The bilingual education programs of Connecticut are described. The 12 programs serviced 11,482 students in 1985-86; 93% of the program participants were dominant in Spanish. Seventy-one percent were in kindergarten through grade 5. Over 3,000 were new entrants to the program in that year. About 1 in 5 students in bilingual education were late entrants or left the program prematurely; most of these students were in the program less than 90 days, usually because their families moved out of the district. Local districts supplied most of the program costs; the state contributed 5.5%. About 10% of the students exited the bilingual program and entered all-English classrooms. The longer students continued in bilingual instruction, the more likely they were to exit to all-English instruction. In the lower grades, exiting students were more likely to perform at targeted levels than were high school students. The most important characteristic of these students is their extreme mobility. Several years in bilingual instruction may be needed before students catch up on English skills. Fifteen figures are included, and 49 tables providing data on Spanish and English reading and mathematics achievement are appended. (SLD)