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Senate approves $40 million emergency grants for special education after heated debate
Summary
The Connecticut Senate passed House Bill 7163 on emergency grants to municipalities for special education after rejecting two floor amendments that would have sharply increased funding and one unrelated amendment. Final vote: 26–7, with 3 absent.
The Connecticut Senate on March 5 passed House Bill 7163, an emergency measure providing immediate grants to municipalities for special education costs, voting 26–7 with three senators absent.
Supporters said the bill was a critical, time‑sensitive response to school districts facing shortfalls in excess‑cost special education reimbursements and that the money was needed now to allow school budgets and hiring decisions to proceed. Opponents and several amendment proponents urged a larger, more transparent budgeting approach and pushed for a bigger one‑time allocation that would have been funded within the state’s fiscal guardrails.
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Gadkar Wilcox (Senator, mover), said the measure responded directly to requests from superintendents and boards…
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