New London — The first candidate for the Board of Education has filed papers in City Hall stating his intent to run in November’s municipal election.

Jason Morris, a parent of two elementary school children, plans to run as an independent.

He said Tuesday that he mailed his paperwork to the City Clerk’s office last Friday.

“Our board needs more courage in the face of top-down policy recommendations and needs more of a parent voice, and I mean parents of kids in the New London school district on the board,” Morris said.

Morris said he’s been following the school board and education issues —like the possibility of opening the Renzulli Academy, a gifted and talented program for the city’s fourth through sixth-grade students — “very, very closely for the past year.”

“It’s just something I’m passionate about and I understand that every kid needs the same education opportunities, and I don’t like policies that segregate kids or harm lower-income kids, which we happen to have a majority of.”

His daughter, a fifth-grader at Jennings Elementary School, would qualify for a spot at Renzulli Academy but Morris said he plans to fight against it.

“It’s not just about my daughter. It’s about every single kid in the district. It’s about moral responsibility and not personal interest,” he said.