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Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut creates contingency special education grants and bans private equity-owned special education providers
Last action · February 27, 2026: Public Hearing 03/04Sponsor: John Kissel
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What This Bill Proposed
Connecticut establishes a contingency special education grant for unanticipated mid-year student enrollments starting July 1, 2026, while prohibiting the State Board of Education from approving private equity-owned special education providers. Additionally, the measure creates a working group to study public-private partnerships and private provider eligibility, requiring a report by January 1, 2027.
Local school districts gain a dedicated funding stream for high-cost students enrolling after March 1, but must exclude private equity-backed providers from state approval, altering the market of available specialized educational vendors.
- Connecticut statutory framework governs special education grants to towns through calculations involving net costs of special education and base aid ratios under section 10-76g. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
local or regional boards of education
Eligible to receive contingency grants for unanticipated special education costs incurred after March 1.
private providers of special education services
Subject to a statutory prohibition on state approval if owned or operated by a private equity company.
students requiring special education or related services
Experience changes in how school districts receive funding for late-year enrollments and transition from birth-to-three services.
Key Facts
- Commencing July 1, 2027, the State Board of Education must pay a contingency special education grant on a current basis for students who enroll or lose birth-to-three eligibility on or after March 1 and require costs exceeding two times net current expenditures per student.
- Effective July 1, 2026, the State Board of Education is prohibited from approving any private provider of special education services that is owned or operated by a private equity company.
- A private equity company is defined as an asset class consisting of equity securities and debt in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange.
- The Commissioner of Education must convene a working group by July 1, 2026, to examine innovations in special education through public-private partnerships and expansion of private provider eligibility.
Show all 6 facts
- The working group must include at least one representative from an approved private provider and at least one from an ineligible private provider.
- The working group must submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the education committee of the General Assembly not later than January 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers eligibility for the new contingency special education grant?
Are all private special education providers banned under this bill?
What is the deadline for the special education working group to report its findings?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 27, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 03/04
- Feb 26, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on Education
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Private Equity Restriction in Education
The state establishes a clear statutory prohibition against private equity ownership among approved private special education providers.
Connected Entities
Sources
cga.ct.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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