Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker announced that the Connecticut State Department of Education is awarding approximately $6.2 million in state grants to 29 school districts through the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP), continuing the state's investment in a research-based approach to improving student attendance and engagement.
The grants are supported through a dedicated $7 million state budget line-item established with the support of Governor Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly. About $6.2 million goes directly to school districts, with the remaining funds supporting statewide LEAP infrastructure, including home visitor training, program implementation, and data collection.
Since the Lamont administration established LEAP in 2021, chronic absenteeism has declined for four consecutive years, from 23.7% in 2021-2022 to 16.4% in 2025-2026, meaning nearly 35,000 more students are attending school regularly compared with 2021-2022.
"We launched LEAP because we knew we needed to find new ways to reconnect students and families with their schools, and the results show that this approach is working," Governor Lamont said. "That is why we are making LEAP a sustained state investment and expanding it to more districts."
LEAP was launched in 2021 using federal COVID-19 relief funding after chronic absenteeism rose sharply during the pandemic. It initially served 15 school districts, later expanded to 25, and with this latest round of grants will reach 29 districts. Home visitors have conducted approximately 88,000 home visits and reached approximately 53,000 students.
An evaluation by the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration found attendance improved by over 10 percentage points after a LEAP visit, and students who received a visit saw a five-percentage-point decline in disciplinary incidents.
"At the heart of LEAP is human connection," Commissioner Russell-Tucker said. "Our home visitors, educators, district leaders, and community partners are building relationships one student and one family at a time."
Developed with the nonprofit Attendance Works, LEAP is supported by CSDE partners EdAdvance and the Capitol Region Education Council. In August, state and local leaders celebrated five years of the program, and Governor Lamont proclaimed August 19, 2026, LEAP Five-Year Celebration Day.