African American Affairs Commission End of Session Report
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End of Session Report
The
mission of the African-American Affairs Commission (AAAC) is to improve
and promote the economic development, education, health and political
well-being of the African-American community in the State of
Connecticut. The 2015 legislative session ended with many gains for the
African American community in the state. While there is still much work
to be done we are proud of our accomplishments and look forward to
continuing in this trend of progress.
The
AAAC provided testimony of 28 bills this session many of which
successfully passed both chambers. This report gives an overview of the
bills that we supported.
Mayor Toni Harp and Jackie James
Economic Development
The
poverty gap in Connecticut is one of the largest in the nation, with
African-American families being on the poorest end of the spectrum and
having less wealth than white families. In order to change these
statistics broad policy changes need to be made to current economic
development policies. During the legislative session there was a
concerted effort to increase minority representation in the small
business express program and an expansion of the state small business
set-aside program to include municipal construction projects.
HB 6827 and HB 6086 Both of these measures were incorporated into the budget implementer.
Bill signing for PA 15-108
Education
Education
Addressing
the achievement gap in the state has long been a priority of policy
makers. During the legislative session some of the education issues that
came to the forefront of discussions included: disproportionate numbers
for minorities in suspensions and expulsions data along with school
based arrests PA 15-96 and PA 15-168; chronic absenteeism PA 15-225; cultural competency PA 15-108; and creating efficacy in teacher preparation programs PA 15-243.
These policies take a holistic approach to education by ensuring that
students are showing up for school feeling prepared, engaged and ready
to learn with the best possible educators who are trained to educate
individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Requires local or regional school boards
to enter into an MOU with their local police department to clearly
define what the roles and responsibilities are for school resource
officers
Requires State Department of
Education (SDE) to disaggregate data for school based arrest based by
school, race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, English
language learner (ELL) status, free and reduced price lunch eligibility,
offense type, and the number of arrests at each school.
Prohibits out of school suspension and
expulsions for students in preschool and grades K-2. There are
exceptions provided for violent behavior, drug offences and possession
of weapons.
Requires early detection of and intervention for mental health services for students displaying violent behavior.
Requires all teacher preparation programs
to give their students teaching diverse teaching experience by
practicing in both high and low achieving school districts.
In addition to K-12 education policy the banking committee passed a student loan bill of rights PA 15-162
which will help many minority students, especially those who are First
Generation College students, navigate the student loan process and
understand their rights and responsibilities as student loan borrowers.
Requires the Banking department to create a student loan ombudsman position which will be an advocate for consumers.
Requires the creation of a student loan borrower education course.
Mobility Counselling Bill Signing
Housing
Racial
segregation in the major cities of Connecticut is at an all-time high
and the majority of minorities are living in the cities which have very
little economic opportunity, neighborhoods are crime ridden, the public
schools are poorly resourced and there is lack of access to reliable
public transportation. PA 15-153 addresses this problem by helping poor families using housing vouchers relocate to "higher opportunity" areas.
Requires Department of Housing to offer
mobility counselling to section 8 and rental assistance program voucher
holders, the counselling will include information on schools,
communities and employment opportunities.
Justice Imperative event with Rep. McCrory
Criminal Justice
With
the increasing popularity of social media there has been a flurry of
attention placed on the racial inequities which are present in the
criminal justice system. This session the legislature placed emphasis on
the juvenile justice system PA 15-183, addressed lengthy sentences for youth PA 15-84, drug possession PA 15-2 and police accountability PA 15-4.
These measures are aimed at addressing disproportionate minority
contact with the police and racial equity judicial system as a whole.
Requires specific training for (a) using
physical force; (b) using body-worn recording equipment and retaining
the records it creates; and (c) cultural competency, sensitivity, and
bias-free policing.
Police Departments to create guidelines to recruit and retain police officers who are minorities
Replaces current drug possession laws to
make changes that lessen possession charges down to a Class A
misdemeanor giving courts more discretion in dealing with repeat drug
offenders and referring them to treatment options rather than
incarceration.
AAAC Black History Month event
Other bills the Commission supported
SB 944 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN REQUIREMENT
HB 6835 AN ACT CONCERNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
SB 101 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE OF STATE CONTRACTORS
HB 6768 AN ACT CLARIFYING THAT PRIVATE OCCUPATIONAL SCHOOLS FUNCTION AS POSTSECONDARY CAREER SCHOOLS
HB 6767 AN ACT CONCERNING PRIVATE OCCUPATIONAL SCHOOLS
SA 15-18 AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF DIGITAL OPEN-SOURCE TEXTBOOKS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
SB 950 AN ACT ENABLING THE REFINANCING OF STUDENT LOANS
HB 6461 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
HB 6640 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ALLOCATION OF LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS
PA 15-34 AN ACT CONCERNING LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS IN HOSPITALS
PA 15-109 AN
ACT CONCERNING THE COMMISSION ON RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITY IN THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND THE REMOVAL OF THE TERMS "CRIPPLED" AND
"DEFECTIVE EYESIGHT" FROM THE GENERAL STATUTES
SB 1104 AN ACT CONCERNING THE MILITARIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
HB 7039 AN ACT CONCERNING CIVIL IMMIGRATION DETAINERS
PA 15-83 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ENFORCEMENT OF ORDINANCES
2016 Classic Awards Recipients
Amamihechukwu Nnodum, Carlton L. Highsmith, Drew Aliyah Valentine, Rep. Robyn Porter, Tamara K. Lanier,
Roberta Hoskie, Shafiq R. Fulcher Abdussabur, Glenn A. Cassis Exe. Director
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