First Appropriations Hearing

Last week Governor Lamont announced his commitment to allocate $90 million for early care and education to the Office of Early Childhood line in the state budget. Typically, we would be ecstatic about the recognition and welcome the extra funding, but $20 million of this money is coming directly from the Department of Education line which funds the state's K-12 public schools.  Babies can’t win at the expense of their older brothers and sisters.  

This Thursday is the first Appropriations Committee hearing of the year and our only chance to testify before this committee on early childhood issues.  We must show up to tell legislators we need funding but not like this.

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The Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 2:00 P.M. in Room 2C of the LOB and via Zoom.

The public hearing can be viewed via YouTube Live. In addition, the public hearing will be recorded and broadcast live on CT-N.com.

We know not everyone has unlimited time for advocacy. We've broken it down into categories so you can participate in whatever amount of time you have! Participate in any or all of these actions. Every bit counts!

1. Small Action: share our social media post on 2/15 about the legislative session (@childcareforct on Instagram, X, or Facebook)

2. Medium Action: share to social media AND use our testimony builder to send a letter to committee members

3. Large Action: sign up to testify on Zoom or in person. Please fill out this form by Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 1:00 P.M. We will contact you to give you details on testimony time and format. Don't forget to share our social media while you're waiting to testify!

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Agency Presentations – not members of the public (if you want to watch public officials testify)

10:00-11:00 AM: Department of Education 

11:00-11:45 AM: Office of Early Childhood 

11:45 AM-12:15: PM State Library 

12:15 PM-12:45 PM: CT Technical Education and Career System

Public Hearing – 2:00 PM Public testimony will be heard on the following state agencies: 

Department of Education 

Office of Early Childhood 

State Library Teachers’ Retirement Board 

CT Technical Education and Career System