Fazio Lies and Plagiarizes His Way Through Education Press Conference

Aug

2026

PRESS RELEASE

Fazio Lies and Plagiarizes His Way Through Education Press Conference

Ryan Fazio unveiled his supposedly new education agenda today with a brazen lie, claiming the Lamont administration has “done nothing” to reform Connecticut schools.

The biggest problem: the vast majority of Fazio’s own plan is a list of things Governor Lamont and Connecticut Democrats are already doing – while Fazio himself has repeatedly voted against critical education policies.

Consider a few of Fazio’s marquee proposals:

Science of Reading: CT’s Right to Read initiative was signed and funded by Governor Lamont.
Stronger math standards: Governor Lamont introduced the bill this session.
High-dosage tutoring: The bipartisan budget bill that Ryan Fazio refused to support is investing an additional $2 million in high-dosage tutoring.
Teacher recruitment: CT already enacted an enhanced out-of-state reciprocity system for teachers in 2022, expanded it in 2024, and eliminated fees for most Initial Educator Certificates.
Reforming school funding: Governor Lamont already established a commission this year to modernize the education funding formulas – while providing a historic funding investment to every school district in the state.
Cell phone ban: Governor Lamont introduced the idea at the beginning of the year in his State of the State and introduced legislation. The CT Board of Education issued guidance recommending districts enact bell-to-bell bans, and the Governor has said he will pursue a statewide law again next year.

It’s this dedication to continually improving our education policy that has made Connecticut public schools the second-best in the nation.

Notably, Fazio’s own claimed education-sector experience with “our inner-city schools” comes not from working in Connecticut public schools, but volunteering at KIPP NYC charter middle school in the Bronx.

“I will say, it also felt almost like an endorsement of all of the efforts Governor Lamont has already achieved,” said State Rep. and Education Committee Chair Jennifer Leeper said in reaction to Fazio’s press conference. “There were several things that we are actually doing and championing, and Governor Lamont has been leading the way on those initiatives for years.”

“Senator Fazio has voted against almost every effort to fund education in Bridgeport over my four years in the House,” said State Rep. Marcus Brown. “That is a real problem to stand in front of Harding High School, one of the poorest districts in the entire state, with the hardest working families in the entire state, and to tell them that their hard-earned tax dollars are going to go to pay for wealthy families' private schools.”

So strip away the policies Connecticut is already pursuing, and Fazio’s education agenda boils down to taking credit for Governor Lamont’s work while doing nothing to actually support these initiatives in the General Assembly.

Statement from CT Dems Spokesperson Ian Clarke:

“Ryan Fazio didn’t unveil a new education plan today. He copied off Governor Lamont’s work and forgot to include his own record of opposing the solutions that have improved our schools. There is always more work to be done on our education system, but Ryan Fazio’s inability to be honest or original on this subject is disqualifying.