During its 2025 regular legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly made a number of changes to how the State funds special education, including the creation of a new formulaic grant to support special education services.
Designed to help town and school district leaders plan for the future and address budgetary questions, these interactive models provide district-level and town-level funding estimates for the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant, board of education magnet school grant, RESC magnet school grant, and Agricultural Science and Technology Education (ASTE) program grant.
This frequently asked questions document summarizes key components of Connecticut's Excess Cost grant, which is provided by the State to school districts to assist them in paying for special education expenses for students with extraordinary needs.
The District Repair and Improvement Project (DRIP) program is a new program that provides reimbursement grants to school districts for minor capital repairs and improvements to public school buildings, grounds, and infrastructure.
Glossary compiled by the School and State Finance Project defining terms related to school funding in Connecticut.
This brief details how an inflation-based adjustment to the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula's foundation amount could be implemented to mitigate the annual increasing costs of providing educational services. The potential adjustment would alleviate districts’ reliance on local sources to cover rising costs and would ensure all districts have the resources they need to properly operate their schools and provide their students with a high-quality education when economic changes occur.