Trumbull Reps Support State Remote Learning Guidelines

TRUMBULL, CT — The Trumbull state House delegation has joined other state Republicans in an effort to establish remote learning guidelines for Connecticut students.

State Rep. Laura Devlin (R-124), who is a member of the legislative education committee said that the lack of minimum standards has led to discrepancies between school districts.

"While virtual learning serves a public health goal, it may not be contributing to achieving the state's educational goals," she said. "We need to make sure every school district provides a quality education and doesn't let students learning remotely slip through the cracks."

The three legislators noted that around 61 percent of students in the 10 lowest-performing alliance districts are learning remotely compared to the state average of 33 percent.

Republicans are proposing legislation that would require statewide protocols regarding online classroom participation and the same amount of teacher instruction time as a classroom setting.

"As many school districts continue remote learning due to the Covid pandemic, we need to ensure that all Connecticut children have equal access to quality education," said Rep. David Rutigliano (R-123.) "Setting a baseline with minimum expectations, will help students achieve critical educational benchmarks while also preventing the opportunity gap between suburban and urban school districts from growing wider."

The legislation also would offer state-supported teacher training for remote learning. In-person education would be required for special needs students unless the school can prove education requirements can be met through remote learning.

"I've heard from too many parents and educators that 2020 was a 'lost year' for our state's students," Rep. Ben McGorty (R-123) said. "The state failed them by switching over to remote learning with no plan in place for grading, attendance, or for children with special needs who depend on in-person instruction. I'm getting behind this initiative to make sure we don't lose 2021."

The proposal also would allow for towns to use the first three snow days as traditional snow days with school off. Subsequent snow days would be remote learning days and count toward the state's mandated 180 school days.