The legislature passed and Gov. Ned Lamont signed Public Act 25-67 into law earlier this year. The omnibus bill tackles several areas of special education, and provides $30 million for each year of the biennial budget in Special Education Expansion and Development, or SEED, grants to equalize special education spending around the state.
HARTFORD, CT — State education leaders touted increased funding to help towns and cities handle the ever-increasing cost of serving the state’s growing population of special needs students at a forum at Naylor Elementary School in Hartford Monday.
The legislature passed and Gov. Ned Lamont signed Public Act 25-67 into law earlier this year. The omnibus bill tackles several areas of special education and provides $30 million for each year of the biennial budget in Special Education Expansion and Development, or SEED, grants to equalize special education spending around the state.
The General Assembly also approved $40 million in excess cost grants for school districts to cover expenses related to special education.
“This coordinated approach promotes transparency, improves service delivery, and enhances stability for school budgets, critical steps toward improving outcomes and expanding access for students receiving special education services,” said Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker. ”It reflects our collective belief that every child deserves the support, the tools and opportunities to thrive no matter their learning needs.”
Bryan Klimkiewicz, state director of special education, said the number of students requiring special education services continues to rise. There are over 94,000 students identified as special needs in the state, he said. In the past 10 years there has been a nearly 10% increase in children diagnosed with autism, and also significant increases in the number of students with intellectual disabilities and “other health impairments” such as mental health issues, anxiety and others, he said.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam celebrated the new funds from two different perspectives. First, as mayor, he’s seen special education costs consume more of the city’s education budget. Special education now accounts for a third of the city’s school budget and 80% of the city’s school transportation budget goes to send students to out-of-district programs. He also spoke as the parent of a child who has dyslexia and ADHD, and who has had difficulty at times navigating the various programs.
“Students in our schools, especially in school districts that are struggling to make ends meet, that have special education needs, have all of the potential in the world, but have specific diagnosable needs that need to be addressed before they are able to meet that potential, and I’ve seen that firsthand,” he said.
State Rep. Maryam Khan, D-Windsor, co-chair of the General Assembly’s select committee on special education, said it was important to keep students with special needs in their home districts.
“This grant encourages inclusion,” she said. “It encourages districts to invest in special education programming in their school buildings, like this one, to help keep students in-house as much as possible.”
That in turn means more resources, more special education teachers and more para educators in the local districts, she said.
“All research points to the fact that inclusion helps not only students with disabilities, but even students without disabilities,” she said.
Lamont said that he was “struck” by the fact that Connecticut is the state that sends the most special education students out of their home district for services. He said he didn’t believe it was the best for the students, for the parents or for the pocketbooks of Connecticut residents.
“That’s why working, with our legislative colleagues, we made a big initiative to allow more special ed programs in-district,” he said. “I think that is an opportunity to be much better for children and families, and much better for the taxpayers as well. And we’ll keep pushing on this to make sure that we do the right thing by these kids because that’s what Connecticut’s all about.”