Legislative committee agrees to send brief, general support for 504 and ADA bills

The State Advisory Council for Special Education legislative committee agreed Feb. 12 to prepare a short letter expressing general support for two education bills without weighing into detailed provisions.

The Chair opened the item asking whether the group should try to “compose some sort of commentary,” and members recommended keeping any council statement concise. Tom Cosker, a committee member representing Disability Rights Connecticut, said the group could limit council input to a brief statement of support while avoiding detailed legislative drafting: "We could do a very simple one … we're supportive of these without discussing the details of the legislation." (Committee member)

Members noted substantial written testimony already exists in the record and that the legislative calendar and staffing constraints make drafting detailed submissions difficult. The Chair offered to draft a short letter and circulate it to the legislative committee; after a thumbs‑up the paper will be forwarded to the executive committee for formal submission.

The committee’s decision was procedural: members agreed the legislative committee will prepare a two‑sentence statement endorsing the bills in general and then route that draft to the executive committee rather than trying to produce detailed technical testimony under current time constraints. The Chair said he would write the draft and circulate it for approval.

Next steps: the Chair will circulate the draft letter to legislative‑committee members for review; if the committee gives a nod the paper will be sent to the executive committee for formal submission to legislators.