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 Alliance District program is one way the State of Connecticut approaches school improvements to aid student achievement. This policy briefing takes a look at the Alliance District program, its effectiveness, and what improvements can be made to help the program support districts.
In 1986, the General Assembly passed the Education Enhancement Act, which aimed to reduce salary disparities by offering districts additional state educational aid as an incentive to meet minimum salary targets, rather than providing direct state funding for teacher pay increases.
This document addresses how Connecticut currently aids in school construction, how school construction grant reimbursement can be improved, and how the State can better support schools in maintaining facilities through minor capital improvement grants.
To help increase student achievement in Connecticut’s lowest-performing districts and schools, the Connecticut General Assembly has appropriated funds to support Alliance District and Priority School District grants. This policy briefing outlines what Alliance Districts and Priority School Districts are, and details the process these districts must follow to receive their grant funding and how they are allowed to use the grants.
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.