Rep. Courpas Leads House Republicans on Special Education Legislation focused on investments in students, access to services

HARTFORD – On Thursday, the Connecticut State House of Representatives passed HB 5001: An Act Concerning the Quality and Delivery of Special Education Services in Connecticut – a top priority in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Tina Courpas, R-Greenwich, the Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Special Education, led the debate on behalf of House Republicans. The bill passed in the House by a vote of 148-0.

“This legislation marks a step forward in our ongoing efforts to bring quality, successful outcomes, and transparency to the delivery of special education services in Connecticut. We had three goals for this Bill. First and most important: to ensure that we are achieving successful educational outcomes for the special education students of this stat. Essentially – are we serving the kids to reach their full educational and personal potential? Goal number 2: to make sure our funding model is working. And third: To ensure accountability in our system, for both educational outcomes and taxpayer dollars. The bill makes progress on each of those goals,” said Rep. Courpas.

She continued:
“But let me be clear – this is not the finish line. Where we could, we made changes to take effect right away, such as preventing private providers to change tuition mid-year to provide more certainty to school districts and providing a new SEED grant to fund in-district special education services. In other cases, such as establishing a rate framework and outcomes measurement for Connecticut, more work and more data is required. In those instances, we established a path for getting that work done in a
thoughtful way. We are committed to continuing this work over the next 2-3 years and look forward to further progress.”

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Historic investment in our students, including the $30 million Special Education Expansion
  and Development (SEED) grant program to help build capacity to serve students closer to home.
• Prioritizing better access to services through enhanced development screenings, behavioral
  assessment and intervention plans, access to remedial classes in higher education, and
  involvement of parents and local school districts before a student is moved from their school.
• Increasing oversight through on-site compliance visits and detailed system-wide reporting to
  reduce unpredictability and improve accountability.

The bill was the result of work on both sides of the aisle.

“This bill makes significant and necessary reforms to our special education system, ensuring our students have access to the services they need close to home, and I was so proud to advocate for it on the House floor,” said Rep. Maryam Khan (D-Hartford), House Chair of the Select Committee on Special Education. “Members of this committee held listening sessions across Connecticut, where we had the privilege of hearing from students, teachers, and parents who did not always have the
time to come to Hartford to talk about the real issues affecting them every day. Thank you to all of my legislative colleagues, advocates, and stakeholders who worked so hard to give our students the respect and opportunities they deserve.”