Teachers Praise Legislative Actions to Keep Students and Public Schools Safe

The Connecticut Education Association (CEA) applauds the governor and top legislative leaders for their leadership and bipartisan collaboration in developing a strong bill to address gun violence and keep Connecticut schools safe. The bill is before both chambers of the legislature today.

“The Sandy Hook tragedy spurred legislators to develop one of the toughest gun and school safety laws in the nation. We are proud of their efforts to protect our children and our teachers,” said CEA President Sheila Cohen. “This is a good day for students, teachers, parents, and the state of Connecticut,” she said.

CEA Executive Director Mark Waxenberg said the governor and top Democrat and Republican leaders recognize that school safety is complex, but they persevered and came together in the best interest of Connecticut’s schoolchildren in drafting legislation that protects lives. “The bill keeps our children safe and promotes safe learning environments in all of our public schools,” he said.

The bill is responsive to CEA polling data that show educators support tougher gun laws and actions to provide safe and secure public schools.

Cohen said the bill creates a productive foundation and puts Connecticut at the forefront of school safety for students, teachers, parents, and our communities. “We are especially pleased that lawmakers took a tough approach to keep guns out of our schools and included school safety committees to develop standards for school buildings to keep our children and public schools safe,” she said.

“Legislators recognized that we can’t treat our schools like prisons,” said Cohen. “Instead, they took action to provide safe and secure public schools for every child to help stop tragedies like the one in Newtown from ever happening again.”