CT Mirror

Special education advocates are split on whether two proposed bills are the best steps forward in tackling concerns about the quality of student services, cost, and accountability. Leaders of the Select Committee on Special Education described House Bill 7277 and Senate Bill 1561 at a news conference Monday morning as “a historical way for Connecticut” to pay for special education and make the school systems and their services more equitable for students with disabilities. But more than 700 written statements were submitted opposing the bill and tuition caps. Many who opposed the bill, whether in writing or at the public hearing on Monday, were parents, special education lawyers, and some lawmakers who were on the committee. “This is not a good bill, or at least, needs a tremendous amount of work,” said Andrew Feinstein, a longtime special education attorney and legislative chair for the advocacy group Special Education Equity for Kids of Connecticut. “There are some good sections, which we support, but by and large, this effort to destroy private providers, which is absolutely what this bill will do, is just unacceptable.”