Special Education Reform & Opening Doors To Housing

May 30, 2025


 
 

Time is running out to pass bills at the Capitol as we enter the final week of the legislative session. On Thursday, the House passed a priority bill that will reform special education in our community and across the state. Please keep scrolling for a deep dive into how this legislation will address funding and shortfalls in the special education system for students and teachers.

We also advanced a priority housing bill to support those struggling with rising rents. I spoke to an expert on my radio show to learn why this legislation is a win for Windham. Keep scrolling to listen to the show.

We also passed a bill with the hopes of deterring street takeovers and illegal ATV use. I'll break down how the new legislation will crack down on those activities.

Here are the sections in today's email:

  • Special Education Reform
  • Let's Talk About It: Housing Crisis
  • Tackling Street Takeovers
  • Supports for Survivors of Sexual Assault
 

Special Education Reform

For too long, Connecticut's special education model has faced fundamental flaws that prevented all students from receiving the proper education they deserve. With our recent passage of HB 5001: An Act Concerning the Quality and Delivery of Special Education Services in Connecticut, we are taking important steps to reform this system.

As a member of the Select Committee on Special Education, I am proud the House passed the bill 148-0. It makes historic investments for students in special education, delivers better access to services, and provides cost controls and greater transparency. 

Key provisions of the bill include:

  • Historic investment in our students, including $30 million for the Special Education Expansion and Development (SEED) grant program, which will help build capacity to serve students closer to home.
  • Prioritizing better access to services through enhanced development screenings, behavioral assessment and intervention plans, access to remedial classes in higher education, and involvement of parents and local school districts before a student is moved from their school.
  • Reining in costs by regulating third party rate processes and developing new billing and licensing standards.
  • Increasing oversight through on-site compliance visits and detailed system-wide reporting to reduce unpredictability and improve accountability.

Children are our future, and it is our responsibility to provide them a proper education. In a state that has one of the best K-12 public school systems in the country. This legislation makes sure our special education program maintains that same level of quality.

The bill must now pass the Senate before the governor can sign it into law. 
 

Let's Talk About It: Housing Crisis

This week, the House of Representatives passed a bill I proudly co-sponsored addressing the housing crisis in our state. House Bill 5002 will:

  • provide grants to communities that proactively plan for affordable housing
  • ban hostile architecture that harms those struggling with homelessness
  • provide laundry and hygiene options for unhoused people

Provisions in this measure provide funding to regional bodies to support towns in proactively planning for affordable housing. This is coupled with a robust $50 million annual grant program to assist public housing authorities in directly increasing housing supply for our lowest-income residents. 
 

Addressing the issue of housing is a complex challenge with no simple solutions, but this bill represents a meaningful step forward in supporting those in need.

I spoke with Pew Foundation Housing researcher Alex Horowitz before the bill was passed on my weekly radio show "Let's Talk About It." We broke down how the bill will benefit our community, identified the issues in Connecticut that make our housing market uniquely difficult to manage, dug deeper into the steps other state governments have taken to reduce housing costs, and discussed potential legislation that could benefit our state in the future.

Horowitz brought some compelling statistics to the conversation. One that stuck out to me was the rapid rate at which rent is rising in our state. In 2017, the median rent in Connecticut was around 12% higher than the U.S. median. As of this spring, it's 22% higher equating to nearly $1,700 per month, which is not sustainable.
 
To hear our full conversation on the housing crisis and some innovative solutions, like changing mortgage eligibility on mobile homes and bringing back a modernized version of dorm-like living facilities from the 1960s, listen to the full interview with Alex below.
Pew Foundation Housing researcher Alex Horowitz
discusses our housing crisis on a federal level.
 

Tackling Street Takeovers
We’re cracking down on street takeovers and the illegal use of All Terrain Vehicles (ATV). This activity is not only disruptive, but dangerous.

House Democrats voted on Wednesday to authorize steep fines, vehicle seizures, and automatic license suspensions.

This legislation targets both participants and organizers, aiming to curb dangerous road behavior with tougher enforcement and penalties.
 

Support for Survivors of Sexual Assault
We approved a reform to stop the weaponization of our legal system by using defamation lawsuits to silence victims. Communications that detail sexual discrimination, harassment or assault will now be kept confidential in civil court. This bill will serve as a a great tool of defense for victims.

House Bill 7134 now heads to the State Senate, which has until June 4 at midnight to advance the measure.