Recognizing the rising costs of special education and the burden those accumulating costs place on municipalities, Connecticut’s Democrat-led Senate and House voted Tuesday to infuse $40 million in state funding around the state to support special education needs.
Once distributed, the funds will increase total spending approved for special education in the 2025 fiscal year to $221 million. They’ll be allocated to towns and communities through a reimbursement structure prioritizing towns and cities in greatest need first.
“This investment is a direct response to the growing demand for special education services, and it demonstrates our commitment to equity in education,” said Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, Senate chair of the legislature’s Select Committee on Special Education. “We are ensuring that every student, regardless of where they live, has access to the quality education they deserve. I remain committed to working with my colleagues to further strengthen our special education system and provide the support that every child deserves.”
The state is focused on investing in special education continually and regularly increases its allocated sums to support communities. Since 2023, total state funding for education rose by $364 million, with another $150 million committed to that reimbursement structure, the Education Cost Sharing grant program.
One of the ways Connecticut assists towns with special education costs is through a separate initiative called the Excess Cost Grant program. These grants offset expenses associated with educating students with special needs. In 2022, this program was further amended to make sure the communities most in need were prioritized to receive funding.
However, despite these efforts, the cost of special education has surged. From the 2022 to 2025 fiscal years, the estimated cost of funding the Excess Cost program climbed from $175.7 million to $289.3 million, which has spurred calls for further investment to make sure students aren’t left behind.
The effort comes as Gov. Ned Lamont said in early February that he planned to commit $54 million to support special education funding, but those funds wouldn’t go into effect until the 2026-27 fiscal year. Legislators wanted to take more direct action to meet pressing needs now.
Their focus is supported by a 2023 Education Week report indicating that up to one-fourth of some school districts’ funding goes solely to special education costs. While the federal government initially planned to fund 40% of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, federal legislation passed in 1990 to guarantee public education and services to children with disabilities, it has not been funded more than 15%.
“Special education costs have been dramatically increasing all across the state due to the increased number of students requiring services and the cost of those services – both of which were greater than anticipated and what was budgeted for,” Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, said. “This created a challenge at both the state and the local levels. This additional state funding should now provide some much needed help now to address their current budgets,”
Experts believe the current presidential administration will further cut that spending as it continues to slash government programs and funding.
All of these concerns regard the well-being of more than 80,000 students receiving special education support from kindergarten to 12th grade statewide, reflecting the high stakes of their necessary support.
Legislators have also noted increased special education costs often get shifted to municipalities, which contributes to rising mill rates while the state continues to experience strong budget surpluses.
Lawmakers said they remain committed to continuing to shore up special education funding in coming years, knowing this problem isn’t going away any time soon.
“This investment represents a first step toward addressing an urgent problem,” Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, said. “It will not be the last.”
