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Reports & Publications

We've published hundreds of reports and analyses covering a variety of issues in education funding and state finance policy, and we're always working on new research reports. Browse through all of our reports and publications using the keyword search below, or search by a specific category using the drop-down menu below the Featured post.

Budget Snapshot: K-12 Education Funding in Adopted State Budget, FYs 2026-27

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State Capitol building of Connecticut

On June 3, 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted a new biennial state budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This nonpartisan analysis details changes to state education funding in the budget, and provides a brief overview of the general fiscal outlook of the state budget and economy.

Education Funding Snapshot - Adopted Budget for FYs 2026 and 2027 Interactive Community Impact Tool - Adopted Budget for FYs 2026 and 2027
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Education Funding State Budget

District Reference Groups (DRGs)

District Reference Groups (DRGs) are a classification system that groups local and regional public school districts together based on the similar socioeconomic characteristics and status of their students. Developed by the Connecticut State Department of Education, the DRGs have not been officially updated since they were first released in 2006. Although not for official use, the School and State Finance Project has replicated the DRGs using updated data and the same methodology and variables as the original DRGs.

DRG Webpage 2023 DRGs One Pager
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Community Student Enrollment/Demographics District/School Spending

Overview: Needs-Capacity Formula

This document details how Connecticut could use a needs-capacity formula to distribute non-education municipal aid to the state's cities and towns and help address municipal fiscal disparities. Under a needs-capacity formula, municipalities with the greatest level of fiscal disparity would receive a greater level of state funding, while municipalities with the capacity to pay for services through their own revenue raising capacities receive less or no state funding.

Needs Capacity Formula One Pager
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Municipal Aid & Spending

Distributing Non-Education State Aid to Municipalities through a Needs-Capacity Formula

The State of Connecticut contains 169 towns with a wide range of wealth and resident needs. Currently, the State of Connecticut provides financial aid to towns through a variety of statutory and non-statutory grant programs. The current structure for non-education town aid does not sufficiently address the underlying municipal fiscal disparities that are caused by the unequal costs of delivering services and the low revenue raising capacity of towns in Connecticut. The purpose of this policy briefing is to introduce and examine how Connecticut can address municipal fiscal disparities by using a needs-capacity formula to distribute non-education town aid.

Needs Capacity Formula for State Aid
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Municipal Aid & Spending