Bridgeport Education Association

If this legislation goes through, we're sitting ducks!!

If your teacher members live in any of the towns below, then please send this email to those teachers IMMEDIATELY.

Andover, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bolton, Bozrah, Bridgeport, Bridgewater, Cheshire, Colchester, Columbia, Cornwall, Danbury, Darien, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, Easton, Fairfield, Franklin, Glastonbury, Goshen, Greenwich, Griswold, Groton, Guilford, Hamden, Hartford, Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Litchfield, Madison, Manchester, Marlborough, Middlebury, Middletown, Milford, Monroe, Montville, Morris, New Britain, New Canaan, New Haven, New London, Newington, Newtown, North Stonington, Norwalk, Norwich, Orange, Oxford, Plainfield, Preston, Redding, Roxbury, Salisbury, Seymour, Sharon, Shelton, Simsbury, Southbury, Southington, Sprague, Stamford, Sterling, Stonington, Stratford, Thomaston, Torrington, Trumbull, Voluntown, Wallingford, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Waterford, Watertown, West Hartford, West Haven, Weston, Westport, Wilton, Wolcott, Woodbury

You live in the district of a key Senator and/or State Representative - members of the Appropriations Committee - who will act on important legislation this Thursday, April 1.  Teachers, in essence, have become sitting ducks as frustration and misplaced anger grow about everything from teacher evaluation to budget deficits to the fair dismissal law.  The situation will be center stage this Thursday, when the Appropriations Committee acts on two bills, H.B. 5491 and S.B. 440.  We urge you to tell your legislators to "Vote No" on these bills.  We are counting on you because you are one of the subset of our members who is a constituent of a key legislator who will cast a pivotal vote this Thursday.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS.

Background on H.B. 5491, the so-called parent trigger bill

This would give parents the right to usurp the authority of democratically elected boards of education by mere petition.  It assumes that parents in these circumstances would always have the knowledge and skills to analyze data, develop plans, and make decisions now made by administrators and teachers.  It sets parents in opposition to other stakeholders in the school community and, in our view, unfairly weakens the authority and professionalism of teachers and administrators.  CEA supports giving parents genuine and productive input.  We believe that everyone needs to be at the table, especially parents.  The irony of this bill is that it does little to foster the kind of constructive parental engagement that educators welcome and that parents say they want.

Background on S.B. 440

S.B. 440 seeks to tie 50% or more of teacher evaluations to student standardized test scores. The State Department of Education is currently in the process of redefining teacher evaluation in Connecticut and is considering multiple measures of academic growth as required by the U.S. Department of Education.  We believe that this process should be allowed to move forward with due consideration for input from the experts and stakeholders in Connecticut and not proscribed by statute.  Test scores will be part of the new evaluation framework, but they must be incorporated into it in an intelligent and helpful way.

Final Hopeful Note

Please note that a competing bill, S.B. 441, on the other hand, explicitly fosters constructive parental engagement and deserves support. Your legislators should support this. It also is up for a vote.

Further Detail If You Need It

In your email to legislators, if you would like to specify the name of each piece of legislation mentioned above, then here they are: 1) H.B. 5491, An Act Concerning Certain School District Reforms to Reduce the Achievement Gap in Connecticut; 2)S.B. 440 An Act Concerning School Districts and Teacher Performance Program; and 3) S.B. 441 An Act Concerning Parental Engagement in Schools.

Thank you for your attention to this pressing matter for children, teachers and public education.