Anne LaMonica, Associate Director
Testimony in Opposition to
Raised Bill No. HB 5468
An Act Concerning the Provision of Equivalent Instruction
Education Committee Public Hearing
March 11, 2026
The Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, the public policy office of the Catholic Bishops of Connecticut, opposes HB 5468. By the bill’s definition, nonpublic schools are unrelated to the “provision of equivalent instruction,” and so parents of students enrolling in these schools should not be subject to in-person requirements that have no legitimate purpose. These parents complete a registration process: they apply, register, and agree to nonpublic school tuition. The Conference suggests the following changes and considerations:
Remove In-Person Notice Appearance: The Conference urges the Education Committee to remove the in-person appearance requirement to submit an intent to educate form to attend a nonpublic school. If the Committee insists on an intent to educate form, the state should provide a form that nonpublic schools could use during registration that would assure parental consent and evidence of enrollment. In the alternative, Form ED 159 could be updated in a way that would ensure FERPA compliance. Nonpublic school students who receive school health services, transportation, and school lunch services from their town self-report to their local school district in order to receive such services.
Limit PPI Sharing: Under (e)(2)(B), a board of education would seem to violate FERPA by sharing students’ PPI with DCF if withdrawn children are not under DCF supervision and their parents have not consented. Instead, when a child, who is under DCF supervision, enrolls or is enrolled in a public or nonpublic school, DCF should inform such school’s administrators that the child is under its supervision. If this child later withdraws from such school, the school’s administrators should be required to inform DCF.
Catholic Homeschoolers: There are Catholic families who choose to homeschool. Besides having specific academic goals, many do so because of a conflict between public school curricula and the values of their faith. The provisions requiring homeschoolers’ portfolio review and implied approval by a state or local agency effectively amount to compulsory public education, which has been ruled unconstitutional for over one hundred years.
On March 2, 2026, the United States Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit’s stay of a district court’s decision regarding parents’ rights. The majority recounted:
Under long-established precedent, parents—not the State—have primary authority with respect to “the upbringing and education of children.’ Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U. S. 510, 534– 535 (1925); accord, Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U. S. 390, 399– 400 (1923).” Mirabelli v. Bonta, 607 U.S. ___ (2026).
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a landmark case that ruled against Oregon’s compulsory public education laws, which had essentially banned nonpublic education, established that:
The fundamental liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations. Id. at 535.
Nonpublic school students should be included in the provisions in Section 4. There are likely nonpublic school students who would like to participate in a public school’s programs (if comparable programs are unavailable at their nonpublic schools) or take supplemental courses. There is no reason to exclude nonpublic school students from this provision.
Scholarship Opt-In: If one of the goals of HB 5468 aims to encourage enrollment in traditional, in-person schools, Governor Lamont should opt Connecticut scholarship organizations into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. See CT4scholarship.org. These scholarships could be used for nonpublic school, out-of-district public school, and charter school tuition, special education services, tutoring, transportation, and after-school and summer academic programs.
The Conference respectfully urges the Education Committee to consider these suggestions and comments.