RESC Alliance tells House education panel it provides regional special‑education, early‑childhood and workforce services for Connecticut districts

Good afternoon. Thank you everyone for joining us. I am Jen Leeper, house chair of the education committee, and I'm really grateful for this opportunity for our RESC Alliance to come and share with us all the really innovative work they're doing and the partnerships they provide to all of our districts, said Jen Leeper at the start of a RESC Alliance briefing to the Connecticut House Education Committee.

The RESC Alliance — the six regional education service centers that serve Connecticut school districts — told legislators it acts as a shared services hub for districts on expensive and specialized needs, including special education placements, early‑childhood evaluations and services, paraprofessional training, teacher recruitment and regional transportation. Committee members asked questions about staffing shortages, costs and how RESCs scale programs quickly when districts need them.

Why it matters: Connecticut districts send students for out‑of‑district special‑education placements and face rising costs for transportation and highly staffed programs. RESCs present a regional, fee‑for‑service option that, officials said, can expand capacity more quickly than individual districts and reduce per‑student costs for some placements.

RESC structure, funding and role Chip Dume, speaking for the group, described the six RESCs as nonprofit, fee‑for‑service entities that are governed by representative councils made up of local board of education members and are accountable to Connecticut statute and the State Board of Education. He said RESCs’ revenue mix is primarily district fees (including magnet…