Month: February 2022

Senate Democrats Announce Data Privacy, Worker Protection, and Small Business Training Initiatives

HARTFORD – Today, Senate Democrats announced legislative initiatives to strengthen data privacy, expand worker protections, and support small business through new training programs. The legislative proposals include:

• Expand Debt-Free Community College for Small Businesses in Need of Assistance
• Protect Consumers with New Online Privacy Rights
• Require Fair Work Week Schedules
• Increase Protections for Warehouse Workers
• Expand Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries for All Employees
• Expand Connecticut Paid Sick Days
• Provide Hero Pandemic Pay for Essential Workers
• Address 2020 Unemployment Overpayment

“This legislative session I have dedicated myself to getting everyone on board with a consumer data bill of rights which guarantees companies to make a commitment to consumers,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “People in our community deserve to feel safe with their privacy online. These guidelines will ensure trust between a consumer and their electronics knowing their personal data isn’t being collected without their knowledge.”

“We introduced this concept four years ago and since the pandemic, we have accelerated the adoption of technology and moved so much of our lives online and that’s why this bill is so important to protect peoples privacy,” said Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Senate Chair of General Law Committee. “People don’t realize how much data is being collected about them and I am dedicating myself to protecting the privacy of those who reside in Connecticut. This is my priority this legislative session and I will work to give people the right to feel protected online.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created a real employment reckoning in the United States and across the world. There is a new focus on wages and working conditions and the value of labor, and there is an increasing respect not only for ‘frontline’ workers – doctors and nurses – but also for ‘essential workers’ – restaurant employees and grocery store clerks and big box store workers and health care aides and package delivery employees and others,” Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury), Senate Chair of the Labor & Public Employees Committee said. “And with that new-found recognition of the value of their labor comes a new responsibility on the part of lawmakers to address the workplace issues that they are facing, and to ensure that their work is protected and valued. Lawmakers enabled CEOs and hedge fund managers to amass great wealth for many decades; now is the time for us to give equal consideration to the frontline employees who work hard every day to keep us safe and keep our economy going – especially under the hazardous conditions that we’ve all experienced over the past two years. That’s what these bills do.”

“​Right now we are positioned to really put our money where our mouth is concerning our working class citizens and I am excited, hopeful and willing to ensure we do just that,” said Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden), Senate Vice-Chair of the Labor & Public Employees Committee. “We’ve all heard the praises for our courageous frontline workers, our grocery store employees, healthcare workers and teachers. It’s time we really reward them with pandemic pay. Furthermore it is time to truly address the inequities made worse by this pandemic that rest primarily on our working class folks. Our state has a balanced budget, surpluses and a maxed out rainy day fund. We can do this and I will do my best to make sure we do this.”

Senate Bill 3 – An Act Concerning Online Assistance in Competing in a Pandemic Economy for Small Businesses

As the coronavirus pandemic upends life for so many of us, local retailers – especially local restaurants – continue to fight for customers and their own economic survival against big, online retail names and food delivery apps.

For example, since 2018, online food delivery sales have increased 600% through popular apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Postmates, and others. A spike in online food deliveries coincided exactly with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in America in the spring of 2020.

The gradual end of the coronavirus pandemic may drive people back to dining in-person, but it may also see a continuation of the habit of ordering from online delivery apps that Americans have grown so accustomed to using over the past two years.

Senate Democrats propose expanding Connecticut’s debt-free community college program to include free online commerce courses for small businesses like restaurants to create or improve their online visibility so they can better compete for new customers or for customers who have grown accustomed to having their food ordered online and delivered to their door.

Revising menus, making restaurant decor and food more visually appealing for social media, streamlining delivery option, conducting online surveys and reviews are all ways that local restaurants can increase their profits through online e-commerce.

Senate Bill 6 – An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring

In the era of big data, large corporations gather personal information on consumers oftentimes without the person knowing the information is held by the company much less being used for profit. Under Senate Bill 6, companies will be required to clearly cite a privacy policy telling consumers what data is being collected, how it is being used, and why.

In February 2021, State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Chair of the General Law Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), introduced Senate Bill 893, “An Act Concerning Consumer Privacy.” The bill received favorable votes in three committees but was never voted on by the legislature.

This year, Senate Democrats will follow similar action taken by California and Colorado and propose legislation to protect consumers with new privacy rights. People around the world are beginning to see the impact of data collection and deserve a stronger level of privacy and security.

Senate Bill 6 will include the following:

• The right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared or sold, both as to the categories and specific pieces of personal information;
• The right to delete personal information held by businesses and by extension, a business’s service provider;
• The right to opt-out of sale of personal information. Consumers are able to direct a business that sells personal information to stop selling that information.
• Children under the age of 16 must provide opt in consent, with a parent or guardian consenting for children under 13.
• The right to non-discrimination in terms of price or service when a consumer exercises a privacy right under the bill.

In June 2021, Connecticut consumers were warned that Amazon would automatically connect their smart home devices and products to a new shared network called ‘Amazon Sidewalk’ beginning June 8, 2021. With Amazon automatically connecting consumer’s electronic devices to a new shared network, if a person is unaware this is happening tomorrow, they give up their right to protect their personal data. Devices like Alexa are already connected to a person’s home private Internet connection. When Amazon transforms it to a Sidewalk Bridge, the device creates a new network of its own that’s not WiFi. Instead, it uses common Bluetooth to connect devices nearby. Sidewalk authorizes the device to share a portion of a person’s home’s Internet bandwidth which could count toward a person’s Internet service provider’s data cap.

As people become aware of how much of their personal information is being observed and recorded, more eyebrows have been raised. Numerous people weren’t previously aware that they were being tracked. Apple recently released a new operating system and found that only 2 to 4% of Americans are opting in for tracking. The International and Internet Society found that 69% of consumers are concerned about how personal data is collected in mobile apps, such as banking or health apps. It was also found that 62% of consumers are concerned about personal data collected through devices such as computers and tablets.

This legislation ensures transparency within companies and consumers, therefore guaranteeing that consumers know just how much of their information is being collected and are given the right to control what is done with that data.

In July 2021, Ally Bank leaked usernames and passwords to third-party marketing partners. It took the company two months to notify customers of the breach and as of today, they have refused to name who the data was leaked to. Data leaks such as this one have become more commonplace. According to Risk Based Security, the number of records exposed increased to 36 billion in 2020 and there were 2,935 publicly reported breaches in the first three quarters of 2020. Other trends included a doubling of ransomware attacks from 2019 to 2020. Healthcare was the most victimized sector in 2020. A data privacy bill of rights would have provided consumers with rights and corporations with responsibility. If a data breach were to happen to residents in Connecticut such as the data that was leaked by Ally Bank, the financial institution would have had to let their consumers know right away, it would not be allowed for them to take two months.

In October 2021, Senator Maroney and Senator Duff called for answers regarding the personal data of Connecticut residents being collected through Facebook’s various internet platforms and wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, and Will Castleberry, the Vice President of State Policy and Community Engagement, requesting information on data purchases on Connecticut residents, what type of data, if the data is sold, and how the data is used.

The request was in response to testimony given by Ms. Frances Haugen before the United States Senate. Her testimony raised concern for both Senator Duff and Senator Maroney with how personal data is collected and used by Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The legislation will ensure transparency within companies and consumers, therefore guaranteeing that consumers know just how much of their information is being collected and are given the right to control what is done with that data.

Worker Protection Initiatives

In reaction to the changing nature of labor and business as experienced over the past two years, many Labor Committee bills this session could well be thematically grouped under one heading: An Act Protecting Connecticut Workers. The proposals include:

An Act Concerning Fair Work Week Schedule requires certain employers to provide advanced notice to certain employees of that employees’ work schedule.

An Act Concerning Protection of Warehouse Workers requires warehouse operators to disclose their various work quotas and work speed metrics to employees and government agencies. It also bans so-called “time off task” penalties that affect the health and safety of employees. The California state legislature passed a similar bill last fall that gives Amazon and other warehouse workers new power to fight speed quotas, which critics say have forced workers to skip bathroom and rest breaks and skirt safety measures.

An Act Concerning Expanding Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries for All Employees would extend existing post-traumatic stress injury workers’ compensation claims coverage – now available mostly to police, fire, corrections, EMS, and other first responders – to all employees for those admittedly rare instances where an employee witnesses or experiences a traumatic event that leads them to being diagnosed with a PTSI.

An Act Concerning Expansion of Connecticut Paid Sick Days would expand the number of paid sick days that employees in Connecticut must receive, bringing us in line with other states. Connecticut state law already requires certain employers with 50 or more employees to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave per year to “service workers,” which is defined as an hourly, nonexempt employee engaged in a broad list of detailed occupation code numbers and titles. In Rhode Island, sick leave applies to employers with 18 or more employees. In Maine, it’s 10, and in New York, five.

An Act Concerning Hero Pandemic Pay for Essential Workers would provide pandemic pay for Connecticut’s essential frontline workers.

An Act Concerning Unemployment Overpayment seeks to address the 2020 state Labor Department overpayment of some unemployment benefits by creating a pathway to waive the repayment requirements for unemployment benefit recipients who were overpaid through no fault of their own.

Senate Democrats Announce Clean Air Act and Initiatives to Combat Domestic Violence, Online Harassment, and Gun Violence

HARTFORD – Today, Senate Democrats announced legislative initiatives to support children who have experienced domestic violence, address the pervasive state of online harassment, increase gun violence prevention efforts, and decrease carbon emissions to protect the environment. The legislative proposals outlined in Senate Bill 4 and Senate Bill 5 include:

Senate Bill 4, An Act Concerning The Connecticut Clean Air Act

• Expand Electric Vehicle Rebate Program
• Expand Electric Vehicle Quick-Charging Stations
• Purchase Electric School Buses
• Stronger Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks
• Business Incentives for Electrifying Heavy-Duty Truck Fleets
• Modernize Municipal Traffic Signals

Senate Bill 5, An Act Concerning Child Victims of Domestic Violence and Online Harassment

• Strengthening Gun Violence Prevention Efforts
• Fund More Child and Family Advocates to Assist Children Impacted by Domestic Violence
• Increase Funding and Efforts to Prevent and Combat Online Harassment

“The priorities outlined today in Senate Bill 4 and 5 further the work of Senate Democrats from previous legislative sessions,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven). “The work of combatting domestic violence, online harassment, gun violence, and climate change can not be solved in one year or with one piece of legislation. It is the duty of all of us in the General Assembly to attack these societal problems every year by focusing on what works and trying new tactics. Senate Democrats will continue this work in 2022 thanks to the leadership and hard work of our committee chairs.”

“Senate Democrats do a tremendous amount of work to address gun violence on our streets but we know that is only half of the equation,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk). “Increasing funding for programs like Project Longevity are critical to focus on the root cause of why someone picks up and uses it in the first place. These interventions work and we are committed to funding them further to spread the good work that they do.”

“While gun violence often leads the evening news, climate change and its detrimental impact on our planet gets far less attention,” Senator Duff continued. “We know Connecticut leads the way in protecting our environment but we need to do more to change our behaviors to reduce carbon emissions. Senate Bill 4 will help more people make the transition to electric vehicles and protect our air in the long term.”

“I started my journey in politics as an activist. Talking to the members of my community and seeing firsthand the issues that impacted their lives, I am always focused on moving the powers of the government to address those needs,” said Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven), Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee. “That’s the mindset I bring every day as Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee. Senate Bill 5 and every priority of the committee are focused on ensuring the government is addressing the concerns of the people.”

“Sadly, it seems that protecting the victims of domestic violence and legally inhibiting new avenues for domestic violence to occur is an ongoing public policy task here in Connecticut,” said Senator Mae Flexer. “Nevertheless, there is no challenge that I will not confront to eradicate domestic violence in this state. The stakes are too high and the cost to us as a society is too great.”

“This legislative session I am committed and focused on putting an end to gun violence in our state especially with our youth,” said Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport), Senate Chair of the Human Services Committee. “We have an extraordinary, experienced group of people that are working on creating and implementing a statewide plan to put an end to gun violence. They bring their lived experience in addressing the many facets of gun violence. We as a state must come together and coordinate services and funding to fight this issue, it must be a multifaceted approach.”

“Connecticut is in non-attainment for air quality and not meeting important greenhouse gas emissions goals,” said Senator Christine Cohen (D-Guilford), Senate Chair of the Environment Committee. “We need to use every tool at our disposal to reduce transportation emissions and build the environmentally friendly transportation infrastructure that will serve this state and its residents for decades to come. By increasing access to electric vehicles, installing charging stations and incentivizing the electrification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, we will be taking meaningful climate action that will have a direct and beneficial impact on our health, air, jobs and community.”

“Tackling carbon pollution is the critical issue of our time, and Connecticut cannot achieve its goals without reducing emissions from the Transportation sector,” said Senator Will Haskell (D-Westport), Senate Chair of the Transportation Committee. “This bill accelerates our transition to electric vehicles, promotes the health of children by investing in electric buses, and cuts congestion by modernizing traffic signals. If you breathe air in the state of Connecticut, there’s something in this legislation for you. I’m excited that so many of my colleagues are signed onto this bill, and we’ll work over the next few months toward a greener, cleaner present and future.”

Senate Bill 4 – An Act Concerning The Connecticut Clean Air Act

Address Connecticut’s Goals for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The latest greenhouse gas emissions inventory shows that Connecticut is moving in the wrong direction toward its 2030 goal of a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2001. Not only is Connecticut not meeting its current goal, but – despite more fuel-efficient cars – greenhouse gas emissions are increasing primarily due to the high number of miles traveled.

Nearly 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Connecticut come from the transportation sector, and transportation emissions must drop by at least a third by 2030 in order to get Connecticut back on track toward its goal. One big way to reduce these emissions and move Connecticut closer to its 2030 goal is to increase the number of non-polluting electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging stations in Connecticut. Connecticut can also use state bonding for the mass purchase of EV school buses and adopt stricter air pollution standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks operating in the state.

Connecticut currently has about 21,400 zero-polluting EVs on the road, and on average it adds another 3,300 EVs to the road every year. The state has a goal of about 137,500 EVs on the road by 2025. At the current sales rate, Connecticut will only have about 31,300 EVs on the road by 2025 – just 23% of its goal.

Senate Bill 4 aims to reduce carbon emissions by expanding public and private utilization of electric vehicles in Connecticut to protect human health and the environment.

Expand Electric Vehicle Rebate Program

To make EVs more affordable and accessible, Connecticut can streamline bureaucratic processes for individuals in Environmental Justice communities while also deepening subsidies and expanding its EV rebate program to more EV models on the market, to municipalities and business fleets, and to electric bikes.

Expand Electric Vehicle Quick-Charging Stations

At the same time, Connecticut can use federal dollars to expand access to EV quick-charging stations in both existing “alternative fuel corridors” (like I-95) and to more rural areas, thereby increasing access and reducing “range anxiety,” making the purchase and use of EVs more attractive to a broader range of consumers.

Purchase Electric School Buses

Connecticut can also consider using its bonding authority to conduct a bulk purchase of EV school buses – perhaps up to 5,000 buses over several years (major school bus manufacturers like Thomas Built, Blue Bird and The Lion already manufacture them). The state could partner with towns, Eversource and United Illuminating on the cost of and charging for those buses. $10 million in state bonding could buy about 225 EV buses, with a 20% federal match.

Stronger Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks

Connecticut can adopt recent California emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks which requires manufacturers to make a certain percentage of those vehicles of the alternative fuel variety. This will create a market for these types of vehicles and allow for their purchase in the commercial sector.

Business Incentives for Electrifying Heavy-Duty Truck Fleets

Connecticut could also incentivize businesses for converting their truck fleets and/or installing electric charging infrastructure. California estimates that while heavy-duty trucks weighing more than 14,000 pounds account for only 3% of all the vehicles on the road in California, they emit more than 50% of all the nitrogen oxides and fine particle diesel pollution from all mobile sources in the state.

Modernize Municipal Traffic Signals

Modernizing municipal traffic signals and making them more responsive to the ever-changing nature of traffic flow is another key step in reducing congestion — and, by extension, reducing carbon emissions. While the state Department of Transportation is working to modernize state-owned traffic signals, municipalities need their own source of financial support to make this transition possible at the local level. It’s a victory for our environment and for our everyday commuting lives when motorists spend less time idling in traffic.

Senate Bill 5 – An Act Concerning Child Victims of Domestic Violence and Online Harassment

Fund More Child and Family Advocates to Assist Children Impacted by Domestic Violence

One goal of Senate Bill 5 involves amending the general statutes to provide $1.44 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, for eighteen full-time child and family advocates at local non-profits that assist domestic violence victims. This funding will play a vital role in getting children impacted by domestic violence the direct attention and aid they need.

According to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the funding would support 18 full-time Child and Family Advocates who would work directly with affected children; currently, there is no state funding provided in Connecticut for these important roles, and existing funding only allows for each child treated by the state to receive 2.26 hours of service annually.

According to the Resource Center on Domestic Violence, an alarming number of children – between 3.3 million and 10 million – are exposed to adult domestic violence each year. It’s estimated that as many as 20% of children may be exposed to intimate partner violence annually; up to one in three children may be exposed during childhood or adolescence. Children exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk of being physically abused, among other forms of maltreatment; they also are at greater risk of experiencing additional problems later in life that could lead to adverse outcomes. Stress factors including poverty, unemployment and lower levels of education for families correlate directly to increased risk of domestic violence, and domestic violence has direct ties to worsening psychological and physical health, decreased quality of life, decreased productivity and, potentially, decreases in lifespan.

The impacts of the pandemic have likely made this issue worse in multiple ways. Teachers were unable to notice behavioral changes that could be attributable to domestic violence with classrooms closed, especially with online platforms being a likely explanation at the time for missing such irregularities. Fewer referrals from educators have resulted since the start of the pandemic, with community programs also limiting children’s participation abilities.

By increasing availability of resources for families and children experiencing domestic violence, more individuals will be able to receive the help they need and deserve, especially in children, where its impacts risk lifelong effects in children both physically and mentally – and potential for the cycle of violence to continue. From July 2019 to June 2020, the state’s 18 member organizations provided aid and services to 37,223 victims, including 32,201 adults and 4,922 children. Those victims were able to receive court-based advocacy, group counseling, one-on-one counseling and outreach; increasing funding to allow for more experts aiding families will improve on these figures, especially given interruptions in services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family and child advocates will support both children and parents, aiding affected children with services meeting their needs and teaching them emotional wellness, conflict resolution and the advantages of social supports. The non-offending parent will further be supported in identifying protective factors and building parental resilience, aiding them in recovering from trauma and improving their relationship with their children. Increasing parental safety and aiding them in building resiliency are proven to be effective methods of family support.

Combat Online Harassment

The legislation also seeks to increase funding to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection to increase efforts to prevent and combat online harassment. Ways in which this can be accomplished include requiring dating apps to disclose they do not vet participants and making it illegal for an individual to solicit contact information from minors if the solicitation is sexually motivated.

Why is this important? It would better limit and provide oversight to protect the public from online sexual harassment or phishing. The FBI reports that there are up to 500,000 sexual predators active online; over 50% of their victims who are sexually exploited online are between the ages of 12 and 15. Just under 90% of sexual advances directed toward children occur in Internet chatrooms or over instant messaging; 25% of exploitation incidents see a predator ask a minor for sexually explicit pictures, while as many as 4% of all children will be aggressively solicited online.

Further, requiring apps to disclose lack of vetting participants will better inform the public before joining a platform; according to Pew Research, 37% of dating app users under the age of 35 reported unwanted contact from individuals on dating sites; 35% received sexually explicit content unprompted, 28% were called offensive names and 9% were threatened with physical harm. This disclosure will help aid users in determining whether they want to use such a platform.

Strengthening Gun Violence Prevention Efforts

In 2021, Senate Democrats led passage of legislation to implement a gun violence intervention and prevention committee. Putting an end to gun violence that takes place across cities in Connecticut and protecting the young children who are in the crossfire is a priority for Senate Democrats. A number of gun violence intervention programs were implemented across the state in 2021 which helped address youth gun violence and secured funding through various initiatives that will help create, implement, and evaluate a plan to build statewide coalitions for cities most impacted by gun violence.

In 2022, Senate Democrats will prioritize funding the efforts of The Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention Advisory Committee. The committee works to coordinate the funding and implementation of evidence-based, community-centric programs and strategies to reduce street-level gun violence in the state.

Senate Democrats Announce “Healthy Students, Healthy Schools” Initiative

Legislative Priorities Will Support Youth Mental Health, Increase Health Services in Schools, and Expand Preschool

HARTFORD – Today, Senate Democrats announced the “Healthy Students, Healthy Schools” Initiative to support youth mental health, increase health services in schools, and expand preschool and childcare. The legislative proposals outlined in Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2 aim to further support children beyond the traditional public school system. Based on the recommendations of experts, task forces created from 2021 legislation, and “The Whole Child Initiative,” these proposals will strengthen the well-being and safety of Connecticut’s youth so every child is healthy, supported, and engaged, especially in light of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have received countless calls from parents and families sharing stories of the mental and emotional pressures that COVID-19 has placed on their children and grandchildren. We owe it to the next generation of Connecticut to make essential investments in their mental health and ensure that sufficient resources are readily available in their schools,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney. “We will increase support for the needs of all children, starting with the youngest in our state by expanding access to affordable, high-quality childcare and preschool.”

“Last year, we took decisive action to provide support to Connecticut’s youth and their families. Now, with the start of the new legislative session, we will build on that work by boosting mental health resources, increasing access to after-school programs, and making pre-K more readily available to families,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff. “The safety and health of our families will continue to be the focus of Senate Democrats.”

“The trauma and heartache of the coronavirus pandemic has been acutely felt by the young people of our state. They have seen their parents lose jobs, family members become sick, and their entire social and school lives disrupted. As a state, we cannot fully recover from COVID-19 without investing in the well-being of Connecticut’s youth,” said Senator Doug McCrory, Senate Chair of the Education Committee. “This legislative session, we will make bold investments in student mental and social-emotional health, while working to ensure that youth are able to access the supports and resources they need from the pre-K to high school level.”

“In the last two years, we have learned so much about the challenges Connecticut faces,” said Senator Saud Anwar, Senate Chair of the Committee on Children. “The health and well-being of our children is one on which we cannot wait to act. Last year, my colleagues and I passed legislation focused on children’s mental health. This year we aim to go further by ensuring we are focused on the entirety of a child’s needs. That means we intend to protect childcare centers and childcare workers, expand pre-kindergarten learning opportunities, expand after-school programs and ensure children and parents are on the same page – and committed to a better future. We are also working on supporting our youth services bureaus so they can enhance their positive impact on the well-being of some of our youth.”

Senate Bill 1, An Act Concerning Childhood Mental and Physical Health Services in Schools, includes proposals to:

• Increase funding for social workers in schools
• Use of Narcan training for school nurses and teachers, and provide Narcan to school districts
• Mental health training for youth sports coaches, and provide mental health resources to athletes
• Shift school start times for better youth health outcomes
• Greater transparency for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference
• Increase minority teacher recruitment
• Cutting costs for towns on special education
• Increase and expand school-based health centers

Senate Bill 2, An Act Expanding Preschool and Mental and Behavioral Services for Children, includes proposals to:

• Extend access to affordable, high-quality child care and preschool, also ensuring that the staff of those programs are paid competitively
• Increase access to mentoring, after-school programs
• Greater supports for children and adolescents disconnected from school
• Universal free pre-K at age 3
• Enhancing families’ engagement in social, emotional and academic development
• Increase access to virtual mental health services

SENATE BILL 1

Increase Funding for Social Workers in Schools

School social workers work to ensure that students have the support in-place to allow them to thrive academically, support social-emotional health and are in a safe environment. A mission that has grown in importance after the pressures inflected by the COVID-19 pandemic on students and their families. Senate Democrats are calling for an increase in funding to support and grow the number of social workers in schools so students can more greatly benefit from their life-changing work.

School social workers provide an array of services inside and outside the classroom according to the School Social Work Association of America including, but limited to:

• Mental Health: Assist school districts in receiving support from social and mental health agencies, counseling for students and/or their families
• Special Education and Helping Children with Disabilities: Participate in special education assessment meetings, compiling a social or developmental history on a student with a disability
• Child Safety: Identify and report child abuse and neglect, provide crisis intervention
• Personal Behavior and Social-Emotional Skills: Help with conflict resolution and anger management, assist students with developing their social interaction skills
• Family Support: Provide case management for students and families needing multiple resources, advocate for improvements to school services

The value of these essential services has been underscored by the effects of the pandemic, but the need for them existed before then. High school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased to more than one in three students between 2009 and 2019, according to late 2021 advisory on youth mental health by the U.S. Surgeon General. The same advisory reported that suicide rates among youth ages 10 to 24 increased by almost 60% between 2007 and 2018.

The Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-CT) noted in a statement calling for more funds to expand school social work services that under one in five of the 12.5 million children in need of mental health services receive such support.

Increasing funding for school social workers would bring greater access to resources and services for students, while building on previous legislation approved by Senate Democrats. Last year, during the 2021 legislative session, Senate Democrats approved Senate Bill 2 (Public Act No. 21-46). The transformative legislation contained numerous provisions to support the health of students including: a new youth suicide prevention training program offered by school districts, students can take two mental health wellness days during the school year, and school lunch debt will no longer result in any punishment to a student.

Use of Narcan Training for School Nurses and Teachers, and Provide Narcan to School Districts

In response to the tragic death of a Hartford student due to an overdose on fentanyl, Senate Democrats seek to have all school nurses and teachers trained to use Naloxone and for the medication that reverses an opioid overdose to be supplied to school districts. The training and availability of the life-saving medication will prepare teachers and nurses to respond to a student experiencing an overdose. Some school districts have already taken steps to provide training. Both Hartford Public Schools and New Britain Public Schools announced they would provide Narcan training to teachers or nurses.

Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, is an opioid antagonist that can quickly restore regular breathing to a person who has slowed or stopped breathing due to an opioid overdose. Opioids can include fentanyl, oxycodone or “OxyContin,” heroin, hydrocodone or “Vicodin,” and codeine that can be found in some cold and cough medicines.

This legislative priority is the next step in Connecticut allowing for greater availability and training to use Narcan.

• 2016 – Connecticut allowed health care professionals to administer Narcan to prevent overdoses
• 2018 – A prescribing practitioner or pharmacist could enter in agreements with organizations such as law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, or community health organizations to distribute and train them on the use of Narcan
• 2019 – Colleges and universities in Connecticut must have a policy on the availability and use of opioid antagonists by students and employees. The policy needs to include a designated medical or public safety professional to oversee the purchasing, storing, and distributing of opioid antagonists on campuses

According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, fentanyl was the greatest drug involved in unintentional drug overdose deaths in the state between 2015 and 2021. Heroin, another opioid, was the third-leading cause. Connecticut saw an increase in overdose deaths year-after-year. There were 728 deaths in 2015, which peaked at 1,369 deaths in 2020. 474 young people between 15 to 24 years old were among those who lost their lives between 2015 and 2021.

Mental Health Training for Youth Sports Coaches and Provide Mental Health Resources to Athletes

In 2021, tennis player Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles brought global attention to the importance of mental health in sports. A health matter that has received less attention compared to the common understanding of the physical strain and pressure that athletes put their bodies through.

Senate Democrats join a growing movement for equalizing support to athletes in caring for both their physical and mental health. During the 2022 legislative session, they will advocate for youth sports coaches in Connecticut to receive mental health training and for student athletes to have greater access to mental health resources.The NCAA has backed similar efforts to expand access to mental health resources. The Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences participating in the 2019 NCAA convention adopted a policy that schools guarantee mental health services and resources to student athletes.Also, the urgency to protect the mental health of student athletes, and youth overall, has grown in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. An NCAA survey of college student athletes taken in spring 2020, during the height of the pandemic in the U.S., found that in most cases the rates of mental health concerns were 150-250% higher than previously reported in the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment. In related findings:

• 1 in 10 reported a sense of depression that made it difficult to function in their daily lives
• Student athletes of color were among the highest to report mental health concerns

The survey highlighted the deep connection between athletes and coaches, including that they would look to their coaches for resources and support. That trust served as the underpinning of similar legislation proposed in Ohio in late 2021. The Ohio bill would require that school athletic coaches complete mental health training in order to supervise or direct a student athletics program.

Shift School Start Times for Better Youth Health Outcomes

Adolescents not getting enough sleep has been associated with several health problems including obesity, increased risk of anxiety and depression, and greater chances of having a stroke. Also, lack of sleep has been linked to lower academic achievement and impairments in attention and memory, according to the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics.

Senate Democrats are advocating for school start times to be shifted later for high school students to allow a greater chance to get the recommended at least eight hours of sleep and reduce chances of health risks, a measure that is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Several school districts in Connecticut have explored or implemented re-organizing their school start times for students including Wilton in 2003 and Guilford in 2018. Also, West Hartford in 2020 passed a resolution calling on the Connecticut General Assembly to move the start of the school day to a later time after exploring whether to change start times in their school district.

The same year of West Hartford’s resolution, a bill for the Connecticut Department of Education to set up a working group to study issues with school start times was considered but stalled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The shifting of start times has gained action in other parts of the U.S. In 2016, Seattle Public Schools reorganized their school start times with all high schools shifting to a later time in the morning. Also, California approved a law in 2019 moving back middle school and high school start times.

Greater Transparency for CIAC

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which is the governing body for high school interscholastic sports in the state, has been in existence since 1921. The Board of Control that oversees the athletic organization says the board “reflects the diversity of Connecticut’s schools” when it comes to school size, location in the state, and type of school (ex. technical schools), but a closer a look at its membership roster shows the board does not reflect the gender makeup of Connecticut’s student athlete population or the racial diversity of the state population.

Out of the 28 members on the Board of Control, only five members are women or a little under 18% of the board. In comparison, 45% of student athletes in the state are female, according to the 2019 National Federation of State High School Associations report.

There is also underrepresentation when it comes to race on the Board of Control. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a little more than 12% of Connecticut’s population is Black and almost 17% of the state is Hispanic or Latino, and the board is not representative of people of color proportionate to the state’s demographics.

With this knowledge, Senate Democrats seek to implement greater reporting on the membership diversity of the Board of Control, in addition to athletic directors and coaches in Connecticut, who have a central role overseeing the health and safety of student athletes. With that reporting, Senate Democrats seek opportunities for athletes who are young women and people of color to see themselves represented in leadership, and for coaches to have opportunities for advancement.

Increase Minority Teacher Recruitment

Almost half of Connecticut’s student population are people of color. However, according to a report from Governor Lamont, people of color only make up at least 10 percent of the state’s teacher workforce. To breakdown this disparity, Senate Democrats are calling for an increase in funding for minority teacher recruitment and retention programs.

The recruitment, training, and support for a diverse teacher workforce will lead to improved academic achievement among all students, particularly students of color, as noted in an article published by the Education Commission of the States underscore that a diverse teacher population yields benefits that are seen by a student’s performance in the classroom, but also extends for years after.

Cutting Costs for Towns on Special Education

The State of Connecticut funds Special Education costs in two ways. First, a portion of the Education Cost Sharing formula is intended to cover special education costs. The second way is through the Excess Cost Grant. The Excess Cost Grant reimburses all districts for special education costs that exceed 4.5 times the amount the district spends on average for each student in the district.

Unfortunately, the state caps the amount of money budgeted for the Excess Cost Grant program forcing some districts to receive a pro-rated amount of the grant they are entitled to. In Fiscal Year 2020 for example, districts only received 71% of the money they were entitled to. The budget would need to include approximately $60 million in additional funding to fully fund the program.

Senate Democrats intend to address this lack of funding and some of the larger structural issues in how the state reimburses towns for special education costs.

Increase and Expand School-Based Health Centers

With more students needing aid, especially those falling behind as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting them with aid where they are is important. By increasing and expanding school-based health centers, which offer a variety of care options including primary care, mental health, health promotion and dental services, our state can better serve those in need in the schools they are learning in. These centers offer the services of licensed medical and behavioral health professionals with expertise in child and adolescent health, meeting the needs of children while they are actively being enriched and educated. This could be done with an adjustment to the municipal aid school-based health clinic line in the budget.

School-based health centers provide financial savings to children and their families by reducing loss of time and productivity for parents who would otherwise need to leave work; they provide services to patients and their families at reduced costs; and SBHCs prevent unnecessary emergency department visits and unintended presidencies. These centers have positive benefits on prenatal care and pediatric chronic conditions, with 84% offering vision screening and 20% offering oral health exams. They are associated with improved academic outcomes including improved GPAs and reduced rates of suspension; SBHCs even have been shown to reduce depressive episodes and suicide risk among adolescents.

SENATE BILL 2

Expand Child Care and Preschool

Senate Democrats plan to extend access to affordable, high-quality child care and preschool, also ensuring that the staff of those programs are paid competitively. This will ensure a strong start for children at the beginning of their developmental processing, helping them achieve more during their lives. It relates to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s priority of ensuring children receive strong starts, and fights the child care struggles of parents during times of high COVID-19 community spread. During the peaks of the pandemic, many parents had to choose between work and their child’s safety/learning. This is relief for them.

Every year, working parents lose on average $3,350 in lost earnings, reduced productivity and lost time looking for work when their children don’t have adequate child care. Businesses lose $1,150 annually per working parent in lost revenue and added recruitment costs; taxpayers lose $630 in income and sales tax revenue. From 0-3, these losses can add up to $9,000 for families over three years and $2,270 per taxpayer. Close to two-thirds of parents experiencing child-care problems report losing time or focus at work; almost one in ten reported significant job disruptions including demotion, transferring, firing or leaving a job.

Early childhood workers are responsible for a significant number of supports for children – they deserve to be treated well and to be supported so they can provide high-quality care and education, and be compensated well for the important work they do, not only to bolster their spirits but to draw more workers to childcare and bolster program efficacy.

The average childcare worker in 2020 – before the COVID-19 pandemic began – earned just $11.65 per hour. Only 20% of the country sees early childhood workers able to earn enough to cover basic needs; if they have at least one child, they do not earn a living wage in any of the United States. The early child-care industry is overwhelmingly female, largely staffed by Black, Asian or Latino workers and said they’ve faced threats of layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts since the pandemic started.

More than 40% of students who attend after-school programs like 21st Century Community Learning Center programs improved their reading and math grades, with more frequent attendance correlating to boosts in academic performance. Afterschool programs improve school day attendance and participation, reduce school dropout rates, foster developmental relationships that decrease risky behaviors and provide working parents with increased stability.

Greater Supports for Children and Adolescents Disconnected from School

Greater resources need to be invested in supporting children and adolescents disengaged or disconnected from school. Disengaged youth who miss at least 25 days of school in a year, have at least two suspensions or expulsions and/or fail at least two or more courses per year need direct intervention and support. Disconnected youth are more likely to experience health challenges, substance abuse, are more likely to be Black or Hispanic, have an unemployment rate 2.5 times the rate of other young people in Connecticut, are five times more likely to be incarcerated than peers who graduate high school and draw almost four times more state funds over time. Helping disengaged and disconnected youth can lead to stronger schools, higher employment, fewer individuals incarcerated or struggling with addiction, healthier communities and higher rates of economic growth.

Investing in student re-engagement means investing in additional educational venues, including alternative ones compared to traditional schools; deploying and aligning workers to enhance outreach to disengaged students; launching back-to-school campaigns and other elements that will aid students to return; and understanding the youth mindsets that lead to said disengagement and reapproaching how they are met. Successful programs to aid these students include ones with opportunities for paid work and financial incentives; linking education, training and the job market; and comprehensive support services. Programs should focus, among others, on skill development to aid these youths in the future.

Universal Free Pre-K at Age 3

Children’s earliest years are critical to their overall development and are crucial for academic, social and vocational success. Universal free pre-K would provide key support to mitigate adverse childhood experiences and would be beneficial to future academic, social and vocational success. Further, it would serve to help close gaps between children whose parents have higher income educational attainment versus those with lower rates, which normally exacerbate existing inequalities in childhood development and eventual academic and economic outcomes. These investments further will benefit the economy, from allowing more parents to rejoin the workforce to preserving earnings and providing families with more capacity for spending.

A study of a preschool program that allowed 4,000 children access in Boston found that preschool has a huge positive effect on kids – they were less likely to be suspended, less likely to skip class, less likely to get in juvenile trouble, more likely to take the SATs and more likely to prepare for college. Kids accepted in preschool had a 6% higher rate of graduation from high school and an 8% higher rate of going to college after graduation. However, students did not perform better on standardized tests; it’s believed that preschool related to development of discipline and motivation.

Enhancing Families’ Engagement in Social, Emotional and Academic Development

As social and emotional learning becomes more common, helping students learn and engage with themselves as a whole, these concepts can also benefit their families. The Department of Probation offers a family engagement initiative, allowing entire families to learn more about the interconnected nature of their social and emotional capabilities; by taking a similar program and allowing families to participate, the families of youth participating and those who have not been involved with such projects can learn to better engage in their children’s and adolescents’ overall growth and development.

Children with highly involved parents see enhanced social functioning and fewer behavioral problems. Parent involvement can enhance children’s behavior at home and in the classroom. Family-school interventions on children’s social-behavioral competence and mental health correlate directly to positive outcomes in interpersonal processes and behavioral supports, among others.

Increase Access to Virtual Mental Health Services

PSYPACT is an interstate compact allowing licensed psychologists to practice telepsychology and conduct temporary in-person face-to-face practice of psychology across state boundaries, allowing for additional psychologists to service Connecticut residents during a time of strain on current systems. PSYPACT will allow continuity of care for residents who may relocate; they can also reach the underserved, the isolated and those without specialty care, further ensuring psychologists have met defined standards to practice in other states.

Connecticut would join the 26 other states that have already joined the PSYPACT compact and would aid the state in better ensuring medical aid for those in need, especially for specialists who may not be easy to schedule with. Care for important conditions, including addiction to fight the continuing opioid crisis and mental health care for the one-in-four U.S. adults who have mental illnesses, will be more readily accessible. Connecticut healthcare professionals including the Connecticut Psychological Association support the adoption of PSYPACT in its certification of individuals meeting acceptable standards of practice, its facilitation of better continuity of care and its enhanced access to necessary mental health care.

Senate Democrats will look to join PSYPACT in order to meet the demand for mental health services for our children.