Connecticut's current system for funding students with disabilities is deeply broken. While approximately $3 billion is spent annually in Connecticut on special education services, the bill for these expenses is largely footed by municipalities — making special education costs a frequently volatile and unpredictable line item for district budgets across the state.
In 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly made a number of changes to how the State funds special education, including creating the Special Education and Expansion Development (SEED) grant to provide funding to school districts specifically for special education purposes. Although the creation of a specific method for funding special education is a promising step forward, unfortunately, the legislature provided only $30 million to fund the SEED grant while approximately $191 million is needed to fully fund the grant. As a result, for FY 2026, districts will only receive 15.7% of their fully funded grant amount.
On top of this, the state's Excess Cost grant, which is supposed to assist districts in paying for expenses for students with extraordinary special education needs, is not fully funded and provides districts with only partial (70.8% to 75.8%) reimbursement.
We're working to fix this broken and underfunded system by implementing policies that support students with disabilities and their needs, offer districts and municipalities budget predictability, and ensure equitable, adequate funding for all students.
Together with parents and community members, special education stakeholders and advocates, and state and local policymakers, we're working to fully fund the SEED and Excess Cost grants and ensure they are meeting the needs of Connecticut's students with disabilities.
While all districts would benefit from the full funding of these grants, under-resourced communities that have less means to adequately fund special education services through local property tax revenue would benefit particularly. This is especially true for Connecticut’s largest cities, which have the highest number of students with disabilities, as well as smaller, rural districts that have the highest percentages of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
