LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS

The following recommendations are specific legislative proposals for consideration during the 2026 legislative session.

These proposals serve as an important first step in the longer-range plan for improving public education: CONNECTICUT’S PRIORITY: OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

ELEVATE THE EDUCATION PROFESSION

Connecticut’s public education system depends on the ability to attract and retain highly qualified and passionate educators. A statewide effort to elevate the profession, improve working conditions, and rebuild public respect for educators is essential to ensuring every student has access to excellent teachers, leaders and student support staff.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Launch a statewide public awareness campaign to elevate the image of the profession and encourage new entrants into teaching, administration, and support roles.
• Direct CSDE to develop model policies and communications guidance that protect and support educators and board members from harassment and promote respectful public discourse.
• Place a moratorium on new curricular and professional development mandates and review existing requirements for impact, redundancy, and funding alignment.
• Restore support to educators by reducing legislative decisions (to include universal professional development and curricular mandates) that deprofessionalize the profession while preserving the autonomy of the CSDE.

FUNDING: ECS & SPECIAL EDUCATION

Equitable, timely and predictable funding is essential to ensuring that every child in Connecticut has access to a high-quality education. Funding must reflect true costs of education, fully reimburse special education expenses, and support high-need districts.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Revise the ECS foundation rate (unchanged since 2013 at $11,525) to reflect current costs of education and inflation.
• Fully fund the Special Education Excess Cost Grant and provide earlier disbursements to districts.  Promote in-district programs and regional inter-district cooperation by adjusting the Excess Cost Threshold to 2.5x for in-district programs, 3.5x for RESC programs, and retaining the 4.5x threshold for external placements.
• Review and Revise SEED Grant (Special Education Expansion & Development), positioning it as a long-term, flexible funding mechanism for high-need students.
• Monitor impacts of grant consolidation and magnet tuition caps to ensure that funding changes do not unintentionally disadvantage Alliance and high-need districts.
• Incentivize sustainable and scalable programs designed to include multiple LEAS in regional activities and specialized in-house programs.

PROVIDE MANDATE RELIEF

Connecticut’s districts and municipalities face a growing number of state requirements without corresponding financial support. Each new mandate diverts resources from classrooms and undermines local decision-making. CAPSS advocates for open collaboration, full funding, and practitioner review of all legislative proposals affecting districts.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Improve collaboration among the State, districts, and municipalities to ensure that new education mandates are co-designed with practitioners, focused on student outcomes.
• Place a 2-year moratorium on any new unfunded mandates to allow the Education Mandate Review Advisory Council to make recommendations.
• Require that all new state mandates include full funding for implementation and be vetted by practitioner panels prior to legislative action.
• Consolidate and align existing state training requirements to restore educator time for instruction, collaboration, and student support.
• Provide state funding for electric school bus conversion mandates for districts and municipalities, recognizing the significant fiscal and logistical challenges they face in meeting 2030–2040 compliance goals.

NEW PROCEDURE FOR HOME SCHOOLING

To comply with the statutory requirement for the compulsory schooling for each child, Connecticut should consider new statewide standards and procedures for homeschooling, managed by the Connecticut State Department of Education, with regional follow-up by the RESCs and appropriate state funding and staff.