Interviewer
Richelle Benjamin
Interview Date
6-1-2013
Format
1 pdf file, 1 video file
Description
Bruce Morris, state representative from Norwalk of the 140th district, sponsor of bills 6695 and 6677, and vice-chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican caucus, discusses his involvement in sponsoring a bill to decriminalize the act of enrolling in schools outside of district of residency. In the interview, he explains the issue from a public policy perspective. He deems it improper for the state to imprison parents for their involvement in crossing school district boundaries, and instead points out that there are existing statutes designed to deal with this kind of offense. Parents should be asked to leave the school or pay tuition, not be imprisoned. During the interview, Morris also touches on past cases, including the Tanya McDowell (Bridgeport, 2011) and Marie Menard (Stratford, 2011) cases, which originally brought the issue to his attention. Representative Morris understands that many people are opposed to his bill because taxpayers are afraid of having their money “stolen,” but in the end, he explains that the cost of educating kids from other towns is minimal. He hopes that, if the bill passes and he succeeds in decriminalizing the act of crossing district lines, that he will be able to end imprisonment for this act in other states as well.
Series
School Residency and Civil Rights
Recommended Citation
Morris, Bruce. Oral history interview on School Residency and Civil Rights by Richelle Benjamin for the Cities, Suburbs, and Schools Project, June 1, 2013. Available from the Trinity College Digital Repository, Hartford Connecticut (http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cssp/).
