Attorney Deborah G. Stevenson

Executive Director

P.O. Box 704 , Southbury, CT 06488

Update on the Status of the Withdrawal Bill SB162 – 02/29/08

There is some good news regarding Senate Bill #162 - AN ACT CONCERNING THE WITHDRAWAL OF A CHILD FROM ENROLLMENT IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL: the language in the bill has been amended to read as Rep. Arthur O’Neill originally proposed it. The bill is now known as “Proposed Substitute Senate Bill #162” or LCO-2246.

The following Legislators have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill:

Sen. Edith G. Prague, 19th Dist., Rep. Vincent J. Candelora, 86th Dist., Rep. Arthur J. O'Neill, 69th Dist., Rep. Pamela Z. Sawyer, 55th Dist., Rep. Richard F. Ferrari, 62nd Dist., Rep. Ruth C. Fahrbach, 61st Dist., Rep. Al Adinolfi, 103rd Dist., Sen. Robert J. Kane, 32nd Dist., Rep. Patricia M. Widlitz, 98th Dist., Sen. Dan Debicella, 21st Dist., Rep. Anne L. Ruwet, 65th Dist., Rep. Richard Roy, 119th Dist., Rep. Lawrence G. Miller, 122nd Dist.

The bill now reads: (underlined section is the section Rep. O’Neill is proposing)

AN ACT CONCERNING THE WITHDRAWAL OF A CHILD FROM ENROLLMENT IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 10-220 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2008):

(a) Each local or regional board of education shall maintain good public elementary and secondary schools, implement the educational interests of the state as defined in section 10-4a and provide such other educational activities as in its judgment will best serve the interests of the school district; provided any board of education may secure such opportunities in another school district in accordance with provisions of the general statutes and shall give all the children of the school district as nearly equal advantages as may be practicable; shall provide an appropriate learning environment for its students which includes (1) adequate instructional books, supplies, materials, equipment, staffing, facilities and technology, (2) equitable allocation of resources among its schools, (3) proper maintenance of facilities, and (4) a safe school setting; shall have charge of the schools of its respective school district; shall make a continuing study of the need for school facilities and of a long-term school building program and from time to time make recommendations based on such study to the town; shall adopt and implement an indoor air quality program that provides for ongoing maintenance and facility reviews necessary for the maintenance and improvement of the indoor air quality of its facilities; shall report biennially to the Commissioner of Education on the condition of its facilities and the action taken to implement its long-term school building program and indoor air quality program, which report the Commissioner of Education shall use to prepare a biennial report that said commissioner shall submit in accordance with section 11-4a to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education; shall advise the Commissioner of Education of the relationship between any individual school building project pursuant to chapter 173 and such long-term school building program; shall have the care, maintenance and operation of buildings, lands, apparatus and other property used for school purposes and at all times shall insure all such buildings and all capital equipment contained therein against loss in an amount not less than eighty per cent of replacement cost; shall determine the number, age and qualifications of the pupils to be admitted into each school; shall develop and implement a written plan for minority staff recruitment for purposes of subdivision (3) of section 10-4a; shall employ and dismiss the teachers of the schools of such district subject to the provisions of sections 10-151 and 10-158a; shall designate the schools which shall be attended by the various children within the school district; shall make such provisions as will enable each child of school age, residing in the district to attend some public day school for the period required by law and provide for the transportation of children wherever transportation is reasonable and desirable, and for such purpose may make contracts covering periods of not more than five years; may place in an alternative school program or other suitable educational program a pupil enrolling in school who is nineteen years of age or older and cannot acquire a sufficient number of credits for graduation by age twenty-one; may arrange with the board of education of an adjacent town for the instruction therein of such children as can attend school in such adjacent town more conveniently; shall cause each child five years of age and over and under eighteen years of age who is not a high school graduate and is living in the school district to attend school in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184, provided, when a parent or guardian of a child provides by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the principal of the school that the child attends, to the superintendent of schools for the school district in which such school is located or the local or regional board of education for such school district, written notice originated by and signed by the parent or guardian of the child stating that the parent or guardian is withdrawing the child from enrollment in a public school and will provide instruction for the child as required pursuant to section 10-184, the principal of the school that the child attends, the superintendent and the local or regional board of education shall accept such notice and shall deem the child withdrawn from enrollment in the public school immediately upon receipt of such notice; and shall perform all acts required of it by the town or necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties imposed by law.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1

July 1, 2008

10-220(a)

In addition, on February 28, 2008, the Select Committee on Children voted on the language in the Substitute Bill and gave it a joint favorable recommendation. There were nine members present, and all voted in favor. The Vote tally sheet is here at http://cga.ct.gov/2008/TS/S/2008SB-00162-R00KID-CV1-TS.htm. Here are the legislators that supported this bill: Sen. Meyer, Rep. McMahon, Sen. Harp, Rep. Mioli, Sen. Freedman, Rep. Ruwet, Rep. Giuliano, Rep. Mushinsky, Rep. Thompson, J. (Rep Truglia was absent)

That means the Children’s Committee approved of the bill, and referred it to the Education Committee for its consideration. The Education Committee may raise the bill for consideration, but, if the Education Committee does not raise the bill for consideration, it effectively dies.

As you know, Rep. O’Neill proposed similar bills in previous years and all were killed in the Education Committee by the Committee Chairmen, Senator Thomas Gaffey and Representative Andrew Fleischmann. The Chairmen failed to raise the bills for the consideration by the Committee members.

While we hope that the Chairmen will be supportive, we do not have their commitment to raise the bill at this time. Therefore, we urge all parents to write, email or telephone Senator Gaffey and Rep. Fleischmann, in addition to other members of the Education Committee, to request that they raise the bill for a vote by the Committee, and that they vote favorably to recommend the bill to the full House and Senate for consideration, without change to the wording approved by the Children's Committee (i.e. the original language from Rep. O'Neill).

You can email the members of the Education Committee at the following addresses (Please note that some members of this committee have already expressed support for this bill and are co-sponsors or members of the Children’s committee) :

Gaffey@senatedems.ct.gov
Andrew.Fleischmann@cga.ct.gov
Fonfara@senatedems.ct.gov
henry.genga@cga.ct.gov
Thomas.Herlihy@cga.ct.gov
DebraLee.Hovey@housegop.ct.gov
Sam.Caligiuri@cga.ct.gov
Mcdonald@senatedems.ct.gov
Jason.Bartlett@cga.ct.gov
Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov
Ron.Burns@housegop.ct.gov
Paul.Davis@cga.ct.gov
Kim.Fawcett@cga.ct.gov
Art.Feltman@cga.ct.gov
Gail.Hamm@cga.ct.gov
Deborah.Heinrich@cga.ct.gov
Karen.Jarmoc@cga.ct.gov
Robert.Keeley@cga.ct.gov
Themis.Klarides@housegop.ct.gov
David.Labriola@housegop.ct.gov
Douglas.McCrory@cga.ct.gov
Steve.Mikutel@cga.ct.gov
Sandy.Nafis@cga.ct.gov
Tim.Obrien@cga.ct.gov
Felipe.Reinoso@cga.ct.gov
Tom.Reynolds@cga.ct.gov
Anne.Ruwet@cga.ct.gov
Pamela.Sawyer@housegop.ct.gov
Linda.Schofield@cga.ct.gov
Jim.Shapiro@cga.ct.gov
Kevin.Witkos@cga.ct.gov

Please remember, legislators take special note of a personal message from a constituent in their community. Please do what you can to help obtain passage of this important legislation.

Thank you for your continuing efforts.