Connecticut seeks to expand paraeducator workforce with new training initiative

Registration has officially opened for an initiative state officials hope will close a major workforce gap for Connecticut schools: paraeducators.

As of Feb. 2026, there were 909 unfilled paraeducator positions across Connecticut public schools, according to data on EdSight. Of those, 772 were for special education roles, while 137 were listed as “all other areas.”

To close that gap, Gov. Ned Lamont and the State Department of Education have debuted the Paraeducator Preparation Academy, a six-week training course that will provide instruction and mentorship free of charge to aspiring paras. The program aims to train 200 to 250 new paras in the first year.

“Paraeducators are essential members of our school communities, and Connecticut needs more talented people answering the call,” Lamont said in a press release.

Paras are a school’s all-purpose support staff. They assist teachers in class, running small-group instruction and reteaching concepts; they also help out between classes, shuttling kids from one room to another. Special education paras may be assigned all day to individual students with behavioral needs, helping them learn with their peers instead of being sent to a more isolated setting.

Advocates have warned that a lack of these one-to-one paras can have a profoundly detrimental impact on students with disabilities.

Until now, becoming a para was a largely self-directed and self-financed exercise, a CSDE spokesperson said. The Academy aims to change that.

The program provides free materials and in-person instruction from teachers, as well as practice tests to prepare for the ParaPathways Assessment. The assessment typically has a fee, but for program participants, it’s free, too.

(Individuals who have an associate’s degree or who have completed two years at a higher education institution do not need to take the assessment to become a para. The Academy, however, is still open to them.)

Once participants are hired by a school, CSDE will work to pair them with a veteran para who will serve as a mentor. A CSDE spokesperson said the department hopes some of those paras will eventually go on to become teachers, thereby addressing the workforce shortage in that area, as well.

A pilot course for the program will run through August and September in East Hartford. According to CSDE, the course will have 25 participants and already has a waitlist.

From there, the department plans to partner with schools and community organizations to expand the initiative across the state.

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This story was originally published by The Connecticut Mirror and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.