Education

It started with a report to the state's Office of the Child Advocate that a child had been expelled from preschool.

Jamey Bell, the child advocate, saw no reason why a child that young should be suspended, and wanted to know how widespread the problem was. She also had learned that a 7-year-old had been arrested while at school.

Still recovering from a letter critical of the president of the University of Connecticut that went viral, officials at the state's flagship university have decided to form a task force to "explore all matters related to civil behavior and speech at the university."

Republican senators are calling for public hearings to vet the budgets of the state's public colleges and universities -- a move Democratic senators overwhelmingly voted against last week.

"It's just shedding light ... Public disclosure is a good thing," Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said last week before the Democratic-controlled Senate defeated the proposal.