CABE Engages at the National Level

Patrice McCarthy Executive Director & General Counsel, CABE

At the recent Annual Conference of the National School Boards Association Connecticut leaders again served in many key roles. During the NSBA Delegate Assembly, where the Beliefs, Policies and Resolutions of the Association are adopted annually, CABE was represented by delegates President Liz Brown (Waterbury), First Vice President Leonard Lockhart (Windsor) and Vice President for Government Relations Meg Scata (Portland) as well as alternate delegates, Vice President for Professional Development John Prins (Branford) and Immediate Past President Donald Harris (Bloomfield). Meg Scata also served on the Credentials Committee, and John Prins served on the Elections Committee.

CABE’s belief statement on Anti-Hate Speech, which calls on school districts to actively respond to incidents of hate language, was readopted overwhelmingly.

were also readopted, including:

• Civility, which calls upon public officials at all levels of government to model civil discourse, and for school boards to provide opportunities for students to develop their skills in collaborative engagement, conflict resolution, and consensus building.

• School Safety and Crime Prevention, which calls upon Congress to provide greater and sustained resources for local programs that are critical to school safety, including school resource officers, school counseling, interagency coordination, and mental health services.

• Individuals with Disabilities

Bills have been voted out of committee and are jockeying for debate time on the floor of each chamber. Many bills remain “works in progress” and hallway conversations, emails and negotiations continue to influence the outcome of the many issues.

Legislators rely on a bills file copy at this stage. A file copy is the legal language of the bill with any substitute language out of committee, along with a fiscal analysis on implementation at the state and municipal level, as well as a research analysis that takes into account how the bill will effect existing programs or be establishing new programs.

Please reach out to your legislators to impact the outcome on issues effecting your district. Look for more up to date information in our weekly email of Advocacy Highlights.