HB 5329 Connecticut House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT EDUCATION INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM.

HB 5329 creates Connecticut's Education Innovation Grant Program, which provides competitive funding to local school districts, charter schools, and approved nonprofits to develop and scale educational projects. The program prioritizes initiatives improving early literacy (birth-grade 8), high-dosage tutoring, college/career navigation, and family engagement. Grants support planning (up to 1 year) or implementation (up to 3 years), with waivers allowed for non-essential barriers (excluding safety, civil rights, or special education rules). Recipients must report annual outcomes, and districts receiving grants are exempt from counting those funds toward future education budget calculations.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 26, 2026 Last action Mar 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → ED Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' with favorable changes from the Education Committee. The most significant substantive change is the addition of new grant application requirements and a detailed list of statutory requirements that cannot be waived. The bill also adds a new subsection (l) to Section 10-262j, which exempts districts receiving grants from including those funds in their subsequent budget calculations.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include new priority areas for education innovation grants, including staffing models, district structures, and play-based learning. The applicability of the waiver authority was significantly narrowed by adding specific statutory sections that cannot be waived.

REQUIREMENT

Added new priority areas for grant applications including staffing and talent management models, district and administrative structures, and play-based learning.

Expanded the list of statutory requirements that cannot be waived under the grant program to include specific sections of the general statutes related to literacy, numeracy, and other education standards.

FISCAL

Added a new provision exempting districts that receive grants from including those grant amounts in their budgeted appropriations for the subsequent fiscal year.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill type from 'Raised Bill' to 'Substitute Bill' and updated committee references.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference APP

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Education

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors