Girl Scouts, Phone Addiction, and more

March 14, 2025



 

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Dear Neighbor,

Happy Friday!

It was so much fun to be joined by some local Fairfield Girl Scouts on Tuesday for Girl Scouts Day at the Capitol! Fairfield was well represented with more Girl Scouts than any other town!

I was a longtime Girl Scout myself, and I was proud to be made an honorary member. These young women are our future leaders and days like these where I get to be around them are so fulfilling and joyful.

In the rest of this week's eblast, you can read about supporting our refugees, some amazing community events, and more. You can click the links below to navigate between sections.
 

Attacks on Our Department of Education 

Earlier this week, the federal Department of Education announced they were laying off about 1,300 employees - gutting their staff and effectively dismantling the department.

This is devastating for our kids, including the millions who have access to college and higher education because of Pell Grants, those who live in poverty and benefit from Title I funds, and students with disabilities who are protected at the state and federal level.

Our state receives just shy of $500 million from the federal government each year, and that is at severe risk now. As a state we cannot fill such a whole left by the Federal Government but we are working hard to allocate every dollar possible to our students. 

In the Education Committee, we are working tirelessly to combat this attack on our children. For example, we are making sure protections for students with disabilities stay in place by proposing a bill to codify 504 accommodations for students with disabilities as a federal court case plays out that could deem the federal 504 law unconstitutional.

This is a rapidly evolving landscape, and the Education Committee will not stop fighting for our kids.

You can see my comments in full here.
 

Supporting Our Refugees 

This week I was happy to be with the wonderful people supporting our refugees while Gov. Lamont signed the stopgap funding for them into law.

The bill signing provides CIRI, IRIS, and JFS Greenwich funding while their $20 million in federal funding has been cancelled. Connecticut will always stand by our values of welcoming refugees.
 

Discussion on Phone Addiction for High Schoolers 

I recently joined Governor Lamont, Attorney General Tong, and fellow legislators at Wethersfield High School for a discussion on removing cell phones from classrooms.

It was really interesting to listen to these high school students talk about what it's been like for them to grow up with smart phones and social media.

Listening to them talk about how hard it is to resist their phones, the anxiety not being able to check their phones can cause, and how they spend hours scrolling once they get them back made me so sad for them. And honestly, it also made me mad that we as a society haven't done more to protect them from this addiction that is actively harmful.

I am really grateful our State Attorney General William Tong is suing Meta and TikTok for intentionally designing their products to be addicting, and that Governor Lamont has been talking about this issue for years.
 

Events For the Family
Open Play & Storytime
370 Beach Road
Tuesdays, April 1-May 6, 10am-noon
Read more here and here
Supporting Our Kids: A Parent's Guide to Mental Health
Bigelow Senior Center (100 Mona Terrace)
March 27, 6pm
Read more here
 

Community Fun! 

2nd Annual Egg Hunt
75 Hillside Road
April 5, 10-11am
Read more here
Beach Bunny 5K
Jennings Beach
April 12, 8-11am
Read more here
 

History Lovers Events 
Powerful Voices: Women Changing Democracy
370 Beach Road
March 18, 7-8pm
Read more here
Cornelius Vanderbilt & the New York Central Railroad
370 Beach Road
March 12, noon-1pm
Read more here
 

I'm committed to ensuring your voice is heard. Please don't hesitate to call my office at (860) 240-8585 or email me if there's anything I can do for you. Be sure to follow @LeeperForFairfield on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on everything I'm doing at the Capitol.


Sincerely,

Jennifer Leeper
State Representative

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