Court Opinion

ID: 9694353
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 17:38:33.572317+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:59.934041
License: Public Domain

Bogdanski, J.
(concurring). I am in complete agreement with the language of the majority opinion to the effect that Connecticut has for centuries recognized that it is her right and duty to provide for the proper education of the young; that education is so important that the state has, since colonial days, required towns to maintain local schools and made attendance compulsory; and that this basic educational system has continued to this date with the state recognizing that providing for education is a state duty.
To that I would add that the history of the 1965 constitutional convention proceedings demonstrates that the constitutional provision concerning education, adopted by the convention, formalized free *654public education on the elementary and secondary levels as a fundamental right. A review of that history reveals the following:
On September 23, 1965, Simon Bernstein, a delegate from the first district, in addressing himself to the educational resolution stated: “[M]y remarks are really addressed to section 1 only, which calls for placing in the Constitution the very fundamental provision that we shall provide as a Constitutional right free public school education.” Conn. Const. Conv. Proc., 1965, pt. 1, p. 311.
Thereafter, on October 19, 1965, Bernstein again spoke concerning an amendment to the resolution: “[T]he statement of purpose of that resolution of mine was that our system of free public education have a tradition [al] acceptance on a par with our bill of rights and it should have the same Constitutional sanctity.” Conn. Const. Conv. Proc., 1965, pt. 3, p. 1039.
The constitutional provision ultimately adopted by the convention reads as follows: “There shall always be free public elementary and secondary schools in the state. The general assembly shall implement this principle by appropriate legislation.” Conn. Const. Art. VIII § 1.
I would add further that the right of our children to an education is a matter of right not only because our state constitution declares it as such, but because education is the very essence and foundation of a civilized culture: it is the cohesive element that binds the fabric of society together. In a real sense, it is as necessary to a civilized society as food and shelter are to an individual. It is our fundamental legacy to the youth of our state to enable *655them to acquire knowledge and possess the ability to reason: for it is the ability to reason that separates man from all other forms of life.
Indeed, as far back as 1894, in the absence of any constitutional provision, this court recognized how essential and important education is when it stated that “[i]t is a duty . . . [that] has always been assumed by the State; not only because the education of youth is a matter of great public utility, but also and chiefly because it is one of great public necessity for the protection and welfare of the State itself.” Bissell v. Davison, 65 Conn. 183, 191, 32 A. 348.
Finally, it should be observed that the issues raised and pressed on this appeal are directed toward the right of the children of this state to a basic education, and the determination of whether certain statutes of this state unconstitutionally impinge upon that right. We are, therefore, limited to those issues.
The function of this court is to review the actions of the trial court and the conclusions reached by it. Such a review of this case leads to but one result: that the conclusions reached by the trial court are more than amply supported by the subordinate facts.