Radiofree West Hartford - 2007 - Proposed CT Legislation Marching This State To Socialism by Judy Aron

2007 - Proposed CT Legislation

Marching This State To Socialism

By Judy Aron

March 13, 2007

Good intentions or larger plan? If you examine the proposed legislation it should become clear to what is slowly being rolled out in CT regarding how early child education, public education and mental health initiatives are all being combined. It is already happening in other states in the country, like Illinois, Minnesota and New Jersey for example. The underlying agenda is to have children attend school as early as 3 years old, with health (including mental health screening) services to be administered from schools instead of your own family care. Medical facilities/resources will be located at the school. This is all taxpayer funded. While "Universal Taxpayer Funded Preschool" is now just being proposed on a voluntary basis here in CT, once the infrastructure is put into place, the compulsory school age will be lowered and all children will be required to attend school at age three. Government/taxpayer funded universal preschool is offered in most European countries, and "Social Progressives" are pushing those initiatives here. Most children in Britain already start full-time school -- in so-called "reception" classes -- at age 4. Standards and developmental benchmarks have been set by the State and woe to the parent of the child who doesn't meet those standards which include nutrition and weight.

Mental health screening and early childhood education is going hand in hand in many states, as is the expansion of compulsory school age in some states to encompass age 4 to 18. The ultimate is Pre-K to age 22. Yes, age 22, as the community colleges and other forms of higher education will be part of the entire school program. The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors for Higher Education are already working together on many initiatives to encompass this "K-16" learning in CT, and that will soon be including Pre-K as well.

From the CT State Department of Education website:

School to Careers (http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2678&q=320728 )

"To develop a comprehensive K-16 system of school-based learning, work-based learning and connecting activities that leads to the attainment of a Connecticut Career Certificate, which is a portable credential that attests to mastery of employer-identified academic, employability and technical skills within one of eight career clusters."

Changes are starting to develop in compulsory school age legislation. Many states already have their special education compulsory school age set at 3 years old, and have delineated between pre school age and kindergarten age. Many states are looking at lowering compulsory school ages to under 5 years, as well as extending compulsory school ages in high school from 16 to 18. We should be very concerned about these initiatives, which are all planned to be in place by 2012 based on UNESCO's agendas. Of course this goal is also being pushed by teacher unions who stand to benefit from increased membership as more teachers will be needed for younger kids and the extension of high school.

The District of Columbia already has the lowest compulsory attendance age in the country and one of the worst academic records. It should be noted that children under five primarily need parenting, not schooling. Many social pathologies are linked to parents spending little time with their children. The question is not whether some parents might wish to send their two and three-year-olds to school; the question is whether ALL parents should be forced to send ALL children age three and up to school.

The children of China attend kindergarten from the age of three to five. Government regulations from 1981 dictate three separate learning levels: juniors (three-year-olds), middle (four-year-olds), and seniors (five-year-olds). The country has also set rules and regulations outlining the qualifications of kindergarten teachers. Past Commissioner of Education, Betty Sternberg went on a trip to China 2 years ago to observe and take notes to add to our states "best practices". The current Education Commissioner wishes to extend the school day as well as the school year.

Husky and Medicaid services are being expanded here in CT and universal health care is being considered. All of it is taxpayer funded. Databases are being set up and funded to track and label us and our kids.

Later school start times are being used to integrate preschool into the bus schedules, and it is also allowing "scientific research" to drive policy making. The scientific research is being funded by pharmaceutical companies seeking to sell sleep medication as well as behavior modification drugs. Sleep studies are being used to convince the public that teens need later start times; brain development studies are being used to tell us that 3-4 year olds are better off in school than with family; and mental health screenings will be used to evaluate children and label them and place children in the pipeline to receive therapy and medication, so they can be better managed. Initiatives in California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Minnesota are quite chilling and everyone should be mindful of where this may be leading us. In New Jersey, pregnant and post partum women are being mandated to be screened for mental illness. In other places, babies are being screened for mental illness and their DNA is being collected. Birth to three programs are expanding to include more kids. Three and four year olds are being placed in preschool away from their parents, and while they are there, they are being assessed and labeled. The therapists and drug companies are benefiting from these initiatives.

In CT we are seeing legislation proposed which bring us closer to a Socialist model, some of this legislation is even being prompted by federal grants and initiatives. Legislation is intended to create more dependency on the state. Of course all this is being done under the guise of "helping citizens and providing for their needs". Womb to tomb Socialist legislation is being proposed in legislatures all over the country. This is despite the fact that we already know that "pre-k for all" has been a costly failure and socialized medicine has bankrupted the economies in the EU. Private schools and private hospitals are also being attacked and brought under public auspices.

Here are just some bills currently under consideration in the CT General Assembly:

Establishing Health Information Tracking Systems

HB7376 - AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK. To establish a Connecticut Health Information Network for the purpose of integrating state health and social services data, consistent with state and federal privacy laws, within and across various state agencies.

SB408- AN ACT ESTABLISHING A STATE MEDICAL DATA CENTER.To consolidate state medical records and health statistics in one central medical data center.

HB5743- AN ACT REQUIRING DNA TESTING FOR NEWBORNS. "To make it easier to identify individuals who die in tragic accidents or natural disasters." That title 19a of the general statutes be amended to require that (1) newborns undergo DNA testing at birth, and (2) the DNA test results be entered upon the birth record of such child and provided to the child's parents within a specified time period.

HB6839 - AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
To develop and implement a state-wide health information technology plan.

Universal Health Care - The State Will provide Your Health Care at Taxpayer Expense Dictating to You What Health Care You May Receive and Dictating to Providers What They Can Charge For Their Services

SB1 - AN ACT INCREASING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HEALTH CARE. To ensure that all Connecticut residents have access to affordable, quality health care.

HB6693 - AN ACT CONCERNING CREATION OF A STATE HEALTH CARE PLAN. To create a state health care plan to provide quality, affordable health care coverage to all Connecticut residents. That the general statutes be amended to provide for the creation of a state health care plan to provide quality, affordable health care coverage to all residents of Connecticut, which shall be funded by employer and individual contributions. It is proposed that (1) such plan shall be available to all state residents who are ineligible for Medicare, and (2) the state shall negotiate reasonable rates of payment for health care providers participating in the plan.

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