STATE FUNDING GUIDE

Connecticut

Connecticut’s Right to Read law requires districts to use CSDE-approved, evidence-based K-3 reading curricula and report adoption biennially. The dedicated Right to Read implementation grants ($20M) were one-time ARPA funds spent in FY23-24 and have ended, so there is currently no standing statewide literacy purchase grant open to all districts. Ongoing state dollars flow mainly through Alliance District and Priority School District funding, whose statutory uses explicitly include tiered reading interventions; districts outside those designations typically fund intervention purchases with federal Title I/IDEA.

Right to Read Act (P.A. 21-2, 2021)

How schools fund reading intervention in Connecticut

The state-level programs below are the streams Connecticut districts most often use for evidence-based reading intervention purchases, alongside the federal streams available everywhere.

Alliance District funding (C.G.S. 10-262u)

Increased ECS funding for the state’s lowest-performing districts; statutory spending focus areas include a tiered system of interventions and foundational reading programs in grades K-3, making it a primary vehicle for Tier 2/3 curriculum and PD purchases in eligible districts.

Priority School District grants

State grant program for designated districts to improve achievement; permissible uses include early reading intervention programs.

S.B. 220 grades 4-9 reading support (2026)

Requires SDE guidance on multi-tiered systems of support for struggling readers in grades 4-9 and directs the commissioner toward a competitive grant program for high-dosage tutoring; watch for grant details rather than counting on funds today.

Approved-list note: CSDE maintains a mandatory approved list of K-3 reading curriculum models/programs (with a waiver process) for core instruction; Tier 2/3 intervention programs are not on that list, but districts are expected to choose interventions consistent with the law’s evidence-based requirements.

Official state resource →