Conn. GOP Chief to Newsmax: Islamic Studies Law Unlawful

 Connecticut Republican Party Chair Ben Proto told Newsmax on Friday the state's new law directing education officials to develop Islamic and Arab studies curriculum materials for public schools is unconstitutional and should draw an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit.

On "Finnerty," Proto said the measure improperly singles out one religion for classroom instruction.

 The provision Proto attacked, Section 24 of Public Act 26-1, was tucked into a sweeping education omnibus that Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, signed March 3 as an emergency-certified measure.

Effective July 1, the law amends Section 10-16b of the state's general statutes and directs the State Board of Education to make Islamic and Arab studies curriculum materials available to local districts and encourage instruction in those subjects.

 

Districts are not required to adopt the materials.

Proto's constitutional objection tracked arguments the ACLU has pressed against mandates for Ten Commandments displays in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

"Not only is it discriminatory, I think it's unconstitutional," Proto said, adding that he hoped the ACLU would sue Connecticut, as it has over classroom Ten Commandments displays.

He rejected the analogy legislative supporters drew between curriculum tracks for Black studies, Puerto Rican and Latino studies, Native American studies, and the statute, which already covers them.

"Islam is a religion. It's not a culture; it's a religion," Proto said. If the state wants to teach about Islam, he added, "maybe have a theological studies class as opposed to just targeting one specific religion."

State House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, voiced similar concerns when the bill passed, telling the Hartford Courant that including Islamic studies "went too far" and was "treading on the constitutional notion of separation of church and state," Religion News Service reported.

Chris Healy, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Conference, called the provision "clearly unconstitutional."

Supporters counter that the curriculum is cultural and historical, not devotional.

Farhan Memon, chair of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Connecticut, told Religion News Service the measure is "not about religion per se" and is meant to broaden students' understanding of Arab and Islamic civilizations.

He cited a 2026 Waterbury middle school hate-crime assault on two Muslim girls as evidence of the need for the curriculum.

Proto pushed back on state priorities in his closing remarks, saying he would rather see schools return to teaching U.S. history, the Constitution, and civics before "teaching about other cultures before we're even teaching about our own culture."

The State Department of Education has begun convening a Curriculum Design Leadership Team modeled on earlier directives for Holocaust, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, a department spokesperson told Religion News Service.

No lawsuit had been filed challenging the provision as of Friday.

Jim Thomas ✉

Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.

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