By Elizabeth Benton, Register Staff

HARTFORD — Legislators in the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus released a broad, 10-point agenda for school reform Thursday aimed at closing the achievement gap between minority students and their white peers.

Among the proposals was a call for income tax breaks for teachers willing to work longer days and Saturdays; a “parent trigger” where a majority of parents could vote to overhaul a failing school; and better access to online and Advanced Placement classes.



The policy suggestions are expected to become the basis of legislative proposals formally introduced later this month.

“The state cannot afford to wait any longer to address the persistent school disparity between children of color and their white peers,” said state Rep. Jason Bartlett, D-Bethel.

Other proposals would: link teacher and administrator evaluations to student progress; establish an alternative route to certification for principals; add incentives for Advanced Placement courses; create a state task force on closing the achievement gap; mandate biannual parent-teacher conferences and incentivize parent participation; expand online courses for make-up credits; give more state funding for adult education; and reform the student census, pushing the student count from October to March.

The state requires that schools report student attendance once each year in October. Those tallies are used in calculations determining state aid to local districts. The caucus has suggested pushing that date to March, adding a financial incentive for districts to prevent drop outs.

“Schools will do what they have to do to support those children,” Bartlett said.

Department of Education spokesman Thomas Murphy said the state is seeking to establish “a more consistent census and attendance procedure” that would more regularly track attendance.

School reform advocates have pushed for speedy action on a variety of reform proposals this year, aimed at better positioning the state for $175 million in federal Race to the Top grants. Continued...

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The state’s grant application includes proposals to address several of topics discussed Thursday.

To be eligible for the federal funds, 125 local districts and charter schools have agreed to develop a new evaluation system for teachers and principals incorporating student performance. The state’s application also includes a “significant component” on parental involvement, Murphy said.

The state has also sought federal funds to help pay for expanded school days and years.

Bartlett estimated it would cost the state $30 million a year to provide tax breaks for teachers in priority school districts.

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education Deputy Director Patrice McCarthy said local school boards have begun to address some of the suggestions, without legislation.

The legislative proposals stem from a collaboration of lawmakers, parents, school reform advocates, and black and Latino groups dubbed Campaign LEARN (Leadership in Education, Achievement and Reform, Now). The coalition has held a series of town hall hearings on the achievement gap across the state, including one last month in New Haven.

“We look now to work on the achievement gap not simply as legislators who think it is an important issue, but as legislators who have heard from the people of this state what it means to them,” said Rep. Gary A. Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven.

Contact Elizabeth Benton at 203-789-5714 or ebenton@

newhavenregister.com.

2010_Black and Puerto Rican Caucus_Legislative_Priorities

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