On February 5, 2025, Governor Ned Lamont released his recommended biennial state budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. In addition to adjusting appropriations to fund K-12 public education, the proposed budget contains several policy changes that impact students and districts throughout the state.
This nonpartisan analysis details these changes to state education funding in the governor’s proposed budget, and provides a brief overview of the general fiscal outlook of the state budget and economy.
Key Takeaways & Changes in Governor's Budget Proposal
Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Funding
- Completes the ECS formula phase-in schedule
- Fully funds ECS grants in FY 2026, and beyond, for towns considered "underfunded" according to the ECS formula.
- Resumes the ECS formula's phase-out schedule
- Towns considered "overfunded," according to the formula, would receive gradual decreases in their ECS grants.
- Places restrictions on ECS increases
- Beginning in FY 2026, school districts would be required to use any increase in ECS dollars over their FY 2025 grant amounts for direct supports to classroom instruction.
- This includes, but is not limited to, evidence-based programs to address: chronic absenteeism, student disengagement, and academic recovery.
- Districts receiving ECS increases greater than $100,000 over their FY 2025 ECS grant amounts would be required to submit a plan to the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) detailing how the increase in funds would be spent.
Magnet Schools, AgriScience Programs, and Charter Schools
- Continues partial implementation of student-centered funding for FY 2026 and future years
- Maintains partial extension of ECS weighted funding to students attending public schools of choice (magnet schools, AgriScience programs, and charter schools).
- Students at magnet schools and AgriScience programs would continue to receive 42% of their full weighted funding amount.
- Charter school students would continue to receive 56.7% of their full weighted funding amount.
- Maintains cap on general education tuition charged by magnet schools and AgriScience programs, but provides exceptions for inflation adjustments
- The per-student tuition amount an operator of a magnet school or an AgriScience program may charge a local or regional school district would remain capped at 58% of the per-student tuition amount the operator charged in FY 2024.
- Beginning in FY 2028, magnet school and AgriScience program operators would be allowed to adjust, every two fiscal years, the amount of per-student tuition they charge up to the changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the previous two years.
Special Education
- Flat funds Excess Cost grant in FY 2026, provides increase in FY 2027
- An additional $40 million would be allocated to the grant in the second year of the biennial budget.
- Establishes grant to incentivize creation of in-district programs
- $9.9 million would be appropriated in FY 2027 for districts creating specialized in-district special education programs to reduce outplacements.
Citation
School and State Finance Project. (2025). Budget Snapshot: K-12 Education Funding in Governor Lamont's Proposed Budget, FYs 2026-27. Southington, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://files.schoolstatefinance.org/
hubfs/Reports/Governors%20Budget%20FYs%202026%20and%202027%20-%20Education%20Funding
%20Snapshot.pdf.