The Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding was created by the Connecticut General Assembly to examine a variety of issues related to special education. Specifically, the Task Force looked at the state's severe special education staffing shortage, the lack of resources for special education, the lack of equity in special education across the state, and the failure to close the state's achievement gap.
Additionally, the Task Force reviewed the cost of special education and the annual percentage increase or decrease per school district, how special education costs affect a district’s minimum budget requirement, state special education reimbursement to boards of education, and the overidentification and underidentification of students for special education services.
The 22-member Task Force met from April 2023 to January 2025 and issued a midterm report to the General Assembly in June 2024 before releasing its final report with recommendations in January 2025. The Task Force's final report includes 32 recommendations related to special education finance (14 recommendations), eligibility (seven recommendations), and services (11 recommendations).
Included in this resource are the Task Force's final report, its midterm report, and its January 29, 2025 presentation to the General Assembly's Select Committee on Special Education.
Final Report Citation
Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding. (2025). Final Report of the Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding. Hartford, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://cga.ct.gov/sed/related/
20250129_2025%20Special%20Education%20Task%20Force%20Presentation/Final%20Report%20of%20the%
20Task%20Force%20January%2015,%202025.pdf.
Midterm Report Citation
Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding. (2024). Report of Findings of the Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding. Hartford, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://cga.ct.gov/sed/
related/20250129_2025%20Special%20Education%20Task%20Force%20Presentation/Final%20Report%20
May%2030,%202024.pdf.
Presentation Citation
Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding. (2025). Recommendations of Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding [PowerPoint slides]. Hartford, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://cga.ct.gov/sed/related/20250129_2025%20Special%20Education%20Task%20Force%20
Presentation/Powerpoint%20for%20Select%20Committee.pdf.