Education finance: education omnibus trailer bill.

This bill would require the Superintendent to provide notice of an action to reclassify a certification to the governing board of the county office of education. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the bill would require, instead of authorize, the Superintendent, or their designee, to take the above-described actions.

(2) Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent to annually calculate a county local control funding formula for each county superintendent of schools that includes, among other things, an alternative education grant, as specified. Existing law includes, among other things, a base grant based upon average daily attendance as a component of that alternative education grant.

Existing law requires the Superintendent to add $300,000 and other specified amounts, that are dependent upon the number and size of school districts under its jurisdiction and that are determined to be in need of differentiated assistance, to a county superintendent of school's local control funding formula allocation, as specified. Existing law also requires the Superintendent to add $100,000 per charter school determined to be in need of differentiated assistance to each county superintendent of school's local control funding formula allocation, as specified.

This bill would, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, replace the above-described additions to a county superintendent of school's local control funding formula allocation, based on the number of school districts and charter schools determined to be in need of differentiated assistance, with a universal and targeted assistance county office of education funding grant allocated to a county office of education, on an annual basis, to support all local educational agencies within the county's jurisdiction. The bill would require the grant to be calculated as the sum of (A) $500,000, with annual inflation adjustments, (B) a county office of education's county average daily attendance grant, based on a specified formula, and (C) a stability grant for each county office of education that would receive a lesser universal and targeted assistance county office of education funding grant amount than in previous years, as provided. For a school district or county office of education that operates within a county in which there is only one school district, the bill would require the average daily attendance grant component and the stability grant component to be allocated to the lead agency of the region, identified pursuant to specified processes, in which the county office of education is located. The bill would require allocated grant funds to be used to provide universal and targeted assistance, free of cost, to support the continuous improvement of local educational agencies located within the county to improve outcomes under specified state priorities, as provided. The bill would, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, require county offices of education to spend their grant funds in a manner that prioritizes the support of school districts identified for technical assistance pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would require county offices of education to ensure local educational agencies identified for technical assistance are informed of the availability of this universal assistance. To the extent this imposes new duties on county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) Existing law appropriates $7,000,000 in the 2025–26 fiscal year from the General Fund to the Superintendent for allocation to the Los Angeles County Office of Education to develop a statewide repository of high-quality curriculum-embedded performance tasks across all grade levels, mapped to the Next Generation Science standards for use by local educational agencies and educators to support inquiry-based instruction and assessment.

This bill would appropriate, for the 2026–27 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, $890,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for allocation to the Los Angeles County Office of Education to maintain that repository, as provided.

(4) Existing law appropriates $3,100,000 from the General Fund to the department for the 2021–22 fiscal year for allocation to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools for the Kern County Office of Education and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team for the Standardized Account Code Structure system replacement project. Existing law, commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, continuously appropriates $3,920,000 each fiscal year from the General Fund to the department for allocation to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools for the Kern County Office of Education and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team for maintenance and operation support for the Standardized Account Code Structure system.

This bill would codify those provisions and, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, continuously appropriate an additional $220,000 each fiscal year from the General Fund to the department for allocation to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools for the Kern County Office of Education and the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team for maintenance and operation support for the Standardized Account Code Structure system.

(5) Existing law appropriates $30,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for allocation to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools for the Mathematics Professional Learning Partnership to support educator training, including mathematics coaches, teachers, and school administrators for implementation of the new mathematics curriculum framework in local educational agencies, as provided.

This bill would appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for allocation to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools to augment the Mathematics Professional Learning Partnership, as provided. The bill would require the Mathematics Professional Learning Partnership to, among other things, continue to support the California Mathematics Project along with its other existing partners, as specified. The bill would require the Kern County Superintendent of Schools to submit a revised expenditure plan on behalf of the Mathematics Professional Learning Partnership to the Department of Finance for approval by October 1, 2026. By imposing additional duties on the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(6) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to add $3,000,000 to the Los Angeles County Office of Education's local control funding formula allocation for the purpose of supporting statewide professional development and leadership training for education professionals related to antibias education and the creation of inclusive and equitable schools.

This bill would codify those provisions and, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, would increase that add-on for the Los Angeles County Office of Education by an additional $1,000,000 to instead be $4,000,000, for allocation to the Museum of Tolerance for the above-described purpose.

(7) The Early Education Act, among other things, establishes the California Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation Grant Program as a state early learning initiative with the goal of expanding access to classroom-based prekindergarten programs. Existing law appropriates $300,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education in both the 2021–22 fiscal year and the 2022–23 fiscal year for allocation to local educational agencies as base grants, enrollment grants, and supplemental grants, as specified. Existing law assigns the Superintendent various duties relating to the program.

This bill would, among other things, appropriate $200,0000,000 from the General Fund to the department for the 2026–27 fiscal year for allocation to local educational agencies for the California Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation Grant Program, as specified. The bill would transfer the Superintendent's duties under the program to the department, as provided.

The Early Education Act also establishes the California Universal Preschool Planning Grant Program with the goal of expanding access universally to preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-old children, as provided. The act requires the Superintendent to develop and administer a grant process and award grant funds to each county that applies for funding, as provided.

This bill would extend the expenditure and reversion periods for those grant funds, as specified, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would also appropriate $50,000,000 for the 2026–27 fiscal year to the department for renewal grants for existing local educational agency grantees or new grants for new local education agency consortia lead agencies, respectively, as specified.

(8) Existing law creates the Learning Recovery Emergency Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of receiving appropriations for school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and community college districts related to the state of emergency declared by the Governor on March 4, 2020, relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing law appropriates $6,345,405,000 from the General Fund to the department for transfer to the Learning Recovery Emergency Fund. Existing law requires the Superintendent to allocate these appropriated funds to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, as provided. Existing law appropriates an additional $378,650,000 from the General Fund to the department for transfer to the Learning Recovery Emergency Fund, to be allocated by the Superintendent to those local educational agencies operating in the 2025–26 fiscal year, as provided.

This bill would appropriate $757,300,000 from the General Fund to the department for transfer to the Learning Recovery Emergency Fund, to be allocated by the Superintendent to local educational agencies operating in the 2026–27 fiscal year, as provided.

(9) Existing law appropriates $2,836,660,000 in the 2021–22 fiscal year from the General Fund to the Superintendent to administer the California Community Schools Partnership Program and requires those funds to be available for encumbrance or expenditure until June 30, 2032. Existing law requires at least $2,694,827,000 of that amount to be allocated to establish new, and expand existing, community schools with up to 72% of those funds to be available for implementation grants and at least 18% to be available for extending implementation grants, as provided.

This bill would require the department, instead of the Superintendent, to administer the program. The bill would eliminate the above-described 18% allocation and, instead, would make at least $84,000,000 available for reappropriation in the 2026–27 fiscal year for various activities to support the long-term planning and implementation of the program, as provided. The bill would require the Legislature to initially appropriate $1,000,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to administer the program to distribute funding to local educational agencies, as defined, in accordance with a specified formula, to support a network of their eligible schoolsites to implement new, and provide ongoing support for existing, community schools, as provided. The bill would require, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, the appropriation to be adjusted by a specific cost-of-living adjustment.

Of the amount appropriated for purposes of the program, the bill would require $10,000,000 to be allocated each fiscal year to the department to select, subject to the approval of the executive director of the State Board of Education, at least one local educational agency to implement the technical assistance structure, as provided, and to support an ongoing certification process, as provided.

The bill would require the department to allocate specified funding in the annual Budget Act to county offices of education to coordinate county-level governmental, nonprofit community-based organizations, and other external partnerships to support community school implementation at schoolsites receiving allocations under the California Community Schools Partnership Program in their county, as provided.

The bill would require the state board to adopt and maintain a framework for the California Community Schools Partnership Act, as provided.

(10) Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities. The act also establishes the Charter School Facilities Program to provide funding to qualifying entities for the purpose of establishing school facilities for charter school pupils and the Career Technical Education Facilities Program to provide funding to qualifying local educational agencies for the purpose of constructing new facilities or reconfiguring existing facilities, as provided.

Existing law establishes the California Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten, and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program, under the administration of the State Allocation Board, to provide one-time grants to school districts and county offices of education to construct new school facilities or retrofit existing school facilities for the purpose of providing transitional kindergarten classrooms and full-day kindergarten classrooms and for the construction of new preschool classrooms, the modernization of existing preschool classrooms, or the modernization of existing kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, classrooms that would be converted to provide California state preschool programs operated by school districts, as defined, on a public schoolsite, as provided.

If the board determines that an applicant school district, county office of education, joint powers authority, or charter school is in default, or projected to default, with the requirements of any program administered by the board, this bill would authorize the board to withhold any new approvals for the applicant local educational agency, as specified. The bill would provide that the withholding of approval by the board, in and of itself, does not make the board liable for any tort, breach of contract, or any other action for damages caused by an applicant arising from new construction or modernization by the applicant, and would provide that the applicant is liable for those damages caused by the applicant, as provided.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or a county board of education to request the state board to waive all or part of specified education laws or regulations adopted by the state board, as provided, with exceptions. Existing law establishes provisions relating to the construction of school builds and provisions relating to transitional kindergarten and kindergarten admission, and prohibits the state board from waiving all or part of those provisions.

This bill would prohibit that state board from waiving all or part of the provisions of the California Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program.

(11) Existing law authorizes dual enrollment programs, including middle college high schools and College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnerships, under which high school pupils enrolled in a school district, county office of education, or charter school can obtain college credits while enrolled in high school, as specified.

This bill would, among other things, authorize regional occupational centers or programs to establish middle college high schools or enter into CCAP partnerships, as provided. The bill would deem courses offered through a dual enrollment program offered by a local educational agency, with an agreement with an institution of higher education, to be dual credit courses, and would authorize dual credit courses to be counted on an official transcript for the pupil from both the participating local educational agency and institution of higher education, as provided.

(12) Existing law requires the California Community Colleges and the department to collaborate with each other and with their respective local community colleges and local school districts to ensure the continued success of existing middle college high schools and to promote the establishment of new middle college high schools, and establishes responsibilities of the California Community Colleges and the department related to middle college high schools, as provided.

This bill would require the California Community Colleges and the department to also collaborate with regional occupational centers or programs and would include regional occupational centers or programs in the provisions describing the responsibilities of those entities related to middle college high schools.

(13) Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to administer a competitive grant program to award grants to school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to establish dual enrollment programs, as specified.

This bill would revise and recast the competitive grant program by, among other things, (A) making regional occupational centers or programs eligible to apply for a grant under the competitive grant program, (B) providing an additional grant to participating local educational agencies that will use funds received under this competitive grant program to expand dual enrollment opportunities directly to justice-involved youth, (C) revising and adding to criteria for priority under the competitive grant program, and (D) authorizing an alternative grant of up to $100,000 to be used to support the costs to expand an existing dual enrollment program, as provided. The bill would appropriate $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for this competitive grant program, as provided.

(14) Existing law requires, not later than March 1 of each fiscal year, county superintendents of schools to provide for an audit of all funds under their jurisdiction and control, and requires the governing board of each local educational agency to either provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the local educational agency or make arrangements with county superintendents of schools to provide for that auditing. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district and each office of the county superintendent of schools to include specified provisions in their contracts for audits and requires financial and compliance audits to be performed in accordance with specified standards. If the governing board of a school district has entered into a contract for an independent audit of its financial statements and the audited financial statements have not been filed with the county superintendent of schools on or before a specified due date, existing law authorizes the county superintendent of schools to, among other things, investigate the causes for the delay, as provided.

This bill would expressly apply the above-described provisions to educational joint powers authorities and charter schools. The bill, among other things, would require those financial and compliance audits of local educational agencies to be posted on the local educational agency's internet website, conducted in accordance with specified filing deadlines, and would revise requirements regarding which entity is responsible for providing an audit if a local educational agency has not provided for an audit of their respective books and accounts to include the Controller or a chartering authority, as provided. The bill would require, instead of authorize, a county superintendent of schools to investigate the causes for an above-described delay.

Existing law requires the Controller to, among other things, on an annual basis, review and monitor the audit reports performed by independent auditors, determine whether audit reports are in conformance with specified reporting provisions, and notify each local educational agency, the responsible county superintendent of schools, the Superintendent, the Department of Finance, and the auditor regarding each determination. Existing law authorizes the Controller to perform quality control reviews of audit working papers to determine whether audits are performed in conformity with specified standards. Existing law requires the Controller to annually report to the State Department of Education to apprise the department of school districts and offices of county superintendents of schools that are not in compliance with applicable statutes and regulations related to audits and requires the Controller to make recommendations as to what action should be taken by the department.

The bill, among other things, would require the Controller to, if applicable, notify the responsible chartering authority of each determination made, as referenced above, and would require notification to applicable entities to be made within 6 months of the audit report due date or the audit report issue date, whichever is later. The bill would require the Controller to establish and publish as part of the audit guidelines a weighted risk-based criteria that considers auditor experience and quality factors in determining which audit engagements are required to undergo a quality control review, as provided.

The bill, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year Guide for Annual Audits of K–12 Local Education Agencies and State Compliance Reporting, would require the Controller to include (A) instructions requiring, among other things, as part of supplementary information, instructions requiring specified schedules, (B) instructions requiring, at a minimum, that specified compliance procedures are performed in annual audits of a local educational agency, and (C) a library of sample letters and schedules for school districts and charter schools as a means of guidance to audits. The bill, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, would require the Controller's desk review checklist that is used to determine whether audit reports are in conformance with specified reporting requirements to be published no later than October 31 of each year, or 30 days following the release of a specified federal supplement, whichever is later.

Existing law requires the Controller, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the State Department of Education, to develop a plan to review and report on financial and compliance audits, and with representatives of other entities, to recommend the statements and other information to be included in the audit reports filed with the state by local educational agencies, and to propose the content of an audit guide.

This bill would require the Controller to consult with representatives of 2 additional specified entities.

Existing law requires audits to be made by a certified public accountant or a public accountant, licensed by the California Board of Accountancy, and selected by a local educational agency, as applicable, from a directory of certified public accountants and public accountants deemed by the Controller as qualified to conduct audits of local educational agencies. Under existing law, once the Controller or county superintendent of schools makes a final determination that specified audits performed by a certified public accountant or public accountant were not performed in substantial conformity with provisions of an audit guide, or that the audit reports do not conform to the provisions of an audit guide, the certified public accountant or public accountant is ineligible to conduct specified audits for 3 years.

In order to be added to, or remain on, the Controller's directory of certified public accountants and public accountants as described above, the bill would require, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, and every 2 years thereafter, audit engagement partners and certified public accountants or public accountants responsible for local educational agency audits and audit staff who perform audit procedures of local educational agencies to, among other things, complete 16 hours of continuing education. In order to be added to, or remain on, the Controller's directory of certified public accountants and public accountants as described above, the bill would require, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, audit engagement partners, certified public accountant firms, and certified public accountants or public accountants responsible for local educational agency audits to, among other things, demonstrate specified experience, and maintain compliance with the California Board of Accountancy requirements to keep applicable licenses in active status and good standing, as provided.

The bill would extend the above-described rules related to the ineligibility of the certified public accountant or public accountant to audits of charter schools, as provided, and would additionally require the Controller to notify charter schools of those certified public accountants or public accountants determined to be ineligible to conduct audits, as provided.

To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies or local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(15) For the 1990–91 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, existing law requires that moneys to be applied by the state for the support of school districts, community college districts, and direct elementary and secondary level instructional services provided by the state be distributed in accordance with certain calculations governing the proration of those moneys among the 3 segments of public education. Existing law makes that provision inapplicable to the 1992–93 to 2025–26 fiscal years, inclusive.

This bill would also make that provision inapplicable to the 2026–27 fiscal year.

(16) The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, amended the California Constitution to, among other things, set forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to apply for the support of school districts and community college districts based on one of 3 tests in any given fiscal year. If the Director of Finance determines pursuant to the certification process for the state's minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts that the state has applied moneys in an amount that exceeds the minimum funding obligation for the fiscal year being certified, existing law requires the excess moneys to be credited to the fiscal year being certified.

Existing law provides that $5,422,143,000 allocated in the 2022–23 fiscal year for specified apportionments to school districts and charter schools, and $770,786,000 allocated in the 2022–23 fiscal year for specified apportionments to community college districts, are excess moneys credited to the 2022–23 fiscal year only for the purposes of determining the state's minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years. Existing law requires 12 proportional shares of $437,769,000 and $62,231,000, respectively, of the $5,422,143,000 amount and the $770,786,000 amount, respectively, to be recognized annually from the 2027–28 fiscal year through the 2038–39 fiscal year, and shares of $168,915,000 and $24,014,000, respectively, of those amounts, to be recognized in the 2039–40 fiscal year, for budgetary and financial reporting purposes as allocations made in the 2022–23 fiscal year, but prohibits those amounts from being credited as allocations made to meet the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts in the fiscal year in which the amount is recognized for budgetary and financial reporting purposes.

This bill would delay recognition of those amounts by one fiscal year to instead be the 2028–29 fiscal year through the 2039–40 fiscal years, inclusive, and the 2040–41 fiscal year, respectively, as provided.

(17) Existing law requires the Superintendent, if, during any fiscal year, the amount apportioned to a school district or to any fund from Section A of the State School Fund differs either positively or negatively from the amount to which the school district or fund was entitled by an amount equal to the local control funding formula allocation for one unit of average daily attendance, not later than the first succeeding fiscal year from the fiscal year in which the computational error was made, to withhold from, or add to, the apportionment made during that fiscal year, the amount of the excess or deficiency, as the case may be.

This bill would require the Superintendent to apply the above-described provisions to county offices of education, educational joint powers authorities, and charter schools. If, during any fiscal year, a school district, county office of education, educational joint powers authority, or charter school determines that the amount apportioned to the school district, educational joint powers authority, county office of education, charter school, or to any fund from Section A of the State School Fund differs either positively or negatively from the amount to which the school district, county office of education, educational joint powers authority, charter school, or fund was entitled by an amount equal to the local control funding formula allocation for one or more units of average daily attendance, the bill would require the local educational agency to report the corrected amount to the Superintendent. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on a local educational agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(18) Existing law establishes the Public School System Stabilization Account to provide a reserve for public school funding. Existing law requires, pursuant to specified calculations, the Controller to transfer certain moneys from the General Fund into the Public School System Stabilization Account for subsequent allocation to school districts and community college districts, as specified. Existing law requires, in any fiscal year in which the amount required to be applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts for that fiscal year is less than the total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated and allocated local proceeds of taxes in the prior fiscal year, as adjusted pursuant to specified calculations, the amount of the deficiency to be appropriated and allocated by the state from the Public School System Stabilization Account for the support of school districts and community college districts. Existing law appropriates, for the 2025–26 fiscal year, $405,291,000 from the Public School System Stabilization Account to the Superintendent for allocation for the local control funding formula, as provided.

This bill, for the 2025–26 fiscal year, would delete the above-described appropriation and would transfer $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the Public School System Stabilization Account.

The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, amended the California Constitution to, among other things, set forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts in any given fiscal year.

Upon receipt of the 2027–28 May Revision General Fund revenue estimates, the bill would appropriate 33% of any increased General Fund proceeds of taxes for fiscal years 2025–26, 2026–27, and 2027–28 combined, compared to the forecast of those proceeds of taxes included in the 2026–27 Budget Act, after accounting for constitutionally-required increases for those years, for any unfunded portion of the constitutionally-required funding obligation, as described above, for the 2025–26 fiscal year, up to the full amount of the obligation. The bill would require that amount to be deposited to the Public School System Stabilization Account on a discretionary basis and available, upon subsequent appropriation by the Legislature, for school and community college purposes in the 2026–27 fiscal year or any subsequent fiscal year. The bill would require the Department of Finance, on or before May 20, 2027, to send a schedule to the Controller to implement these provisions.

(19) Existing law sets forth the maximum ratios of administrative employees to each 100 teachers in the various types of school districts. Existing law requires the Superintendent to determine, for each current fiscal year, for each school district in the state, the total number of administrative employees and the total number of teachers, except as provided, the total maximum number of administrative employees that should be employed by the school district based upon the application of the appropriate ratio prescribed by law, and the number of administrative employees in excess of the number allowable without penalty, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to determine a reduction in state support resulting from excess administrative employees, as specified, and requires the school district's 2nd principal apportionment for the current fiscal year to be reduced by that amount.

This bill would exempt the Plumas Unified School District from that reduction in state support for the 2023–24 fiscal year to the 2026–27 fiscal year, inclusive. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Plumas Unified School District.

(20) Existing law provides for the funding of necessary small schools and high schools, as specified. Existing law requires, among other things, that funding to include various specified amounts per pupil and teacher for different tiers of numbers of pupils and teachers.

This bill would revise the funding for necessary small schools and high schools by increasing some of those specified amounts.

(21) Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the commission, by April 15 of each year, to report to the Legislature and the Governor information on the availability of teachers in California, including, among other things, the number and percentage of individuals serving pursuant to emergency permits or credential waivers.

This bill would revise and recast the reporting requirement by requiring the report to include information on the number and percentage of individuals serving on emergency-style permits, waivers of certification, and teaching permits for statutory leave, as provided. The bill would also authorize the commission to use information obtained from the State Department of Education through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System to facilitate the development of the report and to analyze and publicly report educator workforce trends.

Existing law provides for the levying of fees by the commission for the issuance and renewal of teaching and service credentials, not to exceed $100.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2026, authorize the commission to levy a fee not to exceed $125 for the renewal of teaching and service credentials, and retain the authorization for the commission to levy a fee not to exceed $100 for the issuance of teaching and service credentials.

Existing law requires the commission and the department to enter into a data sharing agreement for the department to provide the commission with educator assignment data necessary to annually identify educator misassignments and vacant positions at local educational agencies, as provided, as part of the California Statewide Assignment Accountability System. Existing law requires the commission to annually use data it receives from the department to produce an initial data file of vacant positions and educator assignments that do not have a clear match of credential to assignment and requires the commission to notify local educational agencies and monitoring authorities of the opportunity to access and review the initial data file of potential misassignments, as defined, and vacant positions. Existing law grants the commission the authority to make a final determination for all potential assignments and misassignments. Existing law requires the commission, commencing with the 2020–21 school year, to support the department in making annual educator assignment, misassignment, and vacant position data publicly available in a searchable format on the department's internet website, as provided.

This bill would, beginning July 1, 2027, require teachers employed by a local educational agency and offering certain courses to hold the certificate, permit, or other document required by the commission for that assignment and be monitored. The bill would define "local educational agency" for these purposes to mean a school district, county office of education, charter school, or educational joint powers authority. To the extent that this provision would create new duties for county superintendents of schools and local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

(22) Existing law establishes the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, administered by the department in consultation with the commission, for teachers seeking to provide instruction in bilingual and multilingual settings.

This bill would establish the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program and would require the commission to develop and implement a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants of up to $600,000 to consortia of local educational agencies to form broader consortia with 4-year institutions of higher education, or 4-year institutions of higher education and community colleges, to establish or expand pathways to bilingual teaching to enable bilingual candidates to earn a multiple subject, single subject, PK-3 early childhood education specialist, or education specialist teaching credential, with a bilingual authorization, as provided. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on any grants funded until funds are fully expended, as specified. The bill would appropriate $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission for purposes of the program.

(23) Existing law prescribes the minimum requirements for a preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, including, among other requirements, verification of subject matter competence through one of multiple methods, including through the successful completion of a baccalaureate or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. Existing law establishes that, for purposes of this method of subject matter competence, a single subject credential candidate is required to complete a major in one of the subject areas in which the commission credentials candidates, and a multiple subject credential candidate is required to complete a liberal studies major or other degree that includes coursework in specified content areas.

This bill would revise and recast the types of majors and coursework that count towards the verification of subject matter competence. The bill would, as applied to a single subject credential candidate, require completion of a major in one of the subject areas closely related to an area in which the commission credentials candidates. As applied to a multiple subject credential candidate, the bill would require a liberal studies major, education major, or other degree major that includes coursework required for the degree major in specified content areas. The bill would, as applied to verifying subject matter competence for a PK-3 early childhood education specialist credential, require completion of 24 semester units or the equivalent quarter units of nonremedial, degree-applicable coursework at a regionally accredited institution of higher education in early childhood education or child development, and completion of a major in child development, education, or a degree major in a subject area closely related to the credential area, as provided.

This bill would require the commission to use specified funding appropriated in the Budget Act of 2026 to enter into an agreement with a county office of education to collaborate on the design, development, and implementation of a statewide subject matter transcript review service. The bill would require the selected county office of education to deliver the system to the commission by July 1, 2027, and would require the commission to maintain and operate the service. The bill would require the service to allow commission-approved teacher preparation programs and local educational agencies to submit candidate or employee transcripts and supporting materials to the commission for transcript review, as provided. The bill would require the commission to take action, at a public meeting and following an opportunity for public comment, to adopt formal processes for producing advisory analyses through the service and making subject matter competency determinations through the service, as provided. The bill would require the commission to report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2029, on implementation of the service.

(24) Existing law requires the commission to select, administer, and interpret subject matter examinations, and establishes that those subject matter examinations are a prerequisite for assignment to assure minimum levels of subject matter knowledge by all certified personnel, as provided.

This bill would repeal those requirements and instead require the commission and programs of professional preparation to support teacher candidates to establish subject matter competence through degree major or coursework, as provided. The bill would require to commission to update the degree majors that establish subject matter competence and ensure the subject matter requirements support streamlined transcript review, as provided. The bill would require the commission to make subject matter examinations available when a candidate's degree major or completed coursework do not establish their subject matter competence. The bill would require the commission to maintain a standard error of measurement for the determination of passing scores for these examinations.

(25) Existing law establishes the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Incentive Program under the administration of the department to award grants to a teacher who, among other things, (A) attains, initiates the process to attain, or initiates the process to maintain certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and (B) teaches at a high-priority school, as defined, for a specified duration.

This bill would, among other things, for purposes of satisfying the award requirements for attaining certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, require the school to be listed as a high-priority school on the most recent list of priority schools published by the department when the grant recipient applies for a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Incentive Program grant award. The bill would also authorize further service at that school to continue to satisfy the award requirements even if the school is no longer included on future priority school lists published by the department.

(26) Existing law establishes the Student Teacher Stipend Program to support prospective educators, as defined, during their completion of 500 or more hours of student teaching, as provided, and appropriates, for the 2025–26 fiscal year, $300,000,000 from the General Fund to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for allocation to support the program. Existing law requires, to the extent that funds are available, up to $100,000,000 to be available annually for the commission to award funds to local educational agencies to provide stipends of $10,000 to prospective educators, as provided.

This bill would revise and recast the program by, among other things, increasing from $100,000,000 to $125,000,000 the annual amount to be made available to the commission to provide to local educational agencies for the above-described base stipends. The bill would also require, commencing July 1, 2027, local educational agencies awarded program funding to provide an additional stipend of $5,000 to prospective educators pursuing a credential and student teaching in a high-need field, as defined. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2027, and, to the extent funds are available, $27,500,000 to be available annually for the commission to award funding to local educational agencies for these stipends related to high-need fields, as provided.

The bill would, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, appropriate $408,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission to support both the above-described base stipends and high-need fields stipends, and authorize the encumbrance of these funds until June 30, 2032.

(27) Existing law establishes the Teacher Residency Grant Program and appropriates, for the 2018–19 fiscal year, $75,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission to make one-time grants to develop new, or expand, strengthen, or improve access to existing, teacher residency programs that support, among other things, a list of designated shortage fields. Existing law requires teacher candidates sponsored by a grant recipient to be placed in an assignment in a school for a period of at least 4 school years and to obtain a preliminary teaching credential, as provided, Under existing law, a candidate has 5 school years to complete the 4-school-year teaching commitment. As applied to sponsored candidates who fail to earn a preliminary credential or meet the 4-year teaching commitment requirement, existing law (A) prescribes procedures by which the commission confirms with the grant recipient the applicable grant amount to be recovered from the candidate and the grant recipient, adjusted proportionally to reflect the service provided and (B) authorizes grant recipients to recover from the sponsored candidate the amount of grant funding invested in the candidate's residency training, adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions by, among other things, (A) extending the time period for candidates to complete the 4-school-year teaching commitment from 5 school years to 8 school years and (B) authorizing candidates who are unable to complete their residency program or service requirement because of hardship to apply to waive any repayment obligation, as provided. The bill would also impose, as a condition on the commission's authority to recover from a grant recipient, a requirement that 10% of the recipient's sponsored candidates failed to earn a preliminary credential or meet the 4-year teaching requirement, as provided. As applied to grant recipients authority to recover from candidates, the bill would limit the costs considered as part of a candidate's residency training to costs incurred that are specific to that candidate, as provided.

Existing law separately appropriates, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, $350,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission for the Teacher Residency Grant Program to support teacher residency programs that recruit and support the preparation of teachers, as specified, and, for the 2022–23 fiscal year, $184,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission to augment that Teacher Residency Grant Program. Existing law authorizes the commission to allocate up to $25,000,000 and $10,000,000 of those amounts, respectively, as capacity grants that are required to be awarded on a competitive basis to local educational agencies or consortia partnering with regionally accredited institutions of higher education to expand, strengthen, improve access to, or create teacher residency programs, or create school counselor residency programs that lead to more credentialed school counselors that reflect a local educational agency community's diversity, respectively. Existing law authorizes the commission to determine the number of capacity grants to be awarded and the amount of the applicable grant, up to $250,000 per grant recipient.

This bill would instead authorize capacity and sustainability grants and would require those grant amounts to be between $100,000 and $300,000 per grant recipient, depending on the size of the program. The bill would appropriate $250,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission to augment the Teacher Residency Grant Program to support teacher and school counselor residency programs that recruit and support the preparation of teachers and school counselors, as provided, and would require that funding to be available for those capacity and sustainability grants.

Existing law appropriates funds from the General Fund to the commission to select a local educational agency to serve as a statewide technical assistance center to support teacher residency programs, as provided.

This bill would require the commission to allocate specified funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2026 to the statewide technical assistance center for specified purposes, including, among other things, to support expanded regional technical assistance for teacher residency programs. The bill would require the commission to submit a report to the Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on the impact of the statewide technical assistance center in providing technical assistance to support educators pursuing and attaining National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification.

(28) Existing law appropriates $1,696,718,000 in the 2025–26 fiscal year from the General Fund to the department to establish the Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant, for allocation to county offices of education, school districts, charter schools, and the state special schools for discretionary purposes, including, among other things, providing standards-aligned professional development for teachers on the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework, the Literacy Roadmap, and the Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools and addressing rising costs, as provided.

This bill would appropriate, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $4,400,163,000 from the General Fund to the department for that block grant, as provided. The bill would expressly authorize funding under the block grant to additionally be used for, among other things, providing professional development to improve the implementation of transitional kindergarten.

(29) Existing law establishes the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy to organize and offer professional learning opportunities for administrators and other school leaders and to provide grants to local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit educational services providers in a manner that ensures the availability of professional learning, free of charge, to local educational agencies, as provided. Existing law requires grantees to identify metrics to measure the effectiveness of professional learning and requires the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to evaluate the professional learning opportunities offered or funded through the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy for their effectiveness.

This bill would require the department to allocate specified funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2026 to support the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy to support statewide professional learning opportunities, as specified.

(30) Existing law requires state funding to be calculated and withheld from a school district or county office of education as a penalty for any fiscal year in which a person renders service as a teacher in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, who does not have a valid certification document, as provided.

This bill would apply the above-described provisions relating to the penalties for a person rendering services as a teacher who does not have a valid credential or certification document to charter schools, as provided.

(31) Existing law requires any entity that has a contract with a school district, county office of education, or charter school to ensure that any employee who interacts with pupils outside of the immediate supervision and control of the pupil's parent or guardian or a school employee has a valid criminal records summary, as specified.

This bill would expressly apply the above-described provisions to educational joint powers authorities. The bill would require an entity that has a contract with a local educational agency to instead ensure any employee who interacts with pupils has a valid criminal records summary without regard to whether the interaction takes place outside of the immediate supervision and control of the pupil's parent or guardian or a school employee.

(32) Existing law establishes the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program and requires the Superintendent to allocate $2,750 per unit of average daily attendance, as specified, to local educational agencies with a prior fiscal year unduplicated pupil percentage of 55% or more, and requires those local educational agencies, as a condition of receiving that funding, to offer access to expanded learning opportunity programs to all pupils in classroom-based instructional programs in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and to provide access to any of those pupils whose parent or guardian requests their placement in a program. Existing law requires local educational agencies not receiving that funding, as a condition of receiving remaining funding, to offer to at least all unduplicated pupils in classroom-based instructional programs in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, access to expanded learning opportunity programs, and to provide access to any of those unduplicated pupils whose parent or guardian requests their placement in a program. Existing law subjects local educational agencies to an audit, as specified, to determine compliance with those requirements.

This bill would prohibit a local educational agency that receives an allocation from the remaining funding described above from receiving less than a per-unit rate of $1,800, as provided.

Existing law authorizes the department to allocate up to $5,000,000 of moneys appropriated for purposes of the program to county offices of education to provide technical assistance, evaluation, and training services to support program improvement, in coordination with specified activities.

This bill, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, would, among other things, increase that amount by $2,500,000 to instead be $7,500,000, and require the coordination to also include state transformation assistance center activities.

(33) Existing law, the After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002, an initiative statute approved by the voters as Proposition 49 at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, establishes the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program under which participating public schools receive grants to operate before and after school programs serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 9, inclusive. The act requires an amount not to exceed $550,000,000 to be continuously appropriated to the department from the General Fund in each fiscal year for purposes of the program, and requires the amount to be allocated to public elementary, middle, and junior high schools according to a specified priority scheme that requires funding under the act to be given to schools where a minimum of 50% of the pupils in elementary schools and 50% of the pupils in middle and junior high schools are eligible for free or reduced cost meals and requires the department, for purposes of selecting schools below those thresholds, to consider the percentage of pupils eligible for free and reduced-price lunch and other indicators of need for the program, including, but not limited to, socioeconomic status of the neighborhoods in which participating pupils reside, the percentage of English language learners at the school, and the availability of programs in the community in which participating pupils reside.

This bill, among other things, would require the department, for schools below the above-described thresholds, to prioritize, instead of consider, those factors and would include schoolsites not receiving funds for expanded learning opportunity programs and schoolsites participating in the California Community Schools Partnership Act as additional priority factors. The bill would prohibit funding pursuant to act from supplanting funding for expanded learning opportunity programs, as specified. The bill would include a legislative finding and declaration that the bill furthers the purposes of the After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002.

(34) Existing federal law establishes the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program to provide pupils with academic enrichment and other activities during nonschool hours or periods when school is not in session, as provided. Under the program, of the total amount appropriated for after school grants to community learning centers, at least 50% is required to be allocated on a priority basis to community learning centers serving high school pupils and at least 40% is required to be allocated on a priority basis to community learning centers serving elementary and middle school pupils, as provided. For centers serving elementary and middle school pupils, existing law requires priority to be given to grant applications that will provide year-round expanded learning programming, including programs that complement existing funded programs, as provided. Existing law authorizes the department to use any funds remaining after the priority allocations for additional after school grants to community learning centers serving high school pupils.

This bill would instead require up to 40% of the total amount appropriated to be allocated on a priority basis to community learning centers serving elementary and middle school pupils and receiving funds pursuant to the Community Schools Partnership Act, as provided, and would require that priority be given to applicants that provide expanded learning programs on schoolsites not receiving funds for expanded learning opportunity programs, as provided. The bill would prohibit funding pursuant to the program from supplanting funding for expanded learning opportunity programs, as specified.

(35) Existing law provides that the minimum schoolday in a high school is 240 minutes, except as provided, including that a day of attendance for a pupil enrolled in grades 11 and 12 at an early college high school or middle college high school is 180 minutes of attendance if the pupil is also enrolled in a community college, classes of the California State University, or classes of the University of California, as provided.

This bill would reduce the 240-minute minimum schoolday to instead be 180 minutes of attendance for a pupil enrolled under a dual enrollment program that is part of a College and Career Access Pathways dual enrollment partnership agreement, as provided.

(36) Existing law, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establishes the California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education to establish a statewide teacher professional development program on genocide, including the Holocaust, for school district, county office of education, and charter school teachers, and provides that the collaborative's mission is to ensure that genocide, including Holocaust, education is taught consistent with, among other things, content standards, curriculum frameworks, and instructional materials adopted by the state board, in ways that are interdisciplinary and age appropriate to pupils of different grade levels.

Existing law requires the Superintendent to establish the Holocaust and Genocide Education Grant Program to provide direct allocations to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools for the purposes of providing Holocaust and genocide education and professional development on Holocaust and genocide education, as provided. Existing law establishes the Holocaust and Genocide Education Grant Program Fund in the State Treasury, and requires moneys in the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Superintendent for purposes of the grant program.

This bill would require the collaborative to administer the grant program, and would provide for moneys in the grant fund to be distributed to the collaborative, to be used to administer and implement the grant program. The bill would require the collaborative to provide annual reports to the department and the Legislature on the administration of the grant program. The bill would appropriate $10,000,000 from the General Fund for administration of the grant program, as provided.

(37) Existing law authorizes a school district, county office of education, or charter school to offer independent study to meet the educational needs of pupils when certain requirements are met. Existing law prohibits a local educational agency from being eligible to receive apportionments for independent study by pupils unless the local educational agency has adopted written policies, and implemented those policies, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Superintendent, as specified. Existing law, for purposes of independent study, requires those programs to meet specified average-daily-attendance-to-certificated-employee ratios. Existing law authorizes a local educational agency to claim apportionment credit for independent study only to the extent of the time value of pupil work products.

This bill would revise the above-described required average-daily-attendance-to-certificated-employee ratios and would require a local educational agency to maintain one completed pupil work product in each of 4 specified subjects for a pupil enrolled in independent study for each of 3 specified attendance periods, except as provided.

(38) The Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes the establishment, operation, and governance of charter schools. The act authorizes the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, and the state board to approve a petition for the establishment of a charter school and to act as or designate a chartering authority, as provided. Existing law requires each chartering authority, with respect to each charter school under its authority, to, among other things, visit each charter school at least annually.

This bill would additionally require each chartering authority, with respect to each charter school under its authority, to provide the governing body of the charter school with feedback on any issues of concern identified in a specified review and an opportunity to respond, and, after completing annual financial and compliance audit oversight responsibilities, identify and provide notification to the governing body of the charter school within 60 days of any material concern arising out of the chartering authority's ongoing oversight and monitoring activities. Commencing July 1, 2027, the bill would require each chartering authority to, among other things, visit each resource center, meeting space, and satellite facility approved in a charter petition or material revision and established by the charter school at least once every 2 years for each charter school under its authority and, for each nonclassroom-based charter school under its authority, annually review the charter school's average daily attendance, as provided.

The bill would require charter schools to obtain the approval of the governing body of the charter school for any contract that would cause the charter school to compensate an individual contractor more than $100,000 in a fiscal year.

To the extent that these additions to the act would impose new duties on local educational agencies, they would constitute a state-mandated local program.

Existing law sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools, including prohibiting a chartering authority from renewing a charter if certain performance standards are not met.

The bill would require the state board to establish criteria to define verified data and identify an approved list of valid and reliable assessments that would be required to be used by a chartering authority in its determination of renewing a charter, as provided. The bill would revise the performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools and make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2028, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2029. The bill would set out revised standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools that are operative on and after July 1, 2028.

(39) This bill would require the governing board of a school district or educational joint powers authority, the governing body of a charter school, or a county superintendent of schools, on or before July 1, 2027, to adopt a policy for local educational agencies to comply with in order to evaluate and approve contractors. The bill would require the policy to include specified provisions, including, among other things, that a local educational agency is prohibited from (A) expending public funds for a contract unless the materials, programs, and activities are nonsectarian, (B) offering financial payments or gifts to a pupil, prospective pupil, or a pupil's parent, guardian, or relative as an incentive for pupil enrollment, referral, or retention, and (C) purchasing or contracting for annual and season passes or membership to amusement or theme parks, zoos, or family entertainment activities, except as provided.

(40) For the 2026–27 fiscal year, existing law requires the Superintendent to calculate, for specified charter schools that operate a minimum of 175 school days, the difference between the charter school's certified local control funding formula entitlement as of the annual principal apportionment in that fiscal year and the first principal apportionment in the 2024–25 fiscal year, and, if there is a difference, allocate the amount of that difference to the charter school.

This bill would require the amount calculated for the above-described charter schools to be adjusted to account for the increase in the add-on amount for transitional kindergarten from the 2024–25 to the 2025–26 fiscal years, inclusive, in a manner that ensures that those charter schools are not negatively impacted for the difference in funding increase for transitional kindergarten. The bill would require the Superintendent, for those charter schools, to calculate 30% of the charter school's local control funding formula entitlement, as provided, as of the 2024–25 first principal apportionment and allocate that amount for each charter school in the 2026–27 fiscal year. The bill would also require the Superintendent to allocate $4,000,000 to Pasadena Unified School District to help address outstanding and ongoing recovery-related costs that resulted from the state of emergency that was declared by the Governor in January 2025.

(41) Existing law authorizes a school district or charter school to maintain a transitional kindergarten program. Existing law defines "transitional kindergarten" as the first year of a 2-year kindergarten program that uses curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.

This bill, for purposes of transitional kindergarten, would require developmentally appropriate curriculum to include (A) instructional practices that promote each child's development and learning through a strengths- and play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning that addresses the domains of development, as specified, and (B) a cohesive set of principles, learning goals, intentional teaching strategies, activities, experiences, environments, and materials designed to help children learn and thrive in ways that are appropriate to their age and stage of development.

(42) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to provide for a leave of absence from duty for a certificated employee or an academic employee of the district who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery from those conditions.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to provide for a leave of absence from duty as it deems appropriate for a female employee in the classified service of the district who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy or convalescence following childbirth. Existing law authorizes a governing board to adopt rules and regulations about leaves of absence for classified employees for these purposes, and authorizes a governing board to provide in the rules and regulations whether the leave granted shall be with or without pay, as provided.

This bill would delete the latter provisions authorizing the governing board of a school district to adopt those rules and regulations. The bill instead would require a school district, county office of education, charter school, or educational joint powers authority to, for a certificated employee or an employee in the classified service of one of those educational entities, provide up to 14 weeks of a leave of absence with specified pay benefits for an employee who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from those conditions, as provided. The bill would authorize the paid leave to begin before and continue after childbirth if the employee is actually disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or a related condition. The bill would prohibit a leave of absence taken pursuant to these provisions from being deducted from other leaves of absence, as provided, would require those educational entities to maintain group health coverage for an employee who takes a leave of absence under these provisions for the duration of the leave of absence at the same level and under the same conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had not taken a leave of absence, would require compensation during the leave of absence taken under these provisions to include retirement fund contributions required of the educational entity, and would require the employee to earn full service credit during the leave of absence and to pay member contributions to the retirement fund. The bill would prohibit any other eligibility requirements, including, but not limited to, minimum hours worked or length of service, before an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or related medical conditions is eligible for a paid leave of absence under these provisions. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2027.

The bill, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, would make specified increases to certain local control funding formula grants and would require local educational agencies incurring costs related to providing employees with up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave, as specified, to use those funds to reimburse those costs.

(43) Existing law requires the state board, on or before October 1, 2016, to adopt evaluation rubrics for certain purposes, including, among others, to assist a county superintendent of schools, the department, or a chartering authority in identifying school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools in need of technical assistance, pursuant to specified processes, and the specific priorities upon which the technical assistance should be focused. Existing law also requires these evaluation rubrics to include performance criteria, based on performance by pupil subgroups either across 2 or more state and local indicators or 2 or more state priorities, for local educational agency assistance and intervention. Existing law requires the state board, no later than July 15, 2026, to update the performance criteria, as provided.

This bill would revise and recast specified rules governing the length of technical assistance provided to local educational agencies. The bill would, among other things, beginning with the release of the 2026 California School Dashboard, and every 3 years thereafter, require the county superintendent of schools to provide technical assistance for a minimum of 3 years to a charter school or school district that meets the new criteria established by the state board, and would require the Superintendent to provide technical assistance for a minimum of 3 years to a county office of education that meets the new criteria established by the state board, as provided. By imposing new duties on county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program

The bill would revise and recast the above-described provisions related to evaluation rubrics used to identify school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools in need of technical assistance. The bill would additionally authorize the criteria to be based on performance by an all pupils subgroup, comprised of at least 30 pupils at a local educational agency. The bill would, beginning with the release of the 2026 California School Dashboard, and every 3 years thereafter, require the state board to determine local educational agency eligibility for assistance and intervention based on the updated performance criteria. The bill would require the department to annually publish information on local educational agencies identified for assistance, as provided. The bill would require the state board, no later than May 15, 2029, to update the performance criteria for local educational assistance and intervention by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, as provided, and to make related recommendations to the Legislature.

(44) Existing law appropriates $600,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for allocation to certain school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to expend on kitchen infrastructure upgrades that will increase a school's capacity to prepare meals served through a federal school meal program, as defined, including for freshly prepared onsite meals, to serve fresh and nutritious school meals using minimally processed, locally grown, and sustainable food, or for expanding meal options for pupils with restricted diets, as specified. Existing law requires, as a condition of receiving funding, each local educational agency to report to the department, on or before June 30, 2025, on how it used the funding.

This bill would, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, appropriate $400,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for grants to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools participating in the federal School Breakfast Program or the federal National School Lunch Program to support kitchen equipment, infrastructure, training, and the continued implementation of universal school meals, as provided. The bill would require the department to award grant funds as allocations, as specified, to eligible local educational agencies and would require the department to give priority to certain local educational agencies, including those that did not receive previous kitchen infrastructure and training grant funding, as provided.

(45) Existing law requires county superintendents of schools to provide technical assistance focused on data management processes and capacity to develop and implement actions and services responsive to pupil and community needs to school districts that fail to meet requirements associated with the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, and requires the Superintendent to provide similar technical assistance to county offices of education, as provided.

This bill would instead require the above-described technical assistance to focus on the school district or county office of education's capacity to develop and implement actions and services responsive to data quality and integrity in support of state and federal accountability, as provided. The bill would (A) require the county superintendent to provide this technical assistance to a school district, and the department to provide this technical assistance to a county office of education, for a minimum of one year, as provided, (B) require a school district to accept the technical assistance, and (C) would require a county board of education that requests this technical assistance to pay for the technical assistance, as provided. By imposing new duties on school districts and county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(46) Existing law requires the governing board of each school district and county board of education to adopt a local control accountability plan and to update its local control and accountability plan before July 1 of each year. Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to prepare a summary of how the county superintendent of schools plans to support school districts and schools within the county in implementing specified provisions related to local control and accountability plans. Existing law requires this summary to include, among other things, a description of how the county superintendent of schools will support the continuous improvement of all school districts within the county, and one or more goals for specified topics, including providing technical assistance to school district and charter schools pursuant to specified procedures.

This bill would require the county superintendent of schools to include in that summary a description of how the county superintendent of schools will support the continuous improvement of all school districts within the county, including, at a minimum, clearly identifying the activities being performed by the county office of education and the source of funding for those activities. The bill would additionally require the county superintendent of schools to include in that summary a description of one or more goals for providing universal and targeted assistance to local educational agencies pursuant to the above-describe universal and targeted assistance county office of education funding grant. By imposing new duties on the county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(47) Existing law requires the state board, on or before January 31, 2024, to appoint an independent panel of experts for the purpose of creating an approved list of evidence-based, culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate screening instruments for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 to assess pupils for risk of reading difficulties, including possible neurological disorders such as dyslexia, and requires the panel of experts, on or before December 31, 2024, to approve a list of screening instruments, as provided. Existing law requires the governing board or body of a local educational agency serving pupils in kindergarten or grades 1 or 2, on or before June 30, 2025, to adopt one or more screening instruments from the list adopted by the panel of experts, and commencing no later than the 2025–26 school year, and annually thereafter, to assess each pupil in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 for risk of reading difficulties using the screening instrument or instruments adopted by the governing board or body of the local educational agency, unless the pupil's parent or guardian opts out of the screening in writing. Existing law requires a local educational agency, in determining when during the school year to administer each screening instrument, to consider whether pupils have received sufficient instruction in foundational reading skills to support a valid assessment.

This bill would prohibit a local educational agency from administering a screening instrument to a kindergarten pupil for those purposes before the 91st schoolday in the school year. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department, on or before January 31, 2027, to develop and disseminate guidance to local educational agencies regarding determining whether a pupil has received sufficient instruction in foundational reading skills to support a valid assessment, as provided.

The bill would appropriate $40,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent for allocation to local educational agencies that administer literacy screenings to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 for risk of reading difficulties to support implementation of those requirements, as provided.

(48) Existing law makes various appropriations for the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program and augmentation of that program, as specified.

This bill, among other things, would (A) codify those provisions and extend the encumbrance dates of those prior appropriations, (B) appropriate, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $350,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to further augment the previously established Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program and previous augmentation of that program, as specified, and (C) revise existing, and add new, reporting requirements for purposes of the program, as specified.

(49) Existing law establishes the Dream Resource Center Grant Program for the purpose of providing pupils, including undocumented pupils, in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, with specified resources. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to review applications and award grants based off of a tiered point system that prioritizes applications for funding, as provided. Existing law authorizes a school district, county office of education, or charter school, including those that have already established a Dream Resource Center at one or more schoolsites, to apply to the department to be eligible to receive a grant, as provided. Existing law requires a local educational agency that receives a grant under the program to use it for creating a Dream Resource Center or for supplementing, but not supplanting, an existing Dream Resource Center, as provided, and requires the department, on or before June 1, 2026, to submit a report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature detailing the successes, best practices, barriers or constraints, and outcomes of Dream Resource Centers funded with these grants.

This bill would, among other things, (A) authorize local educational agencies that can demonstrate that they are already providing specified resources through existing programmatic structures to also apply for funds to establish a Dream Resource Center and expand upon existing services, (B) require grant recipients, at the conclusion of the grant term, to provide a final report to the department, as specified, and (C) revise the department's reporting requirement to instead be 3 reports due on or before each of December 30, 2028, December 30, 2030, and December 30, 2032. The bill would appropriate, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $75,000,000 to the department to support the program.

(50) Existing law, subject to an appropriation of funds for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, requires the State Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, to administer the California Newcomer Education and Well-Being Program (CalNEW) to provide services for newcomer pupils, English learners, and immigrant families by allocating funding to school districts and county offices of education, as specified.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to (A) curate and maintain on its internet website information regarding requirements, best practices, and available state and federally funded programs for newcomer pupils and (B) publicly report on an annual basis on its internet website the enrollment of newcomer pupils, as provided.

This bill would appropriate $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, for California's New Americans in Schools (CalNAS) program, which the bill would establish, to award grants on a competitive basis to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide services for newcomer pupils, English learners, and immigrant families, as specified. The bill would require $10,000,000 of that amount to be available to the State Department of Education to competitively award a grant to a local educational agency, or a consortium of local educational agencies, to provide statewide technical assistance for the program, as specified.

(51) Existing law requires the Superintendent to calculate allocations to special education local plan areas based on the average daily attendance of each local educational agency and charter school that is a local educational agency for purposes of special education, as specified. Existing law requires, commencing with the 2023–24 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the Superintendent to determine the amount of funding per unit of average daily attendance for each special education local plan area using a specified calculation.

This bill would require the amount of funding per unit of average daily attendance for each special education local plan area to instead be $1,340 for the 2026–27 fiscal year and, commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the amount of funding per unit of average daily attendance for the prior fiscal year, as adjusted annually by a specified inflation factor. The bill would also revise the special education funding calculations for the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court and Community School/Division of Alternative Education Special Education Local Plan Area commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, as specified.

(52) Existing law authorizes the California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI) to provide its services to all local educational agencies, as provided, including services that provide pupils and their families with direct access to online tools and resources for college and career planning. Existing law requires the department to refer local educational agencies to CCGI for technical assistance in reconciling discrepancies between A–G coursework, as listed in their local pupil information system, and how those courses are registered in the University of California Course Management Portal at the office of the President of the University of California, or a successor A–G course management portal.

This bill would, among other things, require the department to also refer local educational agencies to CCGI to ensure that required dual enrollment courses are flagged in the data files submitted to CCGI. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(53) Existing law establishes the California Center for Inclusive College (the center) and annually appropriates, commencing with the 2024–25 fiscal year, $2,000,000 each fiscal year from the General Fund to the Superintendent of Public Instruction to, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, allocate to one or more county offices of education to administer the center.

This bill would require the Superintendent to allocation specified funding in the Budget Act of 2026 to the center for purposes of implementing inclusive college programs, as defined. The bill would authorize up to 15% of that amount to be used for the administration of those grant awards. The bill would require the center to submit a report to the Department of Finance on or before December 1, 2026, detailing how it plans to award funds, as specified.

The bill would require the Sacramento County Office of Education to utilize specified funding in the Budget Act of 2026 to develop resources and provide technical assistance to support the implementation of alternative pathways and means to a diploma, as provided.

(54) Existing law establishes the Golden State Teacher Grant Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission and requires the commission to provide one-time grant funds of up to $20,000 to each student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024, inclusive, in a professional preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential or a pupil personnel services credential, at either a qualifying institution, as defined, or a professional preparation program approved by the Commission on Teaching Credentialing, as specified, if the student commits to working at a priority school or a California preschool program for 4 years within the 8 years following the date the student completes the professional preparation program. Existing law limits the grant to up to $10,000 for a California resident student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024, inclusive, at a private postsecondary educational institution that is approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing as a qualified institution, as specified. For applications received under the program from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026, inclusive, existing law requires the Student Aid Commission to provide reduced one-time grant funds of up to $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, to each student eligible for a grant, except teacher intern credential program participants, if the student commits to working at a priority school or a California preschool program for 2 years within the 4 years following the date the student completes the professional preparation program.

This bill would, among other things, extend eligibility for those reduced $10,000 and $5,000 grants indefinitely by removing the enrollment deadline of June 30, 2026. By expanding the time in which applications can be received under the program, which is funded by an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the preliminary teaching credential to be in a high-need field, as identified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

For grants funded with specified federal funds, this bill would require the Student Aid Commission to provide one-time grants of up to $20,000 to each student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after July 1, 2026, in a professional preparation program leading to a special education credential, at either a qualifying institution, as defined, or a professional preparation program approved by the Commission on Teaching Credentialing, as specified, except teacher intern credential program participants, if the student commits to working at a priority school or a California preschool program for 4 years within the 8 years following the date the student completes the professional preparation program. The bill would limit the grant funded with those specified federal funds to up to $10,000 for a California resident student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after July 1, 2026, in a professional preparation program leading to a special education credential at a private postsecondary educational institution approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing as a qualified institution, as specified.

The Budget Act of 2025 appropriates $50,000,000 to the Student Aid Commission to augment support for the program.

This bill would require those funds to be available for encumbrance or expenditure by the commission until June 30, 2029. By extending the encumbrance or expenditure date for an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation.

(55) Existing law requires certain funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act for reimbursement for the cost of a new program or increased level of service of an existing program mandated by statute or executive order to be available as a block grant to school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education, to support specified state-mandated local programs. Existing law provides that a school district, charter school, or county office of education that submits a letter requesting funding to the Superintendent and receives this block grant funding is not eligible to submit a claim for reimbursement for those specified mandated programs for the fiscal year in which the block grant funding is received.

This bill would add to the list of programs that are authorized for block grant funding in lieu of program-specific reimbursement to include requirements relating to the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021.

(56) Existing law, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, appropriates $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for the Computer Science Supplementary Authorization Incentive Grant Program for purposes of providing one-time grants to local educational agencies to support the preparation of credentialed teachers to earn a supplementary authorization in computer science and provide instruction in computer science coursework in settings authorized by the underlying credential, as provided. Under this program, a participating teacher is eligible to receive an award of up to $2,500, and a grant recipient is required to provide a 100% local match of the grant funding or an in-kind match of release time or substitute teacher costs for the participating teacher, as provided. Existing law requires those funds to be available for encumbrance until June 30, 2026.

This bill would increase the maximum amount a participating teacher is eligible to receive under the program from $2,500 to instead be $6,000. The bill would reduce the local match requirements to instead be cash equal to 13 of the grant funding or an in-kind match of administrative and coordination costs or release time or substitute teacher costs for the participating teacher, as provided. The bill would extend the period that those funds are available for encumbrance to instead be until June 30, 2030, thereby making an appropriation.

(57) Existing law appropriates $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for allocation to the Riverside County Office of Education and the El Dorado County Office of Education in equal amounts in support of the Supporting Inclusive Practices project. Existing law requires those funds to be available for encumbrance until June 30, 2026.

This bill would extend the period that those funds are available for encumbrance to instead be until June 30, 2027, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would additionally appropriate, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $30,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for allocation to the Riverside County Office of Education and the El Dorado County Office of Education in equal amounts in support of the Supporting Inclusive Practices project, as specified.

(58) Existing law appropriates $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to create, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, a Literacy Roadmap to help educators apply the state's curriculum framework to classroom instruction, navigate the resources and professional development opportunities available to implement effective literacy instruction, and improve literacy outcomes for all pupils with a focus on equity, as provided.

This bill would extend the period that those funds are available for encumbrance to instead be until June 30, 2028, and make those funds available for liquidation until June 30, 2030, thereby making an appropriation.

(59) Existing law appropriates $15,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent to designate a county office of education to identify and curate a repository of high-quality open educational resources for use by local educational agencies as part of the statewide system of support, as provided.

This bill would appropriate, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $600,000 from the General Fund to the department to contract with a county office of education to curate and maintain the California Educators Together online repository of high-quality open educational resources for use by local educational agencies, as provided.

(60) Existing federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, provides grants to states to carry out activities relating to the education of homeless children and youths, as defined, including, among others, providing services and activities to improve the identification of homeless children and youths and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.

This bill would appropriate $70,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for allocation to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to supplement funding available under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in order to increase the identification of, and improve educational outcomes for, homeless children and youths, as provided. The bill would require, as a condition of receiving one-time, 3-year grant funding, a local educational agency to commit to (A) communicate and collaborate with technical assistance centers to receive technical assistance, implement best practices, and foster partnerships with local and county governmental entities, educational institutions, and community-based organizations, (B) annually report on the academic outcomes for pupils served by the grants, as specified, and (C) submit a final report by December 31, 2029, to the department that describes how the local educational agency intends to sustain and integrate efforts supporting the needs of homeless children and youths after the one-time grant funds end, as specified.

(61) Existing law establishes the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program for the purpose of recruiting classified school employees to participate in a program designed to encourage them to enroll in teacher training programs, as defined, and to provide instructional service as teachers in the public schools. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, subject to an appropriation for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or other statute, to issue a request for proposals to all school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in the state in order to solicit applications for funding.

This bill, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, would appropriate $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program, as specified.

(62) Existing law requires the Inglewood Unified School District to take certain actions by April 1, 2023, including meeting the requirements for qualified or positive certification, completing a comprehensive operational review, and undergoing an on-time annual independent audit, as provided. Existing law requires the Budget Act, beginning with the 2022–23 fiscal year, to include an appropriation of up to 25% of the school district's projected operating deficit, as determined by the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, with concurrence with the Department of Finance, if those requirements are met, and makes the disbursement those funds contingent upon the completion of activities specified in the prior year Budget Act to improve the school district's fiscal solvency. activities specified in the prior year Budget Act. Existing law requires those activities to be determined based on joint recommendations from the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team and the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools, as provided.

This bill, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, would appropriate $400,000 on a one-time basis from the General Fund to the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team to offset the costs of the 2024–25 and 2025–26 annual comprehensive reviews for the Inglewood Unified School District.

(63) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

(64) Certain funds transferred or appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

(65) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.