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.