CCER Applauds Malloy and Legislature for Codifying Office of Early Childhood

New Haven, Connecticut – On May 5, 2014, Governor Malloy praised the General Assembly for passing legislation to establish the Office of Early Childhood (OEC). The OEC’s establishment follows an unusual turn of events a year ago, when the General Assembly failed to pass a bill creating the OEC, while the state budget still allocated funding to its creation. As a result, Malloy had created the OEC by executive order. The legislature’s action this session ensures the office’s continuity by placing it into statute. 

In response today, Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) made this statement:

“The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) will provide a comprehensive system to deliver early childhood programming in Connecticut. The continued consolidation of early childhood programs under one roof will result in increased coordination and collaboration.

“Families can and should expect that the programs they seek for their youngsters will be related to each other and of a high quality. In 2010, the Connecticut Commission on Educational Achievement (CCEA) observed that the State’s responsibility over early childhood had been ‘dispersed across four state agencies’. That’s why CCER–which adopted the recommendations of the CCEA–has always called for the establishment of a single state office to be responsible for early intervention, care, and education.

“This is an important step toward narrowing Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap. Children from low-income environments are often significantly behind their peers by the time they reach kindergarten. However, the OEC will help us to make sure that these children are given the right experiences from the very beginning, before they fall too far behind. Every child in our state should be given the chance to succeed.”

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About the Connecticut Council for Education Reform

The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER)–a statewide, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) not- for-profit organization–works to close the achievement gap and raise academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut. The achievement gap is the disparity in academic achievement between children from low-income families and children of color, and their peers. We advocate for state policies and local practices that research shows have the best chance of raising achievement for high-need student populations.

For more information on CCER, go to www.ctedreform.org