Sen. Gordon Applauds Special Education Grant Awards for Northeast Connecticut

Hartford — State Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) welcomed the rollout of the High-Quality Special Education Incentive Grant program, which is delivering $855,488 in total funding to the Ellington, Thompson, and Tolland public school districts.

“This is great news for our students, schools, communities, and taxpayers,” said Sen. Gordon. “Public Act 25-93 and this special education grant program are legislative efforts that I advocated for, worked on, and supported. This program is part of my broader effort to secure more state funding to address the ever-rising cost of special education faced by our public schools, which also contributes to higher property taxes.

The more we can do at the state level to properly fund public education in our communities, the more we can help ensure every child receives the education they deserve while providing relief to taxpayers facing Connecticut’s affordability crisis.

I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, including increased state education funding for our towns and the creation of an early childhood fund to help working families access and afford childcare. There is more work to do, and I will continue fighting for additional support for public education and the communities I represent.”

Grant awards include:

• Ellington: $163,498 for programming and $185,568 for capital improvements, totaling $349,066.
• Thompson: $156,422 for programming.
• Tolland: $350,000 for programming.

Local and regional boards of education seeking funding through this round of the competitive grant program were required to submit applications to the state by July 10, 2026.

Not every school district is eligible for funding through this program, as applicants must meet specific program criteria. These competitive grants are separate from the state’s general education funding provided.

Individual district applications were eligible for awards of up to $350,000, while collaborative proposals were eligible for up to $500,000.

Programmatic funding can support planning and start-up costs, staffing, assistive technology, instructional materials, professional development, and flexible learning models.

Capital funding is designated for facilities, renovations, equipment, transportation, and other infrastructure necessary to support these programs.

Sen. Gordon thanked Gov. Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker for their work in advancing the grant awards.