On May 7, 2024, the General Assembly passed H.B. 5523, a budget stabilization bill that appropriates funds for fiscal year 2025 and makes a number of different policy changes to K-12 education and other areas. Along with maintaining the $150 million in additional funding for K-12 education in FY 2025 that was allotted as part of the state budget passed last year, the bill overhauls how Connecticut distributes state education funding to school districts.
The State of Connecticut recently increased the level of oversight and monitoring of the finances of its 169 municipalities with the creation of the tiering system in 2017. The tiering system categorizes fiscally distressed municipalities based on their fiscal health and stability. The level of oversight and involvement by a designated statutorily created board increases as the fiscal health of a given municipality is deemed less secure. This policy briefing details this oversight, discusses the boards that oversee and work with municipalities, and examines the authority granted to these boards to improve the fiscal health of municipal finances.
Connecticut’s quasi-public agencies are independent government corporations that, while maintaining some government oversight and accountability, are not under the direct control of the government and its many controls and requirements. This policy briefing looks at each of Connecticut’s 17 quasi-public agencies and details their backgrounds, governance structures, revenues and expenditures, and additional requirements. Additionally, this policy briefing makes note of actions other states have taken in regard to quasi-public agencies, and presents several recommendations for strengthening the transparency and operations of Connecticut’s quasi-publics.
In Connecticut, there are several different methods for counting public school students in towns, schools, and school districts. Each method uses a different set of rules, and is used for different purposes. This one-pager details these different student counts and how each is used.
This frequently asked questions document discusses Connecticut’s minimum budget requirement (MBR), which prohibits a town from budgeting less for education than it did in the previous year unless it meets specific exceptions.
This frequently asked questions document concerns the fiscal transparency requirements and regulations of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA is the reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which oversees the distribution of the bulk of federal education funding provided to increase educational opportunities for low-income students and to improve elementary and secondary schools and districts.