Governor Lamont has signed the Parent Bill of Rights into law as part of an education bill, and on Wednesday, he joined advocates for immigrant communities in Bridgeport to explain more about who will be impacted.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to make sure this is the most welcoming state in the country,” Lamont said.
That’s the message the governor is sending to immigrant communities aligned with his signing of House Bill 6762 at the end of June. The legislation aims to safeguard the rights of English learners and their parents in Connecticut schools.
“You can’t be a parent involved in your child’s education if you don’t understand what’s going on in the classroom,” Lamont said.
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Flor Galindo is one mom who said the new law will impact her by requiring public schools to increase access to translators and interpreters, as well as written materials in a family’s dominant language.
“I came here from Peru. I came with the one purpose of giving my kids a better opportunity and better education opportunities,” Galindo, of Manchester, said using an interpreter.
She said language has been a big barrier in communications with her two kids’ schools.
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“I have been feeling this way from for the past year, I can't even imagine how it must feel for parents who have been here for years and years,” Galindo said.
The immigrant support organization Make the Road Connecticut has been advocating for this law throughout the legislative session.
“Parents can have an active voice in their child's education,” Megan Scharrer, Hartford-based Make the Road Connecticut community organizer, said.
The group also highlighted the expansion of Husky healthcare coverage in the state to undocumented children up to the age of 15.
“It's a great start,” Obed Sierra, Husky for Immigrants Coalition representative, said.
Nonetheless, Husky coalition members marked their commitment to push for all residents to get access to healthcare regardless of their status.
“The services that are currently available to them, they're so limited,” Sierra said.
Galindo is now looking forward to the mandates of the Parent Bill of Rights to go into effect, feeling when they do she will be better able to advocate for her kids.
“My main objective is to fight for my kids’ welfare, to fight for their right to a better education, so that they can be professionals when they grow up,” Galindo said.
NBC Connecticut reached out to public school districts to learn more about what this legislation means for them.
Hartford Public Schools sent a statement, noting that the student body that includes 27% multilingual learners, and that the district engages in conversations and meetings with families and partners to ensure needs are being met. The statement reads in part:
“It has always been our priority to provide equitable services for all students and families, including interpretation services which are offered at district events, Board of Education meetings, family learning sessions and town halls, and parent-teacher conferences. All communications sent to families from the district are translated into Spanish and also shared through ParentSquare, a two-way communications platform that translates text into 12 additional languages and allows families to communicate with staff in their preferred language.”
Regarding the new legislation, Hartford Public Schools states:
“We need to learn more about the details of the English Language Learners’ Bill of Rights to fully understand the financial impact it will have on our district, and we look forward to receiving more information from the state.”
