On May 10, 2023, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Senate Republican Caucus put forward its biennial state budget proposal for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. While K-12 education funding policies would remain largely unchanged from current law under the proposal, there are some policy and funding changes that would impact students, schools, and communities across Connecticut.
This analysis details these changes and their impacts. Below are some of the key education policies and funding changes proposed in the Senate Republicans' budget.
- Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grants would continue to follow the phase-in schedule currently in law. ECS funding would be increased by approximately $48 million in FY 2024 and $95.9 million in FY 2025.
- ECS formula’s phase-out schedule would resume, resulting in gradual decreases for towns considered “overfunded” according to the formula.
- Excess Cost grant is fully funded to support students with extraordinary special education needs and associated costs.
- Existing state charter schools are flat funded and no funding is provided for new charter schools in Danbury, Middletown, New Haven, or Norwalk.
- No additional funding is provided to implement H.B. 5003 and student-centered funding, as was allocated in the budget proposals from the Appropriations Committee and the House Republican Caucus.
Citation
School and State Finance Project. (2023). Budget Snapshot: Education Funding in Senate Republicans' Budget for FYs 2024 and 2025. Hamden, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://schoolstatefinance.org/resource-assets/Senate-Republican-Budget-Analysis-Snapshot-Education.pdf.