Community Corner

School Reform Bill Draws Praise from Ed Secretary

The governor has signed the legislation.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has made it official.

The education reform bill is signed.

Malloy putting his stamp on what is officially S.B. 458 was news that made it all the way to Washington.

And it prompted Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to praise the move on Tuesday. 

“I commend Connecticut for coming together to enact meaningful education reforms that will benefit students," he said in a news release. "I know the negotiations on S.B. 458 were difficult, but Governor Malloy and the Legislature, business, unions, educators, and advocates were committed to begin fixing what is broken in public schools."

Duncan said he was happy with several specifics of the legislation.

"The final bill includes important reforms in early reading, school turnarounds, school choice, and school staffing and delivers more resources targeted to those districts and schools with the greatest need," he said. "Now that Governor Malloy has enacted the law, Connecticut can begin the hard work of putting these important reforms to work in the classroom.”

Reaction to the bill in has been mixed, from Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway insisting a new reading curriculum would have been implemented anyway to state Sen. Tony Gugliemlo getting upset at a seemingly late-night quick vote on the final product to State Rep. Claire Janowski praising the inclusion of more than $600,000 in extra grant money  for reform programs.


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