OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sHB-7076
AN ACT PROVIDING EDUCATION MANDATE RELIEF.
Primary Analyst: CF 4/8/25
Contributing Analyst(s): NB, DD, LD, JP, BP, RP, ES, JSS
Reviewer: JS
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 26 $ FY 27 $
Department of Developmental
Services
GF - Cost None See Below
Correction, Dept. GF - Potential
Savings
None See Below
Judicial Department GF - Potential
Savings
None See Below
Children & Families, Dept. GF - Potential
Savings
None Less than
200,000
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 26 $ FY 27 $
Local and Regional School
Districts
Potential
Savings
See Below See Below
Explanation
The bill relieves various mandates that result in a fiscal impact
including: (1) making considerations for kindergarten early admittance
optional; (2) ending a student's eligibility for special education on the
day they turn 22, rather than at the end of the year in which they turn
22; and (3) delaying when districts must meet racial imbalance
requirements. These changes result in potential savings to the
Department of Correction, Judicial Department, and the Department of
Children and Families as well as local and regional school districts, as
described below. 2025HB-07076-R000621-FN.docx Page 2 of 3
Section 1 results in a potential savings to local and regional school
districts starting in FY 27. The section makes it optional, rather than
required, for districts to consider admitting students to kindergarten
who turn five after September 1. The savings is dependent on whether
districts choose to opt out and the number of children who otherwise
would have been admitted.
Sections 2 – 8 end a student's eligibility for special education on the
day they turn 22, rather than at the end of the year in which they turn
22. This results in potential savings to local and regional districts, the
Department of Correction (Unified School District #1), and the Judicial
Department beginning in FY 27. The savings may be significant for some
districts depending on the number of students who turn 22 during the
school year and the cost of their services.
In section 2, redefining "child" for special education purposes will
result in a potential savings for the Department of Children and Families
(DCF), beginning in FY 27. The agency will no longer be mandated to
pay for special education costs of DCF-placed students over age 22 that
lack a legal nexus to a local education authority. Actual savings in any
given fiscal year would depend on (1) the number of such students; (2)
the number of school days from each student's 22
nd
birthday until the
termination of placement or the end of the school year, whichever
occurs first; and (3) the applicable per diem special education rate.
1
These savings would be mitigated should the agency continue to
support these costs on a discretionary basis.
Section 3 results in a cost to the Department of Developmental
Services (DDS) beginning in FY 27 related to ending a student's
eligibility for special education services in the school system upon the
date of their 22
nd
birthday as opposed to the end of the school year in
which their 22
nd
birthday falls. The total cost will be dependent upon
the number of children who age out of special education in their school
district and transition to adult services within DDS before the end of the
1
Fiscal year-to-date, DCF has incurred costs of $54,600 associated with one no-nexus
student over age 22. 2025HB-07076-R000621-FN.docx Page 3 of 3
school year. The number of children and duration of services are not
known at this time.
Sections 9 – 11 delay potential costs incurred by certain local and
regional school districts. The sections delay, until July 1, 2029, any action
that the State Board of Education (SBE) or a local or regional school
district are required to take when SBE has found that racial imbalance
exists in such district. This correspondingly delays, until FY 30, any costs
a district would incur in order to comply with such laws.
Section 12 repeals the requirement for districts to report certain
information to the Commission for Educational Technology and does
not have a fiscal impact.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.