The Connecticut state government contributes approximately $4.5 billion to education in any given year. About half of the money, around $2 billion dollars, is allocated to public school districts using the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) Formula. (The other half is allocated to supporting students with special needs.) This formula determines how much each district will receive. This lesson explores how the ECS Formula is used and what factors are considered in the formula. 

In this lesson, participants engage in a scenario where they analyze school district data as well as the state averages of those data to determine what amount of money their assigned districts should get from the state government without knowing the actual ECS Formula. After the activity, the ECS Formula is shared with the students, they work through what the districts should get as a result of the formula, and then engage in a discussion about fairness considering the components of the ECS Formula and district needs. **Disclaimer: this lesson was created in 2021/2022 and the ECS Formula is subject to change**

Lesson Materials

ECS Formula Conversation PPT Download

Sample Card Deck Download (Data from “ECS 2022 Data Exploration” and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) https://nces.ed.gov/ )

Resources

ECS 2022 Data Exploration

ECS Formula Infographic (from School and State Finance Project, Updated July 2025)

ECS Formula Government Website

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

ECS Formula Component Comparison Tool and Data Trend Model (resource compiled by School + State Financial Project Updated July,2025)

CAPSS (ECS Change Proposals 2025)

This can be used as a potential extension to the ECS Formula Lesson. Students can explore the proposed changes that Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents have made.

Public School Funding Models for All 50 States

Artifacts: Students’ ideas of potential factors that should affect public school funding.