Connecticut: 'Urgent need in every single school district' for SPED funding; enrollment down, SPED up

May 20, 2026, CT Insider: Connecticut schools got a budget boost. Special education costs still threaten cuts

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/education/article/connecticut-schools-special-education-costs-budget-22255004.php?shem=rimspwouoe,

The new state budget has given Connecticut school districts reason to celebrate.

Ansonia Public Schools Superintendent Joseph DiBacco even called the amended budget's extra $170 million boost for schools a "lifeline."

"We're able to live to fight another day," he said.

However, the rising cost of special education still looms as a major burden for many districts across the state.

Patrice McCarthy, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, said the spending package lawmakers passed this month "did not address the special ed costs specifically at all."

School officials and experts cite Connecticut's growing special education student population and the steep costs of supporting students with intensive needs as a major financial pressure.

"This topic is on the forefront of everyone's mind right now," Thompson Public Schools Superintendent Melinda Smith said. "It's an urgent need in every single school district." 

While the state maintains existing levels for Connecticut's special education-specific funding – the Excess Cost and Special Education Expansion and Development (SEED) grants – Smith and DiBacco say their costs are going up. . . .

'A constant struggle'

Despite a declining student population overall, the number of students with disabilities has been increasing. According to statewide data, about 19% of students were classified as having special education status in the 2025-26 school year, compared to less than 12% about 20 years ago.

DiBacco and Smith both estimated special education costs now account for a third of their districts' budgets. Connecticut's Excess Cost grant is supposed to help pay for these expenses by reimbursing districts for special education costs that exceed 4.5 times the average cost of educating a student. However, the amount of money the state has put into that grant often leaves districts short of getting their full reimbursements.

"Every year now for the past few years we've been running a deficit because we don't have enough funding or reimbursement from the state," Smith said.

The School + State Finance Project has estimated an additional $55.6 million is needed to fund the Excess Cost grant at its statutory reimbursement tiers, while nearly $91 million more is needed to reimburse districts for 100% of their excess costs. But proposals to fully fund the grant didn't make it very far this past legislative session, which adjourned May 6. . . .

The bulk of education funding discussions at the Capitol in the most recent session focused on property tax relief and the funding formula for K-12 education. Last year, special education was a major focus in the legislature, as lawmakers successfully secured an additional $140 million for special education in the two-year budget. . . .

Even when funding doesn't keep pace with expenses, "special ed is an entitlement, so districts do not have the flexibility to reduce special ed costs," Feinstein said. . . .

Some districts have considered eliminating middle school sports, increasing class sizes and cutting extracurriculars, McCarthy said.  . . .