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.
This infographic explains how the Excess Cost grant works. The grant is provided by the State of Connecticut to school districts to assist them in paying for students who have extraordinary special education needs and associated costs.
Understanding how public school districts are spending education dollars is essential for ensuring Connecticut’s investments in K-12 education are transparent, equitable, and effective. This analysis explores how spending has changed over the last five years, breaks down expenditures by function and object, and highlights key trends in spending for special education services.
This model allows users to calculate future projected State Charter School grants based on the phase-in of weighted student funding for charter schools.
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 policy briefing details the current mismatch between student learning needs and per-student spending in Connecticut’s local and regional public school districts, and examines some of the factors that contribute to this mismatch.