Jennifer Leeper

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.

This week I was proud to speak in support of our public schools with teachers from the Connecticut Education Association.

When we are stripping away what is estimated to be just shy of a half-billion dollars from our schools, or even eliminating the Department of Education completely, every child in every school is impacted.

As Chair of the Education Committee, we are prioritizing getting every dollar we can into our education cost sharing formula because we know that's how we manage class sizes, caseloads, and ensuring every child has access to a high-quality public education.

This week on the House floor, we passed legislation to require one administrator in each school to be the point person should Immigration and Customs Enforcement come to a school looking for a child and to implement the corresponding State Department of Education guidance.

The role of the designated administrator is not to enforce nor impede immigration law but to ensure that the SDE-established school security protocols are followed. The guidance includes having the administrator verify the identification of the agent, review any legal documents presented, and consult with legal counsel if necessary.

Per the U.S. Supreme Court decision 40 years ago, every child has a right to a public education regardless of immigration status. This bill is about maintaining a safe environment for students and staff while complying with any legal obligations.

This week, the Education Committee held its first public hearing. We spent nine hours listening to our commissioners and the public weigh in on various bills.

There are 18 public hearings scheduled next week, including one on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 10am for the Education Committee. Visit this website for information on how to testify on a bill at a public hearing.

This week State Representative Kate Farrar and I were honored to welcome our state’s refugee resettlement agencies Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants IRIS - Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services Jewish Family Services of Greenwich to the Capitol to share an update on their efforts to support and empower the refugees our nation vetted and welcomed now that the new administration has denied access to them and expressed that these people are no longer welcome in America. It has been heartbreaking to watch the administration conflate refugees, who are the most extensively vetted immigrants and who have endured unimaginable atrocities, with criminals.

This week has certainly been a whirlwind. Every day included a new series of declarations from the Trump Administration with no accompanying guidance for the states. In particular, the efforts by the federal government to pause trillions of dollars in federal grants - including over $14.3 billion in Connecticut - and the ramping up of arrests of immigrants in our communities, and the tying of DOT safety and infrastructure funds to things like immigration policies, vaccine policies, and birthrates have left many with uncertainty, anxiety, and fear.

While much is unknown about the future, what I can say for sure is my colleagues and I will continue to fight to improve the lives of the residents of Fairfield, Southport, and our whole state.

I hope you'll join me and State Reps. Keitt and McCarthy Vahey on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 11am at Wake Up Coffee (71 Constant Comment Way, Fairfield) for a legislative coffee hour! We'll be discussing what's going on at the Capitol, our priorities this session, and what's on your mind!

These events are so important to the work we do for you in Hartford, and I hope to see you there!