2012: The Year of Education Reform? State Representative Gail Lavielle 143 rd district Norwalk PTO Council January 23, 2012

Where We Are Today Country’s largest achievement gap Persistent state budget concerns Complex funding system with many real and perceived inequities

The Process December: Governor’s guidelines January – early February –Various groups submitting legislative agendas –Task force reports –Legislative proposals from Education Commissioner Pryor and from legislators February 8: Opening Day of session, governor’s proposals February – March: Education Committee deliberations April – May: Committee referrals and House and Senate floor votes

Executive branch: governor, Commissioner and SDE Legislators State Board of Education Task forces: ECS, vo-tech schools, achievement gap Education professionals: CAPSS, unions Advocacy and professional groups: Council for Education Reform, ConnCAN, CBIA, CCM, etc. Sources of Ideas & Proposals

Governor’s Guidelines Enhance access to high-quality early education opportunities Authorize intensive interventions & enable the supports necessary to turn around lowest-performing schools & districts Expand availability of high-quality school models, including traditional schools, magnets, charters, etc. Unleash innovation by removing red tape and barriers, especially in high- performing schools & districts Ensure the very best teachers and principals, working in a fair system that values their skill & effectiveness over seniority & tenure Deliver more resources, targeted to districts with the greatest need – provided they embrace key reforms that position students for success

Areas of Common Ground Pre-school & kindergarten Community approach Rigorous training, recruiting, and evaluation of teachers and administrators, and effective development Need for longitudinal assessment data Better coordination of K-12 with higher education system Preserving and enhancing choice (school, schedule, curriculum) Reform of funding system Revising the roles of SDE, SBE Reviewing mandates on high-performing schools Chart of accounts

Among the Major Questions Tenure and dismissal procedures Allocation of state funds Need for additional funds Charter school funding

ECS Task Force Interim Recommendations Increase ECS funding, establish predictability, use adequate data Fund performance incentives tied to student achievement, district & school accountability, and transparency in spending Equitable funding for magnet schools Fair funding for choice programs More access to pre-school and kindergarten Fairer approach to funding programs for special needs, ELL, & gifted students

Bullying Law: 2011 Session Expanded bullying definition: enumerated classes, cyberbullying Increased school responsibility: bullying specialist, all employees must report Safe school climate plans: reporting deadlines, no retaliation, police reporting Training: Annual for most employees and first-year teachers, immunity for good faith reporting Biennial assessment, SDE resources, safe school climate teams, published plans this month

Norwalk ECS inequity –Relatively high property values (town wealth) –Otherwise similar to larger urban environments Top performer: trend lines exceeding the state’s Common Core Standards preparation Community involvement: Norwalk ACTS

I Welcome Your Input Representative Gail Lavielle Legislative Office Building Room 4200 Hartford, CT Phone: Fax: Web: