HARTFORD – State Representatives Gail Lavielle (R-143) and Tom O’Dea (R-125) were among the signatories of petitions filed Wednesday by House Republicans that forced the Chairs of the General Assembly’s Education Committee to hold formal public hearings on two bills related to the controversial Common Core curriculum and the new public school teacher evaluation process. Despite substantial public outcry, the majority party had refused to raise the bills in the Education Committee.
The petitioning process, which is seldom used, allows legislators to overrule decisions by legislative committees on holding public hearings for bills. House Republicans gathered the required 51 signatures from their caucus members under Joint Rule 11 in order to file the petitions that triggered the requirement for the two bills to be raised with a public hearing to follow.
“Because the State Board of Education made the decision to adopt the Common Core standards in Connecticut, the subject never came before the General Assembly,” said Rep. Lavielle. “Hundreds of people have contacted us to express concerns about the content and implementation of the Common Core. The simultaneous implementation of both the Common Core and the new teacher evaluation system has also aroused great concern among educators, who fear that these two processes are taking them away from their primary job in the classroom. These are sweeping statewide changes that affect students and teachers in every school district, and any change of this magnitude should be subjected to proper public scrutiny and review by the legislative body that represents so many concerned constituents. I am pleased that everyone will now have a chance to be heard.”
“Stakeholders have a right to be heard and this should have happened long ago. Those affected will have valuable input and I look forward to hearing from interested parties,” added Rep. O’Dea. One of the Republican bills to be raised codifies the proposals brought forth by the committee created to establish teacher evaluation standards known as the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council.
The second bill, authored by state Rep. Marilyn Giuliano (R-23), would freeze the implementation of the Common Core Standards until all stakeholders have time to examine its potential effects and consider possible changes.