Rep. LeGeyt: COMMON CORE PUBLIC HEARING MARCH 12TH

HARTFORD – State Representative Tim LeGeyt (R-Avon, Canton) together with the rest of the House Republicans have pressured the legislature’s Education Committee to hold a public hearing on legislation regarding the Common Core curriculum and public school teacher evaluation process.

The public hearing will be in the Education Committee next Wednesday, March 12 at NOON in room 1E of the Legislative Office Building.

Proposed Bill No. 5078, authored by Rep. Marilyn Giuliano (R-23), would freeze the implementation of the Common Core curriculum for further study until all stakeholders have time to examine its potential effects and reduce classroom evaluations for teachers.

Proposed Bill No. 5331, put forth by the House Republican caucus, calls for the creation of  subcommittee of classroom teachers to discuss and share their issues involving the teacher evaluation program, reduces the number of formal classroom evaluations to one per school year, reduces the amount of goals to be established by each teacher, streamlines data management, and perhaps most importantly, enables the exclusion of student scores on statewide mastery tests, including the Smarter Balanced assessment test, from being factored into a teacher’s evaluation.

PDF copies of written testimony should be submitted to EDTestimony@cga.ct.gov by 2:00 P.M. on March 11 and include the word “Testimony” in the subject line. 

Written testimony will be accepted in Room 3100 of the LOB until 9:30 A.M. on Wednesday, March 12th. Sign-up for the hearing will begin at 8:30 A.M. in First Floor Atrium of the LOB, will be by Lottery, and will conclude at 9:30 A.M. 

LeGeyt was one of the 51 petition signatures to raise the bills that would immediately freeze implementation of the Common Core curriculum and further assess the teacher evaluation process.  The Democrat majority-controlled Education Committee had refused to raise either bill for a public hearing.

“I am hearing the frustration on the part of teachers and administrators that there simply isn’t enough time to deliver the proper balance of educational services to students with the focus on the Common Core curriculum and the teacher evaluation process.  I encourage anyone who has concerns regarding these issues to participate in this public hearing,” said Rep. LeGeyt.

Parents, teachers, school administrators, and anyone concerned about the Common Core curriculum and teacher evaluation process in Connecticut are encouraged to attend the public hearing or submit testimony to me at whit.betts@housegop.ct.gov.

All testimony will be available at http://cga.ct.gov/ed. 

Representative LeGeyt represents the towns of Avon & Canton in the General Assembly.
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