Voters, Businesses Support Education Reform

The legislature’s Education Committee is likely to vote Monday, March 26, on an extensive package of education reform measures as contained in SB 24.

Connecticut businesses support SB 24 because they consider it vital to giving young people the quality education they need to succeed in the workforce and lead productive lives.

Employers are also having a tough time finding qualified job applicants. Statistics back up their concern that public schools are not turning out young people with the basic skills businesses businesses need.

What’s more, other states—such as Massachusetts and New York–have already passed these types of reforms and are outpacing Connecticut in educational achievement, which also gives them a competitive business edge.

Voters in the state, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, are also supporting education reform proposals aimed at attracting and retaining the best educators.

The reforms in SB 24 can reverse the state’s troubling education trends by:

• Rescuing at-risk students
• Fixing broken schools
• Supporting teachers and school leaders
• Offering more school choices
• Promoting accountability in how education dollars are spend

These reforms will help raise student’s overall performance and help ensure that Connecticut has the knowledgeable workforce it needs to thrive in the future.

Public support

Two-thirds of voters (67%) told the Q-Poll that outstanding teachers should be rewarded with merit pay. And Connecticut's public school teachers were viewed favorably by 66% of voters.

However, more than half (54%) of the voters surveyed support changing the state's teacher tenure system, which is proposed in SB 24.

The legislation also links teacher evaluation with student performance, an idea that also was supported by union members. The Q-Poll found 54% of union households with children under 18 favor tenure changes.

CBIA is urging the Education Committee to approve SB 24 to begin the vital process of improving education in Connecticut.