Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-76ggg: Special education and expansion development grants.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Base aid ratio” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-262f.

(2) “Foundation” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-262f.

(3) “Resident students” has the same meaning as provided in section 10-262f.

(4) “Special education need students” means fifty per cent of the number of resident students who are children requiring special education and related services, as such terms are defined in section 10-76a.

(5) “Fully funded grant” means the product of a town's base aid ratio, the foundation and the town's special education need students for the fiscal year prior to the year in which the grant is to be paid.

(b) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, each board of education for a town maintaining public schools according to law shall be entitled to a special education and expansion development grant in an amount equal to its fully funded grant.

(c) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, the board of education for a town shall be paid a special education and expansion development grant equal to the amount such board is entitled to receive under the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. Such grant shall be calculated using the data of record as of the December first prior to the fiscal year such grant is to be paid, adjusted for the difference between the final entitlement for the prior fiscal year and the preliminary entitlement for such fiscal year as calculated using the data of record as of the December first prior to the fiscal year when such grant was paid.

(d) The amount due each board of education pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall be paid by the Comptroller, upon certification of the Commissioner of Education, to the board of education for each town entitled to such aid in installments during the fiscal year as follows: Twenty-five per cent of the grant in October, twenty-five per cent of the grant in January and the balance of the grant in April. The balance of the grant due boards under the provisions of this subsection shall be paid in March rather than April to any board that has not adopted the uniform fiscal year and that would not otherwise receive such final payment within the fiscal year of such board.

(e) (1) All aid distributed to a board of education pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be expended for special education purposes only. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, if a board receives an increase in funds pursuant to this section over the amount it received for the prior fiscal year, such increase shall not be used to supplant funding for special education purposes. The budgeted appropriation for special education for any board receiving an increase in funds pursuant to this section shall be not less than the amount appropriated for special education for the prior year plus such increase in funds. For purposes of this subsection, “special education purposes” means the direct provision of special education and related services to students, Tier 2 interventions, academic and behavioral interventions, the hiring and salaries of special education teachers, paraeducators and behavioral and reading specialists who work directly with students, equipment purchases and maintenance and curriculum materials. “Special education purposes” does not include any (A) administrative functions or operating expenses related to the provision of special education and related services, or (B) special education and related services provided by any third-party contractor.

(2) Upon a determination by the State Board of Education that a local or regional board of education failed in any fiscal year to meet the requirements pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, the board of education shall forfeit an amount equal to two times the amount that was not expended for special education purposes. The amount so forfeited shall be withheld by the Department of Education from the grant payable to the board of education in the second fiscal year immediately following such failure by deducting such amount from the board of education's special education and expansion development grant payment pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, the State Board of Education may waive such forfeiture upon agreement with the board of education that the board of education shall increase its appropriation for special education during the fiscal year in which the forfeiture would occur by an amount not less than the amount of said forfeiture or for other good cause shown.

(f) Not later than July 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall submit an annual expenditure report to the Commissioner of Education, except any board of education that receives a grant under this section that is less than ten thousand dollars in any fiscal year shall not be responsible for submitting such report for such fiscal year. Such report shall include a summary and itemization of how grant funds received pursuant to this section were expended during the prior fiscal year for the direct provision of special education and related services to students, including whether such grant was used to hire any new special education teachers, paraeducators or behavioral or reading specialists.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount of grants payable to local or regional boards of education under this section shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for such grants for such year.