It’s been a banner week for education priorities at the state legislature, with many bills and resolutions moving closer to being adopted.
Key among these is SB 381, which includes a COVID credit for teachers, enhanced starting salaries, just cause provisions, restoring good faith to the DCF mandated reporting process, and much more.
“We must continue to push this bill and others that advance teachers’ priorities forward in order to address the teacher shortage and ensure our students receive the best education possible,” said CEA President Kate Dias.
The bill was voted out of the legislature’s Education Committee and next moves to Appropriations. Watch your inbox for CEA Action Alerts letting you know which legislators to contact to urge their support for funding this important bill.
Other bills passed out of the Education Committee include HB 5436, which takes steps toward streamlining the teacher certification process in a way that removes unnecessary hurdles without compromising on quality certification standards; HB 5417, which creates a process that protects against arbitrary book bans in public school libraries; and SB 363, which prohibits edTPA scores from being used to deny completion of teacher prep programs.
On Tuesday, the Labor Committee raised HJ 215, a resolution urging Congress to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), two outdated federal laws that prevent teachers from accessing Social Security benefits they are entitled to. The resolution, which had nearly unanimous support (two legislators passed on the vote) next goes before Connecticut’s full House of Representatives.
“WEP/GPO are federal laws that require federal action, but we applaud our state’s Labor Committee for raising this resolution,” says Dias. “This is a way of building momentum and putting upward pressure on Congress to finally repeal laws that unfairly penalize public school teachers.”
CEA members and leaders have been instrumental in moving these bills and resolutions forward, and legislators credit teachers who are sharing their stories and perspectives with moving the needle.
As these bills continue through the legislative process, lawmakers who are not yet familiar with the proposals will need to hear your stories to understand how these bills directly affect students and teachers.
“Please keep up your efforts to make sure legislators are informed about these proposals,” said Dias. “We’ve passed the first hurdle and need to keep up our good work. Make sure to check your email and our CEA website for action alerts so we can get these bills over the finish line.”
There are opportunities for teachers in Fairfield, New Haven, Tolland, and Windham counties to share their stories with legislators at County Forums next week, and all members are encouraged to come to CEA’s Lobby Day at the State Capitol on April 17.
