Advocacy & Outreach

SUPREME COURT LITIGATION
The Connecticut Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the appeal of CCJEF v. Rell on April 22, 2008. These documents provide background information on the appeal and present statements from CCJEF members and plaintiffs about the importance of the case to them and their families.

Background Information

• News release on oral arguments in Supreme Court appeal of CJJEF v. Rell
• FAQs about oral arguments in Supreme Court appeal of CJJEF v. Rell
• Quotes from Supreme Court Justices on the State’s interpretation of Connecticut’s education clause

Appeal Statements

• Appeal statement of Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti
• Appeal statement of East Hartford Mayor Melody Currey
• Appeal statement of Nekita Carroll-Hall, Bridgeport mother of named plaintiff schoolchild
• Appeal statement of Merrill Gay, New Britain parent member of CCJEF Steering Committee
• Appeal statement of Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS)  Executive Director Joe Cirasuolo

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
CCJEF advocates for the Connecticut General Assembly to improve the condition of school financing in our state. These documents include testimony and memos to legislative committees on the adequacy and equity of state education spending.

2006

• Testimony to Education Regional Information Hearing, Ledyard, March 21
  Testimony at regional meeting on inadequate education funding in Governor’s proposed budget.
• Testimony to Education Regional Information Hearing, Ansonia, April 18
  Testimony at regional meeting on inadequate education funding in Governor’s proposed budget.
• Testimony to State Board of Education on Five-Year Plan, July 24
  Testimony on Five-Year Comprehensive Plan, the State’s blueprint for education reform in Connecticut.
• Testimony to Connecticut Civil Rights Advisory Committee, September 28
  Testimony on “School Choice, Equal Educational Opportunity, and Connecticut School Finance Failures” and the benefits of adequately funded, integrated public school choice options.

2007

• Comparison of Governor’s Commission and Legislature’s Implementer Bill, September 10
  A side-by-side comparison of key provisions of the recommendations of the Governor’s Commission on Education Finance (January 2007) and the 2007 Legislature’s Education Implementer Bill, H.B. 8003, Public Act 07-3.

2008

• Memo to Education Committee, February 7
  Memo describing the CCJEF v. Rell appeal and recommending school finance reforms.
• Memo to 2008 General Assembly Members, February 12
  Memo describing the CCJEF v. Rell appeal.
• Testimony to Appropriations Committee, February 15
  Testimony on the CCJEF v. Rell appeal and recommendations for reforming the state’s revenue structures to provide adequate education funding.
• Testimony to Education Committee, March 10
  Testimony on education funding in Governor’s proposed budget, proposed studies of the Open Choice Program and Interdistrict Magnet School Program, and funding of charter schools.

2009

• Testimony to Appropriations Committee, February 11
  Testimony on education spending and finance formula reform in the next Connecticut budget.
• Testimony to Education Committee, February 23
  Testimony on a number of bills raised in the General Assembly, concerning topics such as education contingency funds, world language requirements, and charter schools and interdistrict magnet schools.
• Testimony to Education Committee, March 9
  Testimony on SB 830, “An Act Concerning the Governor’s Recommendations Regarding Education,” with recommendations for school finance reform and adequate funding.
• Remarks at Capitol News Conference sponsored by CCM, April 8
  Remarks on budget proposals by the Governor and the General Assembly’s Appropriation Committee, describing the dire short- and long-term consequences of cutting or flat-funding state education grants.

2010

• Testimony to the State Board of Education on Money Follows the Child, January 20
  Testimony on the State Board of Education’s consideration of a “money follows the child” funding model for state charter schools.
• Testimony to Education Committee, March 15
  Testimony on a number of bills raised in the General Assembly, concerning charter school funding, secondary school reform, the minimum budget requirement, accountability statutes, and reforms to close the achievement gap.

OPINION PIECES
CCJEF maintains an active voice in education discussions in Connecticut by authoring op-eds and responding to articles and other opinion pieces.

• Letter to the Editor on underfunding of Bloomfield Public Schools, Hartford Courant, July 11, 2006
• Letter to the Editor in response to Yankee Institute op-ed on “race-based racketeering”, Connecticut Post, July 31, 2007
• Letter to the Editor on the Hartford Reform Plan, Hartford Courant, Aug 28, 2007
• Broken Schools: State’s unfair funding system creates the problem, New Haven Register, February 8, 2009