Hartford, Connecticut – Last week, the Connecticut General Assembly convened a special session, with Governor Lamont laying out an agenda that largely focused upon housing, immigration, food assistance, and health care. Despite recent standardized assessment results revealing that roughly half of students meet or exceed expectations on both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math tests, the legislature opted not to address promises to students that lingered after the 2025 legislative session. In response, ConnCAN Executive Director Steven Hernández made the following statement:

“The issues undertaken during this year’s special session address some of the urgent needs facing families and children throughout Connecticut. We commend the state’s legislatures for their efforts to support families through policies like improved housing options, protections for the personal data of immigrants, and creating a reserve fund to safeguard benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, WIC and heating assistance.

“However, the quality of our public education system remains an urgent concern. We must legislate solutions that work coherently to identify student needs early, deliver effective interventions, communicate clearly, and support teachers. Among the items that were thoroughly considered last session but not passed, and that we believe should have been taken up this legislative session are: Measures to increase language access for the families of Connecticut students; and opening pathways and incentives for prospective teachers. Connecticut’s families need to understand the array of services that are available to their children so that they can access them. And ongoing teacher shortages demand that we build a more robust pipeline of qualified educators to provide those services.

“We hope that these concepts will be taken up during the 2026 legislative session, as part of a broader, equity-focused, excellence driven agenda for the state’s students. We firmly believe that every Connecticut student, no matter their address, should have a fair shot at success.”

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ABOUT:
ConnCAN is a leading advocacy organization that ensures each child in Connecticut has equitable access to a high-quality public education. ConnCAN envisions a Connecticut where each learner has access to an exceptional public education system that: (1) supports diverse learning environments with personalized paths to academic, civic, and economic success, and lifelong fulfillment; (2) attracts and retains educators that pursue excellence in every learning space, with rigorous student-centered standards to measure success; and (3) empowers families with the tools they need to guide their children toward that success. This vision relies on a family’s ability to make informed choices about where their children learn and thrive.