CT State Reps Support State Mandates Eliminations

From CT State Reps: State Rep. David Rutigliano (R-123) and Laura Devlin (R-134) applauded final passage by the House of Representatives of a proposal which eliminates several state mandates placed upon local boards of educations, giving relief to towns like Trumbull.

The legislation, HB 7276 An Act Concerning Education Mandate Relief is a comprehensive education mandate relief bill.

Among the bill’s provisions are eliminating the requirement for school districts to adopt a regional calendar; requiring the state to purchase one digital school management and reporting software system and to provide it at no cost to districts; allowing districts to decide how they provide education to expelled students; and allowing districts to focus training in procedures for handling highly sensitive behavioral issues on staff who have direct contact with students.

Rep. Rutigliano, who is a co-sponsor of the bill said, “Trumbull is continually facing state education funding cuts while at the same time being burdened with more and more unfunded mandates by the state. This bill hopes to address several of those mandates and provides towns like Trumbull with some relief. The bill does not go far enough but it is at least a start to rollback all these unnecessary, burdensome and expensive state mandates that our town is forced to pay.”

“These changes are very reasonable and will enable municipalities, like Trumbull and Fairfield to better coordinate and achieve efficiencies without burdensome mandates from the state,” said Rep. Devlin. “With towns, school districts, and taxpayers under intense pressure from irresponsible management of the state budget, relieving our schools of costly, time-consuming, and unnecessary unfunded mandates is more urgent than ever.”

The bill now awaits passage in the State Senate.

Image Courtesy of CT Reps