Report on Connecticut’s Education Investments and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction: A Strategic Commitment to Quality Education

The State of Connecticut has enacted a biennial budget that codifies a strategic, multiyear investment in its 508,402 students. This financial commitment builds upon initiatives proven effective through federal COVID-19 relief funding and aligns with the State Board of Education’s Five-Year Comprehensive Plan. The funded programs represent a deliberate effort to advance several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily focusing on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

This report outlines the key investment areas and their direct contributions to specific SDGs, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to strengthening instruction, increasing student engagement, and expanding access to opportunities.

Core Investment Programs and SDG Alignment

The budget allocates significant funding to several key programs designed to address critical educational needs. These initiatives collectively support a range of SDGs, including:

• SDG 4: Quality Education: Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: Reducing inequality within and among countries by ensuring equal opportunity and empowering vulnerable populations.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: Strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development.

Enhancing Foundational Literacy (SDG 4, Target 4.1)

The Science of Reading Masterclass initiative, funded at $2 million across FY26 and FY27, directly supports SDG 4 by aiming to improve the quality of primary education.

• Objective: To build local capacity for delivering high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction in grades K–3.
• Method: Provides professional learning, coaching, and regional collaboration to ensure educators can implement effective reading curricula with fidelity.
• SDG Impact: This program is fundamental to achieving Target 4.1, which calls for ensuring that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

Accelerating Learning and Reducing Disparities (SDG 4, Target 4.5 & SDG 10)

A $5 million investment in FY27 will expand the High-Dosage Tutoring (HDT) program. This initiative is critical for addressing learning gaps and promoting equity.

• Objective: To provide students with intensive, small-group or one-on-one academic support during the school day.
• Method: A competitive grant program will allow districts to establish or expand local tutoring programs aligned with classroom instruction.
• SDG Impact: HDT directly addresses SDG 10 by targeting support to students still recovering from interrupted instruction, many of whom are from vulnerable communities. It also supports SDG Target 4.5, which aims to eliminate disparities in education and ensure equal access for the vulnerable.

Fostering Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities (SDG 4, Target 4.a & SDG 10)

A multi-pronged investment strategy aims to enhance services for the 94,000 students receiving special education in Connecticut, directly aligning with the principles of inclusive education central to SDG 4 and SDG 10.

1. High-Quality Special Education Incentive Grants: With $9.9 million in FY27 and $10 million in bond funds, these grants will help districts develop high-quality, in-district programming, supporting SDG Target 4.a to build and upgrade education facilities that are disability-sensitive.
2. Excess Cost Grant: A $40 million increase across FY26 and FY27 provides predictable reimbursement for high-cost placements, ensuring financial stability for districts.
3. Special Education Expansion and Development Grant: A new $30 million line item supports the creation of local programs, reducing out-of-district placements and fostering inclusion.

This coordinated approach promotes transparency and enhances in-district capacity, ensuring students with disabilities can learn in the least restrictive environment possible, a key tenet of SDG 4 and SDG 10.

Expanding Pathways to Higher Education and Economic Opportunity (SDG 4, Target 4.3 & SDG 8)

The budget includes $6 million in FY27 to sustain and expand access to Dual Credit courses. This investment makes postsecondary education more accessible and affordable.

• Objective: To allow high school students to earn college credits, reducing the future cost and time required to obtain a postsecondary degree.
• Method: Funding will be used to waive course fees for students from underserved communities, removing financial barriers to participation.
• SDG Impact: This program directly supports SDG Target 4.3 (ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). By preparing students for future success, it also contributes to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Promoting Engagement Through Strategic Partnerships (SDG 4 & SDG 17)

The Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP), now supported by $7 million in state funding for FY27, serves as a national model for improving student attendance and exemplifies a multi-stakeholder approach.

• Objective: To reduce chronic absenteeism by reconnecting students and families with their school communities.
• Method: Trained teams of school staff, family support specialists, and community partners conduct relationship-based home visits to address barriers to attendance.
• SDG Impact: LEAP is a powerful illustration of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), demonstrating how collaboration between government, schools, families, and community organizations can achieve significant outcomes. Its success in improving attendance is foundational to achieving all targets within SDG 4.

Conclusion: An Integrated Strategy for a Sustainable Future

The State of Connecticut’s education budget is more than a financial plan; it is a launchpad for achieving long-term, sustainable development. By focusing on evidence-based programs that support the whole child, these investments are strategically aligned with the core principles of the Sustainable Development Goals. The commitment to quality, equity, inclusion, and partnership ensures that as Connecticut invests in its students, it is also investing in a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable future for all.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education

• The article’s central theme is improving the quality, equity, and accessibility of education in Connecticut. It details specific state-funded investments and programs aimed at strengthening instruction, supporting diverse student needs, and ensuring students are prepared for future success. Initiatives like the “Science of Reading Masterclass,” “High-Dosage Tutoring,” and “Dual Credit” programs are direct efforts to enhance educational quality.

Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

• The article strongly emphasizes reducing inequalities within the education system. It highlights targeted support for vulnerable student populations, including the “94,000 students receiving special education services” and students from “underserved communities.” Programs like the “High-Quality Special Education Incentive Grants” and waiving fees for Dual Credit courses are designed to ensure equal access and opportunity, directly aligning with the goal of reducing inequalities.

Identified SDG Targets

SDG 4: Quality Education

1. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
   • The article supports this target by discussing efforts to “ensure that Connecticut’s 508,402 students are in school daily, engaged, supported, and prepared for learning, life, and work beyond school.” The “Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP)” is specifically cited as a successful intervention for improving attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism, which is fundamental to completing an education.
2. Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
   • The “Science of Reading Masterclass,” funded to build local capacity for “high-quality literacy instruction in grades K–3,” directly addresses the quality of early primary education to establish a strong foundation for future learning.
3. Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
   • This target is addressed through multiple initiatives. The article details extensive funding and programs for students with disabilities, such as the “High-Quality Special Education Incentive Grants” and the “Excess Cost Grant,” aimed at improving outcomes and access. Furthermore, the Dual Credit program waives course fees for “students from underserved communities,” explicitly expanding access for a vulnerable group.
4. Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
   • The “High-Quality Special Education Incentive Grants” are mentioned as supporting “classroom redesigns” and creating instructional models that keep students “in the least restrictive environment possible,” which aligns with upgrading facilities to be more inclusive and effective for students with disabilities.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

1. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
   • The article describes a “coordinated approach” to support the “94,000 students receiving special education services in Connecticut,” promoting their inclusion in high-quality, in-district programs. It also promotes the inclusion of students from “underserved communities” (economic status) by removing financial barriers to Dual Credit courses.
2. Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard.
   • The article details specific state-funded policies and actions designed to ensure equal opportunity. These include establishing a “rate schedule that will provide clarity, predictability, and consistency for special education costs” and creating new funding streams like the “$30 million line item for the Special Education Expansion and Development Grant” to reduce outcome inequalities for students with disabilities.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

For SDG 4: Quality Education

• Student Attendance Rates: The article explicitly mentions “improvement in student attendance and decline in chronic absenteeism” as a key outcome, directly measurable through attendance data.
• Literacy Proficiency Levels: The “Science of Reading Masterclass” aims to deliver “high-quality literacy instruction in grades K–3.” Progress can be measured by tracking literacy rates and reading proficiency scores in these early grades.
• Student Learning Acceleration: The “High-Dosage Tutoring” program is designed to “accelerate student learning.” This implies the use of academic assessments and test scores to measure progress and learning gains.
• Participation in Advanced/Postsecondary Programs: The Dual Credit program’s success can be measured by the number of high school students, particularly those from “underserved communities,” who enroll in and earn postsecondary credits before graduation.
• Financial Investment in Education Programs: The article provides specific funding amounts as indicators of commitment, such as “$2 million” for the Reading Masterclass, “$5 million” for Tutoring, “$6 million” for Dual Credit, and over “$80 million” in combined new grants for special education.

For SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• Number of Students with Disabilities Served in Inclusive Environments: The goal to keep students “in their home districts and in the least restrictive environment possible” can be measured by tracking the percentage of the 94,000 students with disabilities who are served by in-district programs versus out-of-district placements.
• Access to Programs for Underserved Students: An indicator is the number of students from “underserved communities” who participate in the Dual Credit program as a result of waived course fees.
• Resource Allocation for Special Education: The article specifies several financial indicators, including a “$40 million increase” for the Excess Cost Grant and a “newly funded $30 million line item” for the Special Education Expansion and Development Grant, which measure the resources directed at reducing inequality for students with disabilities.

Summary of Findings

Source: courant.com