Perhaps this is a signal by the new city administration that city hall will no longer lead with a hands-off approach to Hartford Public Schools as did former Mayor Bronin.

On March 25th, the Hartford City Council approved a resolution (read the resolution here) which “requests” the presence of the Superintendent of Hartford Public Schools and present a comprehensive (these folks do not know HPS leadership) report on what HPS is doing to assist homeless students in Hartford.

The resolution stems from a federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Vento Act) which mandates that school districts enroll and assist students who are experiencing homelessness.  The Act dates to the administration of Ronald Reagan.  Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, who was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut at the time, voted against the Vento Act.

The Council would like the superintendent to give them such information as: how many HPS students are considered homeless, what strategies and programs are provided by HPS to support these students’ educational rights and needs, the impact of outreach services, what partnerships with local organizations aimed at supporting these students does HPS have, challenges the district has in implementing the requirements of the Vento Act, and what recommendations does HPS have so that the City of Hartford can better support these students and their educational needs.

A specific date for the superintendent’s appearance and presentation was not stated in the resolution.

Now, if Hartford Public Schools had a real school board, this report and presentation would have already been a thing, making it a simple and quick task for the superintendent to comply.