In June 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1 (SB1), establishing a state-managed Early Childhood Education Endowment as a permanent vehicle for dedicated investment in early education. Legislators allocated $300 million in unappropriated surplus funding from the FY2025 budget as an initial investment. In future years, the endowment will grow through the addition of annual budget surpluses and investments.
The Early Childhood Education Endowment supports the expansion of early education programs by adding tens of thousands of slots to Connecticut’s state-funded early care and education system; it aims to create 16,000 new infant through preschool slots by 2032. To achieve this goal, beginning in July 2027, the Endowment will make early childhood education available at no cost to families who earn less than $100,000 per year. For families earning more than $100,000 per year, the fund will subsidize a sliding scale of payments for early education, topping out at no more than 7% of family income.
SB1 requires that at least 35% of new early education slots funded by the Endowment are for infants and toddlers.
In June 2026, the state deposited an additional $320 million into the endowment, bringing the total to $620 million and positioning Connecticut to begin offering no-cost or reduced-cost child care to eligible families as early as July 2027.
Sources:
Tillman, L. (2025, June 2). Transformative CT early childhood education bill gets full passage. CT Mirror.
Office of the Governor. (2025, June 10). Governor Lamont Celebrates Historic Legislative Session Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education.
The Office of Treasurer Erick Russell. (2025, July 1). Treasurer Russell Announces Investment of $300 Million in Newly Created Early Childhood Education Endowment.
Glesby, L. (2025, July 1). Childcare Endowment Lands $300M. New Haven Independent.
Office of the Governor. (2026, June 1). Governor Lamont Announces Historic Investment in the Early Childhood Education Endowment. State of Connecticut.
Connections to Key Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) Findings:
High-quality, affordable early education and care supports children’s healthy development and allows families to work, engage in their own educational pursuits, and/or participate in other aspects of community life. To support children and families in these instrumental ways, research suggests there is a need to expand the availability of early education opportunities across the mixed-delivery system.
Findings from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) show:
- Families rely on a range of formal (e.g., Head Start, center-based care, public pre-K) and more informal (e.g., home-based, relative care) early education settings; when choosing a setting for their child, families balance many logistical constraints and personal preferences.
- But for many families – and especially low- and middle-income families – early education choices remain tightly constrained due to issues of affordability and supply.