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.
Public Act 25-67 contains provisions designed to enhance oversight and increase funding for special education services in Connecticut, with the goal of promoting greater consistency and quality in the provision of services to students with disabilities across Connecticut. This analysis details the changes to special education funding and policies contained in Public Act 25-67 and their impact on students and schools.
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 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.
Excess Cost grant reimbursement requests for FY 2024 significantly exceeded the $181 million appropriated for the grant in the state budget, and are expected to exceed the amount appropriated in FY 2025. Without additional funding, districts and towns will not receive the reimbursement levels specified in statute for the Excess Cost grant, resulting in less funding for all districts educating high-needs students with disabilities.
The Excess Cost grant is the State of Connecticut’s method for sharing in the expense for students who have extraordinary special education needs and associated costs. During the 2023 legislative session, the General Assembly increased the appropriated amount of the Excess Cost grant and amended the grant’s formula for reimbursing school districts.