Hovey Appointed Ranking Member On Education Committee                         

State Representative DebraLee Hovey, R-112th District, has been appointed as the House Ranking Member on the General Assembly’s Education Committee, House Republican Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr, R-142nd District, announced this week.

“Representative Hovey served with distinction as the House Ranking Member [Republican leader] on the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee during her 2005–2006 term. She has been a knowledgeable, hardworking, and productive member of the Education Committee since her first term in the state House of Representatives. Combined with her professional experience as a special education consultant and child advocate, Representative Hovey was a natural choice to become the Education Committee’s ranking member,” Rep Cafero said.

“I intend to pursue several goals as the Republican Leader on the Education Committee. I will be working to pass initiatives to help narrow the achievement gap between upper and middle class suburban students and low-income urban and minority students and to ensure families have the option of choosing the schools that best fit their children’s educational needs,” Representative Hovey said. “I also will seek the enactment of programs to help special education students — such as those with autism and traumatic brain injuries — have a smooth transition from our public schools to jobs that will enable them to become productive, self-sufficient citizens.”

“Charter schools and vocational-technical schools provide thousands of Connecticut students with specialized education and training that prepares them for rewarding adult careers. Ensuring that they are provided with the funding they need to continue providing a quality education to students who choose them will also be one my top priorities as the Republican leader on this critical committee,” Representative Hovey said.

“I will fight to reform or repeal unfunded education mandates that the state has placed on local school systems over the years that force them to offer certain programs and services but provides them with little or no financial assistance to help them pay for the costs of making those services available,” Representative Hovey said. “Connecticut has an excellent public school system, but one that also faces difficult challenges in the years ahead. The problems we will be grappling with are complex and will require common sense solutions and a bipartisan approach to the legislation we develop to resolve them.”