Education:

• Senator Sturgeon sponsored Senate Bill 305, which streamlines the delivery and improves the quality of early childhood education across Delaware.

• She also served as the Senate prime sponsor of House Bill 33 (S), increasing special education funding for preschool children with disabilities. 

• Senator Sturgeon was prime sponsor for Senate 252 (S), requiring the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) to perform audits of educator preparation programs to assess compliance with the evidence-based reading instruction requirements. These audits will help enhance teacher preparation in reading instruction statewide. 

• Senator Sturgeon served as the Senate prime sponsor of House Bill 3 and House Bill 4, giving Delaware’s youngest minds access to crucial mental and behavioral health supports. 

• Senator Sturgeon worked on several bills focused on teacher recruitment and retention.

  • ​Senate Bill 61: Gives educators two additional personal days out of their accrued sick time and more flexibility around bereavement leave.

  • Senate Bill 187: Recruits qualified candidates into the teaching profession by ensuring salary calculations for future Delaware educators are based on all of the advanced degrees they have earned prior to the initial date of hire. 

  • Senate Bill 188: Makes Delaware the 12th state to join the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, an occupational licensing agreement that would make the teaching licenses of qualified candidates from a variety of backgrounds more readily transferable from one state to another.

  • Senate Bill 304 (S): Reduces educator training burden and directs DOE to review mandatory training programs every three years and update as necessary to ensure they are relevant to student needs and consistent with best practices.

  • House Bill 138: Establishes a Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program.

  • House Bill 252 (S2): Grants Delaware Institute of Higher Education teacher-residency program graduates credit for their time in the residency program and allows them to enter the profession at a higher starting salary.

  • House Bill 332: Codifies teacher academy pathways programs that prepare students for careers in elementary and secondary education.

• Senator Sturgeon led the effort to create the Public Education Funding Commission, and for the last several months has been leading monthly meetings of legislators, educators, community leaders and other advocates tasked with coalescing around a series of reforms that will better address student needs and more equitably distribute resources across districts and charter schools. 

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Healthcare: 

• Senator Strugeon sponsored Senate Bill 148, creating the Topical Medical Waste Reduction Act, allowing patients to take the unused portion of the medication home with them for post-discharge use.

• Senator Strugeon sponsored House Bill 274, which requires all health insurance plans, including Medicaid, to cover the cost of peanut and egg allergen supplements for young children.

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Worker’s Rights:

• Senator Strugeon sponsored Senate Bill 27, giving employees two years, instead of one year, the ability to file a claim to recover unpaid wages.

• Senator Strugeon sponsored Senate Bill 145, increasing the monetary damages that Delaware Superior Court can award when workers successfully prove they were the victims of workplace discrimination.

• Senator Strugeon sponsored Senate Bill 146, clarifying filing date of charge of employment discrimination.    

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Economy: 

• As a member of the Joint Finance Committee, Senator Sturgeon had a critical role in crafting the approved $6.1 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year 2025 to enhance State services and support State programs, infrastructure projects, and community initiatives.