Earlier this year, in a move many educators said was long overdue, Gov. Ned Lamont and the state legislature injected an additional $70 million into special education. Of that, $40 million was allocated as an emergency grant for the fiscal year that ended June 30 and $30 million went toward a new grant for fiscal year 2026. But this money still isn’t nearly enough to meet the needs in many districts, and officials are working to fill in the gaps.
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The Connecticut General Assembly passed legislation creating additional grants to fund special education during the 2025 legislative session in an effort to help districts, their students and staff.
The bill passed in June included the creation of the Special Education Expansion and Development (SEED) grant that will allocate $60 million over the next two fiscal years, or $30 million a year. The general assembly also approved a High Quality Special Education Incentives grant to allocate $9.9 million in FY 2027 among other initiatives targeted at managing costs in special education.
If the grant were fully funded — which it is not — it would allocate over $190 million across the state. Under the current allocation, it provides a few less-populated towns with just a few hundred dollars for the year.
“I don’t think anyone would say it is [a magical solution],” Morton, of the School and State Finance Project, said. “But it is a step in the right direction to hopefully making sure that we have a special education system that is not only well funded but is making sure that every student is getting the services that they are legally entitled to.”