A representative to the Connecticut State Board of Education told the Stratford Board of Education that the state board voted to leave a 10‑4b complaint open against the Connecticut Technical Education Career System, known as CTECS, while state staff continue monitoring compliance.

The complaint, first brought to the state board last November, alleged that so‑called safety review committees were being used to exclude students with special education needs from CTECS programs. At the Stratford meeting the state board representative said the board’s investigation found problems but that recent administrative changes at CTECS — including a new executive director — have led to corrections that align CTECS practices with federal and state law.

The representative said the state board’s vote to keep the matter open allows the Department of Education to monitor the system during the coming school year and then make one of three recommendations: continue monitoring, refer the matter to a full inquiry panel of the state board, or close the investigation. The representative also said enrollment of students with 504 plans and individualized education programs is now “very much in line” with school districts across the state.

Stratford board members asked whether state policy trends were affecting local decisions; the representative described growing national interest in school cell‑phone policies and said Connecticut has been sharing its guidelines with other states. The representative also noted committee assignments and said she serves on the legislation and policy development and school accountability and support subcommittees.

The state board representative offered to report further at the Stratford board’s September meeting after the next state board meeting.

The Stratford board did not take a formal vote on the CTECS matter; the item was an information update from the state board representative.