Lamont to discuss affordable preschool access in Connecticut
If put into motion, this plan could allow the state to create thousands of new preschool spaces across Connecticut. Lamont says the goal is to expand affordable preschool options by making it free or low-cost for all working families.
Lamont approves $3 million in funding for nonprofits
Lamont wants to pay for the program through a dedicated preschool fund. The governor has said he plans to take three hundred million dollars of cash from last year's budget surplus to start and then draw on future surpluses to keep it funded.
Lamont and his top early childhood official say their proposal wouldn't just make preschool free for many families but also easier to access. Some childcare advocates have questioned whether or not the governor's proposal goes far enough, urging him to make the plan more 'Wholistic' and to consider that childcare goes beyond pre-school.
Some Republicans have questioned how the governor plans to pay for this plan. They say this could exhaust surpluses that could otherwise be used to pay down pension debt.Lamont, though, defended his plan.
'While the governor has this endowment plan, I think we need to do something more within the confines of the budget,' State Rep. Vincent Candelora said.
'This three hundred million would not necessarily have to go to pay down pensions – although we're going to be paying down over a billion dollars in pension liability this year – but could go to start rebuilding this fund on a long-term basis. I think we got the balance right,' Gov. Ned Lamont said.
The governor's plan still needs to win the approval of the legislature. He is set to speak on this at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday morning in New Britain.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Teachers To Be Tested on 'Woke' Questions in Oklahoma
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Oklahoma Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters has introduced a new test for teachers coming into his state from California and New York in a bid to keep out what he called "woke indoctrination." Walters said his tests, compiled in association with conservative educational group PragerU, could be extended in the future to teachers from eight other Democratic-led states. Newsweek contacted Walters and PragerU for comment on Saturday outside regular office hours via their respective online inquiry forms. Why It Matters Since his second presidential inauguration in January, President Donald Trump has taken a number of steps to combat what he terms "woke" ideology, including issuing an executive order saying there were only two genders—male and female—and cutting funding to universities that refuse to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs. While state-level Republicans have worked to support the president's agenda, some traditionally Republican regions have recorded a significant influx of new residents from Democratic states in recent years—sparking fears that the population changes could shift red states' cultural and political identities. According to a report from StorageCafe, which rents storage units, California and New York saw the most departures in 2023. By contrast, nine of the 10 states with the largest population influx, including Oklahoma, were Republican dominated. What To Know Teachers moving to Oklahoma from California and New York will be required to pass a new test to obtain a teaching certificate for Oklahoma, according to Walters, who told CNN the move was designed to keep away "woke indoctrination." The network reported that the test was developed in association with PragerU, a conservative educational body that has acquired a large audience online and is sympathetic to the Trump administration. A stock photograph showing an American classroom in 2016. A stock photograph showing an American classroom in 2016. Elliott Kaufman/GETTY The test includes questions on the biological difference between men and women, the importance of religious freedom to American identity, and the U.S. government and political system, the New York Post reported. In recent years, about 500 new teachers have moved to Oklahoma as part of an incentive program designed to attract the "highest quality" educators. CNN said Walters declined to let the Oklahoma State Board of Education see a document on the legal status of his tests during a meeting in July. What People Are Saying The American Federation of Teachers told Newsweek: "Ryan Walters appears to be auditioning for the role of MAGA-in-chief, not educator-in-chief. His priority should be educating students, but it's not. It's getting Donald Trump and other MAGA politicians to notice him and think of him as their culture warrior. "This test will be yet another turnoff for teachers in a state that already has a huge shortage. It doesn't solve an actual problem in the classroom, but it certainly serves as a major distraction in the media as he deals with personal problems. "Teachers are patriotic, and they don't need a loyalty test from Ryan Walters to prove it. Whether they are conservative or liberal, they want what their students need: safe and welcoming public schools that are engaging and relevant and that prepare students for college, career and life." Oklahoma Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters told CNN: "We will not allow these leftists' plans and schemes to take place here in Oklahoma. They are trying to warp the minds of our kids to turn them into social justice warriors, instead of kids that are getting the most of their god given talents to go get a good job, to go live a fulfilling life." He told the New York Post: "Here in Oklahoma, our academics are going to be grounded in fact. "We've seen states like New York and California go so radical with gender theory and Marxist indoctrination, they are warping the minds of young people. … We need our teachers to agree to not be woke indoctrinators in the classroom. "We're also going to be teaching the foundations of American history. … So we can continue to be the greatest country in the world. We want our students to be patriots." PragerU CEO Marissa Streit told CNN that the questions were aimed at "undoing the damage of gender ideology that is forced and taught through some of these other tests like the PRISM test." PRISM is a training program created to help teachers support LGBTQ+ students in California. Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair John Waldron, a former teacher, told the outlet that Walters' plan was a "loyalty test" and an "insult to our profession." What Happens Next If Walters goes ahead with his tests, they are likely to face legal challenge. If they pass the courts, it remains to be seen what effects they will have on Oklahoma's education system and whether they will be extended to teachers coming from beyond New York and California.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
We can't gerrymander our way back to democracy
Hundreds of people came to the Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 28 2021 to testify against the new voting maps drawn by Republican legislative leaders which advocates characterized as 'gerrymandering 2.0' | Wisconsin Examiner photo The drama in Texas, where President Donald Trump has demanded that Republicans quickly draw new GOP districts to thwart the will of the voters and ensure his party retains control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, has created massive discord. Progressives and voting rights advocates are divided on whether California and New York should fight the Texas power grab by gerrymandering their own states, creating more safe Democratic seats, even if that means undermining fair maps and the authority of those states' nonpartisan redistricting commissions. In Wisconsin, which just got out from under one of the worst partisan gerrymanders in the U.S., and the impenetrable, outsized Republican majorities in the state Legislature it protected for a decade and a half, this issue hits particularly close to home. It's head-spinning to hear arguments for Democratic counter-gerrymandering in other states from the same people in Wisconsin who were recently crying out for fair maps. If Democrats are going to mount a serious challenge to the fascist takeover of our country by Trump and his minions, it's hard to see how ceding the moral high ground and running roughshod over the principle that the will of the majority of voters should prevail is going to help. If we want democracy, fairness, and the rule of law, we need to champion, well, democracy, fairness and the rule of law. I get that it's more satisfying to imagine a quick fix to the fascist takeover of every branch of government than to listen to a lot of vague talk about long-term plans to rebuild democracy. After all, election deniers and the architects of the Jan. 6 attack are now running the federal government, demanding access to voter lists across the country and deploying the FBI to arrest political opponents, including the Texas Democrats who've fled their state to stall the gerrymandering scheme there. But here in Wisconsin, where we've just finally beaten back the most gerrymandered map in the country, it's depressing to imagine Democrats abandoning the high ground and scrambling to do exactly what Republicans did when they controlled all three branches of government, attempting to lock in permanent political control against the will of the people. If we want democracy, fairness, and the rule of law, we need to champion, well, democracy, fairness and the rule of law. In this most extreme political moment, with every public institution and the continued existence of U.S. democracy in doubt, I understand why the long view frustrates people. The emergency is now. I understand that many voters want to see Democrats 'fight fire with fire,' as Newsom put it. But consider this: Republicans control more state legislatures (28 Republican versus 18 controlled by Democrats) and have trifecta control of all branches of government in more states (23 all-GOP states versus 15 all-Democratic). JD Vance just launched a tour of Republican states to encourage more mid-decade gerrymandering. And Trump wants to hold a new census for the purpose of redefining who can vote. Even if Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul succeed in gerrymandering California and New York, Democrats are not likely to win the nationwide redistricting war. Meanwhile, democracy will be the first casualty of that war. California and New York would have to suspend the work of their nonpartisan redistricting commissions — the gold standard for fair, nonpartisan map-drawing — and take back partisan control of the process in order to carry out their threats. If they succeed, it is beyond unlikely that the politicians who pull off that short-term victory will ever cede back their power over the voting maps to the nonpartisan commissions again. On a deeper level, the Democratic gerrymandering fantasy takes the whole movement to oppose Trump in exactly the wrong direction. Instead of building grassroots support to counter an unpopular, authoritarian leader, it rigs the system to benefit a party whose whole problem is that it has lost the broad, popular support it needs to win elections and create a better, more enlightened government. Instead of trying to rig the maps to ensure a Democratic House majority in the next election, Democrats need to focus on winning elections and flipping seats in areas of the rural and industrial Midwest that were once reliably blue but have turned deep red. To do that they need to make the case that health care, education and an adequate social safety net are bedrock rights in the richest nation on earth, and that we should not be giving tax breaks to billionaires by taking food out of the mouths of hungry children. They need to offer something to the farmers and factory workers and disaffected voters in rural and urban areas alike that is clearly different and better than the hate, corruption, and a determination to run roughshod over democracy that Republicans offer. In Wisconsin, voting rights groups have been working on a campaign to push through a constitutional amendment modeled on one in our neighboring state of Michigan, to make sure that our voting maps are never again drawn up by partisan legislators. That's the kind of grassroots fight that helped Wisconsin finally overcome Republican gerrymandering. One important aspect of the fair maps movement is the way it engaged citizens to feel like participants, not spectators, in democracy, and to find their common interests instead of focusing on the politics of division. This, not more politicians in safe seats who don't have to listen to voters, is what we need right now. The battle to beat back fascism does not turn on a handful of Democrats in protected districts. It turns on an organized uprising by the majority of people in the U.S. who are willing to join together despite their differences because they are sick and tired of having their democracy stolen from them, along with their health, safety, opportunity and hope. There's no short cut to leading that fight. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Put pressure on Putin, Mr. President — it's the only way to end this war
President Trump said he wanted to meet Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to 'see what he has in mind.' 'Probably in the first two minutes,' he added, 'I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can get done.' Mr. President, you have your answer: Putin doesn't want peace, he simply wants conquest. Putin put on his best fake smile, waved for the cameras, then ominously pointed out how many parts of Alaska have Russian names. He rejected a ceasefire, and instead demanded long negotiations for a comprehensive treaty. This is the dictionary definition of 'tapping along.' While he says he wants more talks and ridiculously floats 'next time in Moscow' — an invitation to be dismissed out of hand — his bombardment of Ukraine continues. You're right, Mr. President, that the killing must end, and Alaska showed that the only way to do that is to squeeze Putin. Mr. President, you have your answer: Putin doesn't want peace, he simply wants conquest. AFP via Getty Images Trump said that he would not sanction Russia further after the summit. But he should increase sanctions on Russia immediately — particularly secondary sanctions on oil and other goods that are keeping Putin's war machine afloat. The president should make clear arms supplies will continue, particularly now that Europe is footing the bill, and our military industry is benefiting. Putin did not move on his demands. He must be forced to move — with cash and steel. Tariffs. Weapons. Strong security guarantees for Ukraine. Pressure is the only language Putin understands. According to reports, Putin said that 'if he wanted' he could take all the land he's fighting for in Ukraine. What lies. He's been battling over this territory for three years, and if he really had that kind of advantage, why would he be pushing for a 'land swap' that pole vaults him to the other side of the Ukrainian front lines? He's pretending his victory is a fait accompli, when the reality is he is, at best, grinding along at a pace that would take years for him to complete his 'special operation.' We cannot afford to wash our hands of Ukraine, even if it is true that it is 'Biden's War' and it would never have started during a Trump presidency. First, your voters believe in the fight — 51% of Republicans believe we should be supplying more arms and military support to Ukraine (up from 30% six months ago), and 84% of GOP voters have an unfavorable view of Putin. Second, while we understand you envision Russia as a strategic partner, a weakened Russia benefits your world vision. Consider what has happened already. Iran is providing drones to Russia, yet when you bombed Tehran's nuclear facilities, Putin could provide his ally no help. He has alienated Azerbaijan, and you were able to step up and negotiate a peace deal between that country and Armenia. Putin has less resources to put into the Arctic. Some advisers say this is a distraction from the real enemy, China. But standing up for Ukraine, showing strength for our allies, sends a message to Beijing. There is also a widening rift between China and Russia as Putin's moves become more destructive. In Alaska, Putin again floated the blackmail of nuclear war, the 'point of no return' as he said. President Xi already has bristled at such rhetoric, saying that China 'opposes . . . the threat to use nuclear weapons.' China should make it clear that it is still unacceptable. By rejecting a ceasefire, Putin wants to push a bad deal at the point of a gun. We fall for his flattery, his bluster and his threats at our peril.
