Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legislative Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SAC moves annual report to executive committee, prepares Jan. 22 legislative briefing
Summary
The Connecticut State Advisory Council for Special Education voted to move its annual report overview to the executive committee and finalized priorities and logistics for a legislative briefing set for Jan. 22 at the Legislative Office Building.
The Connecticut State Advisory Council for Special Education voted to move its annual report overview to the council’s executive committee and spent the meeting finalizing the topics and logistics for a legislative briefing scheduled for Jan. 22.
The action to transfer the annual report overview to the executive committee passed by voice vote after a motion and second; the meeting then focused on the council’s legislative priorities and how members should engage their state legislators ahead of next week’s breakfast with lawmakers. The briefing will run 11 a.m.–noon Jan. 22 in the Legislative Office Building executive dining room; members were asked to arrive by 10:45 a.m. to allow for parking and distribution of materials.
Council members identified the report’s legislative agenda items they will highlight for the Connecticut State Department of Education and the General Assembly. Top items the council plans to press this session include expanding least-restrictive-environment (LRE) supports and unified programming to promote student belonging; incentives and funding to recruit and retain special education teachers, related-service providers and paraeducators; funding and support for alternate-certification pathways; and changes to notification and monitoring related to restraint and seclusion.
On restraint and seclusion, the council proposed changing the parent/guardian notification requirement from “within 24 hours” to same-day notification and asked that the Connecticut State Department of Education increase monitoring, including audits of districts or schools with high rates of restraint and seclusion. The council also recommended that individualized student safety plans be required as part of IEP development and that the school safety committee include a member with a special education perspective; council members said the current language is advisory and they seek a statutory mandate.
Representative Comey, the council’s legislative member, encouraged members to contact their legislators directly and said she had already begun distributing invitations. “I have gotten a few responses so far,” Representative Comey said, adding that some legislators signaled they could not attend but wanted to review the report. Council members were urged to hand-deliver one-page priority summaries and copies of the annual report to legislators’ mailboxes the day of the briefing if possible.
Council staff and volunteers will produce one-page handouts of legislative priorities to distribute at the briefing. Members discussed building an email distribution list of interested legislators and other stakeholders so the council can quickly share materials and hearing schedules during the legislative session.
The council also reviewed proposed and in-progress items that could be legislative or administrative, including recommended changes to certification regulations and additional funding streams for professional development in structured literacy and dyslexia supports.
The council expects to finalize the annual report text with editorial corrections before distribution and asked staff to include action-item assignments in future minutes so follow-up responsibilities are clear.
The council recorded these formal actions at the meeting: a motion to move the annual report overview to the executive committee, which was approved; and approval of the Nov. 20, 2024 meeting minutes with corrections (see votes at a glance below).
