On June 30, 2025, President Donald Trump's administration announced it was withholding over $6.8 billion in federal K-12 education funding for the 2025-26 school year, including an estimated $53.6 million for Connecticut public school districts and community organizations.
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund was created by Congress in March 2020 to help states and school districts throughout the country combat the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on students and K-12 education. This infographic breaks down the federal ESSER funding the State of Connecticut and its school districts have been awarded under the three COVID-19 relief packages passed by Congress.
As part of the state budget for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the Connecticut General Assembly made several changes to the ECS formula, including expanding the types of districts eligible for the formula's Regional District Bonus, and increasing the amount of funding per student provided by the Bonus. This document provides an overview of these changes to the Regional District Bonus, and answers some of the most common questions about this component of the ECS formula.
This frequently asked questions document covers the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund and the federal aid it has provided to states and school districts as part of the stimulus and relief packages passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This policy briefing provides an overview of the process state education agencies and local education agencies must follow to access their allocated Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund dollars under each of the federal coronavirus relief and stimulus acts.
School accountability is the process of evaluating school performance on the basis of student performance measures. These measures determine the ability of a state, district, and school to successfully prepare students for college, work, and life. This policy briefing examines the systems of school and district accountability that currently exist in public education in Connecticut. This policy briefing also explains what school accountability is, gives a brief summary of the history of school accountability, provides an overview of Connecticut’s current systems of school accountability, and details school accountability grants currently available.