Lamont to propose $54M increase in special education funding

Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday said his budget proposal will boost spending for special education by about $54 million in the second year of the biennium, aligning himself with legislators who have prioritized the issue.

The budget will include pitches for a $40 million increase to the Excess Cost Grant, which is the state’s reimbursement model to districts for high special education costs, and a $14 million grant program to help districts develop ways to educate more students with disabilities in-district rather than sending them to private programs outside the district.

But districts wouldn’t receive the money until 2026-27, the second year of the new biennium. And with state officials worried that President Donald Trump and Congress could soon slash state aid, Connecticut’s fiscal outlook could change dramatically, well before districts are due to receive the proposed $54 million.

The funding increases are a “commitment to say we’re in this together,” Lamont said.

“We’re in this together for the kids,” Lamont said. “For each and every one of the kids at home, we want you to know that we love you, and that’s why we’re making this commitment.”

On paper, state government has more than enough funds to provide all of the pledged $54 million in additional funding next fiscal year. Budget analysts for Lamont and for the General Assembly estimate one savings program alone, which bars lawmakers from spending a portion of income and business tax receipts, will save nearly $1.3 billion in each of the next two fiscal years.

Officials aren’t supposed to spend those dollars, though, on grounds they are too “volatile” or fluctuate too wildly from year to year. Connecticut instead has been using dollars saved through this program to build reserves and pay down pension debt.

But critics, particularly Lamont’s fellow Democrats in the legislature’s majority, say the “volatility adjustment” is badly flawed and captures hundreds of millions in stable tax receipts along with the volatile dollars — a dynamic that is weakening government’s most essential services.

But the governor also is hemmed in next fiscal year by another budget mechanism, the spending cap that keeps most growth in line with household income and inflation.

Lamont has enough room under the spending cap in the first year of the new two-year budget cycle to cover inflation and growing fixed costs, such as Medicaid and teachers’ pensions, but little else.

Unionized state employees and workers at nursing and group homes — key constituencies Lamont needs if he wants to run for a third term in two years — are up for raises in the first year. Officials legally can exceed the spending cap with a 60% vote of approval in the House and Senate and with the governor’s written permission. Lamont, though, has resisted any efforts to do that and recently assured business leaders that the spending cap was “sacrosanct.”

Still, the governor was confident Monday the additional funds for special education would be provided in 2026-27.

“We’re going to roll into this and be able to take care of it, and we’re going to honor this commitment,” he said.

While the governor’s proposals were called a “step in the right direction” by education stakeholders, including lawmakers on the Education Committee and local mayors at a news conference Monday, many said it leaves many critical classroom needs untouched.

“No governor has addressed special education, and it’s been growing — the numbers have been growing exponentially,” said Fran Rabinowitz, who previously served as superintendent in Bridgeport and Hamden and now is executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. “It’s a step in the right direction is all I can say. Giving grants to build or enhance in-house programs and the Excess Cost Grant is not nearly enough, but I’m hoping the legislature will push for more.”

Districts have complained for years that state assistance has steadily met less and less of local need in this area. 

The state will provide districts with $181 million in excess cost grants this fiscal year. Rabinowitz has estimated that the program — unless adjusted — would provide about $90 million less than local schools need by 2025-26 for special ed.

Rabinowitz served as one of the chairs on the Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding, a 14-member group convened by statute in 2021. The task force, which has met monthly since spring 2023, included lawmakers, teachers, parents, school administrators, education department officials, specialists, advocates and others.

They delivered their final report of recommendations to state lawmakers last month, highlighting “four major issues” around special education that included a severe staffing shortage and inability for districts to “effectively meet their special education needs.”

Lamont touched on two main proposals by the task force but didn’t address other recommendations such as adding a “50% weight based on the number of eligible special education students in the district” to the Education Cost Sharing grant, which already provides weighted funding to districts with large populations of multilingual learners and students from low-income households, or a proposal to fund tuition payments for special education certifications, which could incentivize more people to become special education educators.

Kate Dias, the president of the Connecticut Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state, expressed disappointment in Lamont’s proposals and called them limited.

“There’s going to have to be a lot more conversations with our legislators about making a multiyear financial commitment. I don’t think the children of Connecticut can wait. I don’t think that educators in Connecticut can wait,” Dias said. “It still leaves the question hanging of who’s going to teach these children, and we have still not really talked about that commitment to the actual classrooms and those spaces. I think when we’re talking about things, that’s good, but I don’t feel like this really is going to have a revolutionary effect unless we’re really willing to do more.”

Last month, superintendents from the state’s largest five districts gathered at the Legislative Office Building and called for lawmakers to boost education funding by $545 million, a dollar amount drawn from an October report put out by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which offered recommendations for reengaging students who have lost touch with the education system.

The superintendents, joined by their mayors, pointed to their growing need for financial support to help aid special education costs, which usually takes up a large share of districts’ budgets. 

Connecticut’s largest cities educated about 19% of the state’s students who receive special education in 2023-24. Data shows that in Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven, between 20% and 30% of their budgets went toward special education expenditures in 2021-22, ranging from about $80 million to $140 million. Most of those expenditures were on tuition at private schools with programs designed for students with severe disabilities, but they also include hiring specialized teachers, paraeducators and other support staff.

At Monday’s news conference, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam called Lamont’s proposal “thoughtful and significant,” pointing to a 20% increase of out-of-district special education costs in his district in the last four years that have totaled over $36 million and make up over three-fourths of its special education costs.

“It’s not just about special education, it’s about building stronger education systems for all of our children and reducing property tax burdens of all of our towns,” Arulampalam said.

The governor’s pledge drew praise from local education advocates.

Joe DeLong, executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, called it “an appreciated step in the right direction” but added that $40 million is only a starting point, given that other state aid to local districts has lagged inflation for years. 

Lisa Hammersley, executive director of The School and State Finance Project, echoed DeLong’s praise and his concerns. 

“The proposals unveiled today offer much-needed relief to some of the biggest financial challenges facing school districts and municipalities and can help reduce the need for students to be educated outside of their home district — saving districts costs while keeping students with their neighborhood friends and in the least restrictive learning environment,” Hammersley said.

But she added that “While the governor’s proposals are welcomed changes that have the potential to make a meaningful impact throughout our state, there is much more that can — and should — be done to support students with disabilities, their families, and school districts and communities across Connecticut.”