School finance: categorical programs.

Existing law establishes various categorical education programs and appropriates the funding for those programs in the annual Budget Act. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, for the 2008–09 to 2014–15 fiscal years, inclusive, to apportion from the amounts provided in the annual Budget Act for specified categorical education programs an amount based on the relative proportion that the local educational agency received in the 2008–09 fiscal year for those programs and authorizes school districts, for those fiscal years, to use these funds, with specified exceptions, for any educational purpose, to the extent permitted by federal law. Existing law requires a local educational agency to report expenditures of these funds to the State Department of Education. This bill would remove the California School Age Families Education Program (Cal-SAFE) from the list of categorical education programs for which their funding may be used for any educational purpose. This bill would also require school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education selecting not to maintain or reestablish a Cal-SAFE program to have their funding received in the annual Budget Act for the Cal-SAFE program reappropriated to the Budget Act item related to the Cal-SAFE program in the 2013–14 fiscal year and each subsequent fiscal year. The reappropriated funds shall be restricted to expanding existing Cal-SAFE programs or establishing new Cal-SAFE programs.