and authentically measures teaching skill and effectiveness.
o Establishing accountability programs to ensure that state funds are being best utilized and providing necessary and targeted improvements.
