Education Committee

JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT

SPONSORS OF BILL:

Education Committee

REASONS FOR BILL:

This bill seeks to improve the education of children with developmental disabilities. The bill addresses the current lack of training and development for teachers involved in the education of developmentally disabled students.

Substitute Language:

The original content of the bill is deleted. The substitute language provides for the development of recommendations for a comprehensive state-wide plan to incorporate methods of teaching children with autism and other developmental disabilities into programs for teacher and para-professional preparation. This study is to be conducted jointly by the Commissioner of Education and the Chancellor of the Connecticut State University System.

RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:

Elizabeth C. Brown, Commission on Children – The Commissioner supports greater attention to teaching special populations, including children with Autism and other development delays.

NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:

Amanda Tellier, Parent of a nine-year-old child with Asperger's Syndrome- Supports this bill because she is astounded that many of her child's administrators, teachers, ancillary providers and paraprofessionals have had little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of children on the autism spectrum or effective instructional and behavioral approaches. She strongly believes that all certified teachers should have core competencies related to educating children with autism disorders.

Shannon Knall, An Autism Speaks Initiative- Supports this bill because the number of children affected by autism continues to rise, teachers and professionals who work with them are grossly ill-prepared and their knowledge is critical to the development of this population.

Jason Juall speaking on behalf of Representative Catherine F. Abercrombie - supports this Bill in order to allow our children the opportunity to learn in an environment that is free from unnecessary distraction. The state has not taken the time necessary to properly and comprehensively train our teachers to deal with the classroom issues arising while teaching mentally handicapped children.

Mother of Five Year Old Child with Lead Poisoning Damage, in the Hartford School System- She is receiving little to no help from the school system and pleaded with the committee to add lead poisoning to this bill.

Frank Sykes, Legislative analyst representing the African-American Affairs Commission- The effects of lead poisoning in childhood developments are well documented. In view of this he respectfully request that language included in this bill reflect the needs of children affected by lead poisoning.

NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT WITH CONCERNS:

Dr. James Granfield, Interim Dean, School of Education Southern Connecticut State University, Member of the Executive Committee of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education- HB 5590 purports to address the myriad of issues facing children with autism by legislating training for all teachers, administrators and pupil personnel who are, or who potentially will be, in responsible positions of educating these children. Although it is the collective belief that life-long training and education of all educational professionals is a hallmark of a truly responsive educational system, mandating training by focusing on classroom teachers will not create the kinds of outcomes this Raised Bill hopes to achieve.

John Flanders, State of Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities- The concern lies in the bill's requirement that educators receive instruction in methods of teaching children with autism and other developmental disabilities. They fear that if the curriculum of teacher education courses and in-service training programs contain a list of methods developed by Department of Education, educators may be persuaded to adhere solely to that list. We fear that planning and Placement Teams, including members who have received this training, will feel that they have met their duty to develop an individual program solely by choosing from the list. The Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities would like to express its very strong reservations regarding Raised Bill 5590.

NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:

None Expressed