Education finance: education omnibus trailer bill.

This bill would require those funds to be available for encumbrance through June 30, 2031, and would delay the deadline for the submitting the revised expenditure report to December 1, 2026. By extending the encumbrance period for an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation.

(2) 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 $200,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for the 2026–27 fiscal year for allocation to local educational agencies for the program, as specified. Existing law requires local educational agencies receiving grants pursuant to the program to do various activities, including, among other things, ensuring expenditures are consistent with the local educational agency's local plan adopted pursuant to specified provisions.

This bill would, among other things, require a local educational agency that receives a grant pursuant to the program that has not developed a local plan, as described above, to develop that plan for consideration by the governing board or body at a public meeting, as provided, and to make the plan available for review upon request by the department.

Existing law requires the department to award $100,000,000 in competitive grants to local educational agencies to increase the number of highly-qualified teachers available to serve California state preschool programs and transitional kindergarten pupils, and to provide California state preschool program, transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten teachers with training in providing instruction in inclusive classrooms, culturally responsive instruction, supporting dual language learners, enhancing social-emotional learning, implementing trauma-informed practices and restorative practices, and mitigating implicit biases to eliminate exclusionary discipline.

This bill would authorize the department to allocate or prorate any returned or collected funds that were appropriated for certain purposes of the California Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation Grant Program to be used for the above-described competitive grants, and would extend the encumbrance and expenditure periods for those various appropriations for the program, as specified. By expanding the purposes and the encumbrance and expenditure periods of previously appropriated funds, the bill would make an appropriation.

The Early Education Act, among other things, 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. Existing law appropriates $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 educational agency consortia lead agencies, respectively, as specified.

This bill, among other things, would require the above-described $50,000,000 appropriation to instead be allocated by the department to one designated lead agency within each county that is a local educational agency and would require the department to instead grant these funds in accordance with specified provisions. By changing the purposes of previously appropriated funds, the bill would make an appropriation.

(3) Existing law appropriates $2,836,660,000 in the 2021–22 fiscal year from the General Fund to the department 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 authorizes up to $141,833,000 of that amount to be allocated to contract with local educational agencies to create a network of at least 5 regional technical assistance centers to provide support to local educational agencies, as provided, and requires the department to designate one of those regional technical assistance centers to be the state transformational assistance center for purposes of the program.

This bill would, among other things, authorize the regional technical assistance center serving as the state transformational assistance center to continue serving in that capacity beginning in the 2026–27 school year through the 2029–30 school year or until the new community schools technical assistance structure is adopted by the State Board of Education, as provided.

The Budget Act of 2026 appropriates, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $1,000,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to administer the California Community Schools Partnership 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. Existing law requires, as a condition of receiving these funds, a local educational agency to, among other things, use funds for planning to support specified activities.

This bill would authorize the above-described funds for planning to also be used to convene a schoolsite's shared decisionmaking team or council to prepare its community school implementation plan, as provided. By expanding the purposes for which previously appropriated moneys may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law requires $10,000,000 of the above-described $1,000,000,000 appropriation to be available to the department to select, subject to the approval of the executive director of the state board, at least one local educational agency to implement a specified technical assistance structure and network and to support an ongoing certification process for the allocations to local educational agencies. Existing law requires $2,000,000 of the $10,000,000 to be allocated to the local educational agency serving as the state transformational assistance center for specified activities.

This bill would instead (A) require up to $10,000,000 to be available for those purposes, (B) delay, until the 2031–32 fiscal year, the authorization to use those moneys to support costs related to the ongoing certification process, and (C) require at least $2,000,000 of that amount, subject to the approval of the executive director of the state board, to be allocated to the local educational agency serving as the state transformational assistance center for specified activities.

(4) Existing law establishes the K–12 High-Speed Network (K–12 HSN) to, among other things, provide high-speed, high-bandwidth internet connectivity to the public school system, as provided. Existing law requires the K–12 HSN to provide critical services and functions for public primary and secondary local educational agencies, including, but not limited to, reliable and cost-effective internet service that, among other things, is sufficient to support videoconferencing and related independent study capabilities.

This bill would instead require K–12 HSN to provide reliable and cost-effective internet service that, among other things, is sufficient to support bandwidth-intensive applications, digital learning, and related independent study capabilities.

Existing law requires the establishment of a K–12 HSN advisory board, as provided, and requires the advisory board to, among other things, meet quarterly and recommend policy direction and broad operational guidance to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the lead education agency, as provided.

This bill would, among other things, require the advisory board to submit, on or before March 1 of each year, an annual report with program highlights to the State Department of Education and the Department of Finance.

(5) Existing law, commencing January 1, 2027, vests all executive and administrative functions of the State Department of Education in an Education Commissioner and transfers various duties of the Superintendent of Public Instruction relating to the State Board of Education and the department to the Education Commissioner.

If a federal law designates a state educational agency or other agency or officer primarily responsible for state supervision of public schools, existing law requires that designation to be deemed to refer to the state board.

If federal law designates a chief state school officer, the bill would require that designation, commencing January 1, 2027, to be deemed to refer to the Education Commissioner.

Existing law, commencing January 1, 2027, for numerous specified provisions of existing law, (A) provides that the Education Commissioner or the department, as specified, succeeds to and is vested with all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction vested in the Superintendent by those provisions and (B) requires that any actions taken by the Superintendent pursuant to those provisions to instead be deemed to have been taken by the Education Commissioner or the department, as specified.

This bill, commencing January 1, 2027, would apply those provisions to additional provisions of law, as specified.

(6) Existing law requires the department to provide state meal reimbursement to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that participate in, and comply with the requirements of, the federal School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program, and any applicable state laws and regulations, as provided. Existing law provides that the cost of providing adequate housing for cafeterias, including, but not limited to, permanent kitchen facilities, is a charge against the funds of the school district.

This bill, notwithstanding any other law and with the prior approval of the department, would instead authorize local educational agencies to make infrastructure upgrades for the operation and improvement of school meal service with state funded meal reimbursement provided for meals, as specified.

(7) Existing law appropriates $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent to apportion to the Orange County Department of Education to award no less than $30,000,000 as grants to local educational agencies for the purpose of funding schoolwide and districtwide implementation of services or practices aligned to the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support framework, as specified, and requires the Orange County Department of Education to encumber or expend those funds on or before June 30, 2026.

The bill would, upon review and approval by the Orange County Department of Education, authorize funds encumbered by a subgrantee but not yet expended, to be expended until June 30, 2027. By extending the expenditure period of an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on the Orange County Department of Education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires funds described above not awarded on or before December 15, 2022, to be available for the Orange County Department of Education to provide support to local educational agencies impacted by the fire-related state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor in January 2025, as provided.

This bill would authorize funds that have not been encumbered to be utilized by the Orange County Department of Education for those purposes until June 30, 2027. By extending the encumbrance period of an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation.

(8) Existing law, upon an appropriation for these purposes, requires the State Department of Education, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to administer a competitive grant program to award grants to local educational agencies, as defined, to establish dual enrollment programs, as specified. Existing law requires approved applicants to be provided one-time grants, as specified, to (A) start up or expand a middle college or early college high school or program or (B) establish a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) dual enrollment partnership, or to be provided both grants.

This bill would, among other things, require an applicant that has previously received one of those grants to also be provided a renewal grant upon the completion of the requirements pertaining to that specific grant type, provided they are not currently in an active grant period for that grant type.

(9) Existing law establishes the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program and requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing 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 with 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. Existing law requires broader consortia to enter in an agreement with one or more local educational agencies to hire qualified graduates of the pathway in bilingual teaching positions, as specified. Existing law requires 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.

This bill would revise the program by, among other things, (A) delaying its implementation until January 1, 2027, (B) making individual local educational agencies, as defined to include school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education, eligible for grants but maintaining priority for consortia of local educational agencies, (C) authorizing, instead of requiring, broader consortia to enter into an agreement with one or more local educational agencies to hire qualified graduates of the pathway in bilingual teaching positions, and (D) revising reporting requirements, as specified.

(10) Existing law, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, appropriates $4,400,163,000 from the General Fund to the department for 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, as specified.

Existing law, as a condition of receiving those funds, requires, among other things, a school district or charter school with an existing declining enrollment, or projected declining enrollment in the next 5 years, to hold a public hearing on their plans to address the declining enrollment's impacts on the local educational agency, including, but not limited to, schoolsite closures or consolidations.

This bill would require the public hearing to be held in conjunction with a required public hearing for purposes of the school district's or charter school's local control and accountability plan, and would require the plans to address the declining enrollment's impacts on the local educational agency to instead include, but not be limited to, attracting and retaining pupils, strengthening course offerings, new program opportunities, class size reduction, facilities management, including potential schoolsite consolidations and closures, and local revenue options.

(11) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a CCAP partnership with the governing board of a school district or a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school or regional occupational center or program, for the purpose of offering or expanding dual enrollment opportunities for pupils who may not already be college bound or who are underrepresented in higher education, as provided. Existing law provides that a day of attendance for a pupil enrolled in grades 11 and 12 in an early college high school, middle college high school, or dual enrollment courses offered by a local educational agency with or without a CCAP partnership agreement 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, for purposes of the above-described 180-minute day of attendance requirement, would require the dual enrollment courses to be offered with a CCAP partnership agreement.

(12) Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt evaluation rubrics to measure school district and individual schoolsite performance, for certain purposes, including to identify school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools in need of technical assistance. Existing law also requires the state board to adopt performance criteria and state and local indicators related to the evaluation rubrics.

Existing law, beginning with the release of the 2026 California School Dashboard, and every 3 years thereafter, requires the county superintendent of schools to provide technical assistance for a minimum of 3 years to a school district for which one or more pupil subgroups meets the performance criteria established by the state board, and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide technical assistance for a minimum of 3 years to a county office of education for which one or more pupil subgroups meets the performance criteria established by the state board, as provided.

This bill would, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, require the county superintendent of schools to provide technical assistance to any school district for which one or more pupil subgroups meets the performance criteria established by the state board, as reported on the 2025 California School Dashboard, and the Superintendent to provide technical assistance to any county office of education for which one or more pupil subgroups meets the performance criteria established by the state board, as reported on the 2025 California School Dashboard. By imposing new duties on county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to annually publish information on all local educational agencies identified for prioritized support through universal assistance pursuant to the universal and targeted assistance county office of education funding grant, as determined by the state board's targeted assistance criteria.

This bill would instead require the department to make the above-described determination about local educational agencies identified for prioritized support using solely the most recent year of performance data on the state indicators and specified performance criteria adopted by the state board for local educational agency assistance and intervention, as provided.

(13) Existing law makes various appropriations for the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Grant Program and augmentation of that program, including, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, $350,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for further augmentation of that program. Existing law specifies various reporting requirements related to the program and the augmentations of the program.

This bill would, among other things, revise existing reporting requirements and require additional reporting, as specified.

(14) Existing law establishes the Golden State Pathways Program to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, including technology, health care, education, and climate-related fields that, among other things, allow pupils to advance seamlessly from high school to college and career and provide the workforce needed for economic growth, and, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, appropriates $500,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for the Superintendent to competitively award grant funds to school districts, charter schools, county offices of education, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education. Existing law authorizes the Superintendent, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, to use up to 5% of the total appropriation to contract with up to 10 local educational agencies for the provision of technical assistance to local educational agencies, applicants, and grant recipients, as provided, and requires those specific funds to be available for encumbrance and expenditure for 5 fiscal years.

This bill would require the funds for contracting with up 10 local educational agencies for the provision of technical assistance to instead be available for encumbrance and expenditure until June 30, 2029. By extending the encumbrance and expenditure period for an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law requires the Superintendent, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, to contract with an independent entity to evaluate the program's effectiveness in meeting its specified goals, and requires the evaluation to be completed no sooner than June 30, 2027, and no later than June 30, 2028.

The bill would extend the evaluation's deadline by 2 years to instead be no later than June 30, 2030, and would require the department, by June 30, 2028, to report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the Governor on the process for awarding grants, the name of each grant recipient, the amount awarded to each grant recipient, and the activities provided with grant funds.

(15) Existing law establishes California's New Americans in Schools (CalNAS) program and appropriates $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, 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. Existing law requires $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.

This bill would, among other things, (A) revise award prioritization factors, (B) provide definitions for immigrant families and newcomer pupils, (C) require the $10,000,000 to be awarded instead to a local educational agency or consortium of local educational agencies to serve as a statewide technical assistance center and provide technical assistance for the CalNAS program, as specified, and (D) authorize the statewide technical assistance center, subject to the approval and oversight of the department, to use no more than 10% of their allocation to subcontract with qualified nonprofit entities to support implementation of the required services. By revising the purposes of an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation.

(16) 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. Existing law requires 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.

This bill would, among other things, revise the point system for prioritization, as specified.

(17) Existing law establishes the Golden State Teacher Grant Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission and requires the commission to provide, among other grants, one-time federally funded grants of up to $20,000 to each student enrolled, or who has applied for enrollment, on or after July 1, 2026, in certain professional preparation programs leading to a special education credential 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 those grants 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.

This bill would, for purposes of those grants, require the special education credential to instead be a preliminary special education credential.

(18) Existing law authorizes the Adjutant General to enter into a cooperative agreement with the City of Oakland and a school district for the purposes of establishing an Oakland Military Institute, as specified.

This bill would authorize the Adjunct General to instead into a cooperative agreement with the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy, a California charter school, as specified.

(19) Existing law, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, appropriates $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 provided.

This bill would instead appropriate those funds to the department for allocation to only the El Dorado County Office of Education, or for allocation pursuant to other legislation, in support of the Supporting Inclusive Practices project. By revising the required allocation of an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation.

(20) The Budget Act of 2026 reappropriates $46,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for grants to local educational agencies to support youth experiencing homelessness. Existing law, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, appropriates an additional $70,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for allocation to local educational agencies to increase the identification of, and improve educational outcomes for, homeless children and youths, and requires those funds to be available for encumbrance and expenditure through June 30, 2029. Existing law, as a condition of funding, specifies reporting requirements by a recipient local educational agency relating to those funds, including submitting a final report on or before December 31, 2029, as provided.

This bill would instead require both of those amounts to be available for encumbrance and expenditure through June 30, 2030, and would delay the final report deadline by one year to instead be on or before December 31, 2030. By extending the encumbrance and expenditure periods for existing appropriations, the bill would make an appropriation.

(21) This bill would also delete obsolete references, make conforming changes, and make other nonsubstantive changes.

(22) 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.

(23) Certain funds 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.

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