Why Won’t Emily Hau Answer Questions About Education in Front of Teachers?

State Representative Jenn Leeper's opponent Emily Hau has declined to appear at the Fairfield Education Association's candidate forum. The forum focuses on education issues so its members can make an informed decision to endorse before the election in November. Taking a closer look at what she's said about our schools, it makes sense.

Jenn has built her career around education. She served as a school administrator and Director of Special Education, then brought that experience to the Connecticut State Department of Education, where she led the state's data-driven accountability reform and managed its largest data collection. In public service, she served on Fairfield's Board of Education and now represents the 132nd District as State Representative, where she is Co-Chair of the Education Committee.

Ms. Hau's positions laid out on her website might sound reasonable, but here's what she wrote on social media in January 2026: "I'll be honest with you. Our elementary schools seem a little lavish. Too many front office employees. Why are we spending money on silly phone pouches?" Lavish? Too many staff? And the phone pouches she mocks are exactly what schools use to cut down on screens. You can't promise less screen time to voters and then ridicule the tools that deliver it.

Jenn understands that our schools are not “lavish” and worked hard to help deliver $57 million in state funding to rebuild Dwight Elementary School, $1 million to improve Tomlinson Middle School’s HVAC, and $9.5 million to support our schools and alleviate the property tax burden.

She has also led Connecticut's push for phone-free classrooms so kids can focus on learning, friends, and teachers, while still supporting technology that genuinely helps students learn. She shows up, she knows our schools, and she says the same thing to teachers and to parents and to students that she says to voters. That’s why State Rep. Jenn Leeper deserves to be re-elected.