FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

CT TEACHERS UNION GIVES SEN. KUSHNER AN “A” GRADE FOR THE 2024 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

HARTFORD – The Connecticut Education Association, a state teacher’s union representing more than 43,000 active, retired and aspiring educators, has just released its report card for the 2024 legislative session, and state Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) received an “A” grade, confirming her outstanding commitment to the public policies and budget dollars that make Connecticut teachers and their public school students successful all across the state.

Sen. Kushner’s score was the second highest of the 36 state senators. Detailed results of the report card can be found here: https://cea.org/legislator-report-card/?wdt_search=senate

“All of my children attended Danbury public schools, and all of them got a first-class education thanks to the dedication and excellence of Connecticut’s public school teachers. I am doing everything I can in the General Assembly to ensure that the current generation and the next generation of Connecticut students walking through the halls of our schools have the same opportunity to learn from great teachers,” Sen. Kushner said. “I’m especially pleased to be recognized for my work on improving indoor air quality standards in Connecticut schools; I helped write that legislation and I co-chair the committee that is helping to ensure successful learning and teaching in our schools.”

This is the fourth CEA report card for Sen. Kushner, who has a lifetime CEA score of 98 for voting for the types of pro-public education policies that have made Connecticut’s public school system the second-best in the United States, according to a WalletHub survey out this week. https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-with-the-best-schools/5335

The CEA awarded an average score of 90.2 (A-) to the 24 Democratic senators this session, and an average score of 76.5 (C) to the 12 Republican senators.

In past years, the CEA has graded legislators on their support for public education policies such as Cultural Responsiveness, School Counselors, Black and Latino Studies, Minority Teacher Recruitment, Student Mental & Behavioral Health, Protecting Teachers’ Personal Information, Standardized Assessment & Special Education, and Safe Classrooms.

This year, the CEA graded legislators for their votes on:

• House Bill 5436, teacher certification and mandated reporters, for supporting important changes to teacher certification, improvements to mandated reporter procedures, changes to the assessment for teacher preparatory programs, and supports for paraeducators.
• House Bill 5437, Professional Development & School Climate, for supporting and updating professional development requirements and improving school culture and climate.
• Senate Bill 154, Behavior Notification & Assessment Audit, for supporting better student behavior notifications to parents and a standardized assessment audit.
• House Bill 5524 and Senate Bill 5, School Indoor Air Quality, for supporting and expanding Connecticut’s school Indoor Air Quality grant program.
• Senate Bill 14, Goodwin Magnet Teacher Rights, for ensuring teacher rights are maintained at Goodwin University Magnet School.
• House Bill 5523, the 2024 Budget Implementer, for supporting a budget implementer that included $550,000 to the Teachers Retirement Board for Retiree Healthcare and adding CEA to the Education Mandate Review Advisory Council.

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