House Republicans Issue Response to Proposed Special Education Bills

HARTFORD — House Republicans on the Select Committee on Special Education, including Ranking Member Rep. Tina Courpas, Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, Rep. Tammy Nuccio and Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, issued the following joint statement in response to special education bills, HB 7277 and SB 1561, that received a public hearing before the committee on Monday.

House Republicans have long championed increased support for students with special needs.  This session, House Republicans made proposals to increase funding by $108 million, proposals which were rejected by the majority.

“We are committed to ensuring that every child has access to the services they need, while ensuring increased accountability, effectiveness, and transparency so students receive a quality education in a cost-effective manner. We can all agree that the issues surrounding special education need to be addressed. Though this proposal is a first step, we believe it needs far more work before it’s ready, and we have many questions.

How do we increase transparency in special education without added bureaucracy? How do we measure success? What can we do to ensure positive outcomes for students? For instance, out of 55 sections, only three relate to exploring whether special education in CT is effectively serving children to reach their full potential, and nowhere is there a framework to monitor those outcomes on a consistent basis.

There are sections of this legislation that are positive, including a provision that funding would follow students when they change school districts, and we appreciate the increased accountability for special education private providers. But the bill does not provide adequate accountability for the State Department of Education, especially given that the vast majority of Connecticut’s special education students are served in district. Finally, we find it problematic that none of the State Department of Education, Office of Personnel and Management, nor Department of Transportation appeared at today’s public hearing. Because these are the agencies tasked with the implantation of the bill, we feel that speaking to them is a key component of determining whether the bill would work in practice.

What we do not want to do is rush legislation through that could make the situation worse. Our focus continues to be on putting children first and developing a robust solution which serves Connecticut’s special education children.”