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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 Governor Lamont's Proposed Budget, FYs 2026 and 2027

Featured

On February 5, 2025, Governor Ned Lamont released his recommended biennial state budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This nonpartisan analysis details the 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.

Education Funding Snapshot - Governor's Budget for FYs 2026 and 2027 Interactive Community Impact Tool - Governor's Budget for FYs 2026 and 2027
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Education Funding State Budget

Putting Together the Pieces of Connecticut School Finance (INFOGRAPHIC)

This infographic from the Connecticut School Finance Project details how a well-functioning school finance system is made up of several pieces. The infographic describes how each piece is important to providing students and schools with the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. When a piece of the puzzle is missing, students, schools, and communities are negatively impacted.

Puzzle Piece FINAL
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Education Funding

Achieving a Better Proxy for Low-Income Students in Connecticut

Connecticut currently identifies low-income students based on students’ eligibility for the USDA’s National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Connecticut students who are eligible for these programs are generally referred to as being eligible for free and reduced price lunch, or “FRPL.” Despite the simplicity of using FRPL-eligibility to identify low-income students, researchers warn FRPL-eligibility may be an inaccurate proxy for low-income students, and instead, they suggest low-income students be identified using multiple income-verified measures. The need for a more accurate, verifiable proxy for low-income students is particularly important given the increase of schools and districts qualifying and participating in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the federal Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. Since its introduction, CEP participation rates in Connecticut have increased annually and are likely to continue increasing as more and more eligible schools and districts adopt the program.

Better Proxy for Low Income Students in CT
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Student Enrollment/Demographics

10 Years Later: An Updated Look at CT's District Reference Groups (DRGs)

The Connecticut School Finance Project has updated the 2006 District Reference Groups to determine what they would look like today. The 2016 DRGs were determined through calculations by the Connecticut School Finance Project and are not official classifications produced by the Connecticut State Department of Education. While the 2016 DRGs listed are not official, they were calculated using the same cluster analysis methodology and variables used by the CSDE in 2006 to determine the current DRGs.

DRG One Pager FINAL
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Student Enrollment/Demographics

Improving How Connecticut Funds Special Education

Each day, more than 68,700 of the students who pass through the doors of Connecticut’s public schools require special education services, making up 13 percent of the state's total public school enrollment. The individual learning needs of these students are wide-ranging and unique. As a result of these wide-ranging needs, the resources required to provide students with a “free appropriate public education” vary significantly, and often pose difficult planning and financial questions to Connecticut’s public schools. The report examines the special education finance systems of all 50 states and finds Connecticut is one of only four states in the country that does not have a system for funding all special education students.

Improving How CT Funds Special Education FINAL
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Education Funding Special Education