Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and existing law establishes courses of study for those pupils. This bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to integrate outdoor learning into standards-aligned instruction across all grades and subject areas, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Department of Education under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns the department numerous duties relating to the governance and funding of local educational agencies. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2028, to curate and maintain on its internet website resources for educators on outdoor learning. The bill would also encourage the department, in carrying out these provisions, to consult with county offices of education, classroom educators, tribal partners, mental and physical health professionals and researchers, environmental literacy experts, and community organizations with experience in outdoor learning. The bill would authorize the department to provide resources to address the particular needs of each local educational agency. The bill would authorize the department to accept voluntary contributions to be deposited into the Outdoor Learning and Environmental Literacy Account, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the costs of these provisions.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils and authorizes the governing board of a school district to employ properly certified persons for this purpose. Existing law requires a school of a school district or county office of education and a charter school to notify pupils and parents or guardians of pupils no less than twice during the school year on how to initiate access to available pupil mental health services on campus or in the community, or both, as provided. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, the State Department of Education to enter into a contract with one or more local educational agencies with capacity and established expertise, as provided, to serve as lead entities in providing support for the implementation of integrated, universal social-emotional learning, behavioral health, and restorative practices for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the lead entities, selected pursuant to a competitive process, to make available guidance, resources, and technical assistance to local educational agencies to expand the statewide implementation of integrated, universal social-emotional learning, behavioral health, and restorative practices, as provided. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation, as provided.
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the commission to adopt standards for the accreditation of postsecondary teacher preparation programs. Existing law prescribes "clinical practice" as one of the commission-adopted standards and requires that teaching credential candidates perform 600 hours of clinical practice throughout the candidate's teacher preparation program, including, as a component of those hours, student teaching. 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 for allocation to support the Student Teacher Stipend Program. This bill would, contingent upon an appropriation of one-time funding by the Legislature, establish the Experienced Mentor Teacher Stipend Program, under the administration of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, to expand the Student Teacher Stipend Program to award stipends of $3,000 each to compensate experienced mentor teachers, as defined, who mentor student teacher candidates who are in teacher preparation programs, as provided. In administering the Experienced Mentor Teacher Stipend Program, the bill would require the commission to expand the online process for local educational agencies, as defined, to submit an experienced mentor teacher's information, as provided. The bill would require local educational agencies awarded funding under the Experienced Mentor Teacher Stipend Program to also partner with a commission-approved teacher preparation program to create an experienced mentor teacher recruitment and selection process accompanied by planned professional learning and support activities, as provided. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the education and policy committees of both houses of the Legislature certain information regarding the Experienced Mentor Teacher Stipend Program, as provided.
Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, administered by the State Department of Education, with the purpose of encouraging, maintaining, and strengthening the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs. Existing law requires, for the 2021–22 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, $300,000,000 to be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the program. Existing law requires a grant applicant to demonstrate a proportional dollar-for-dollar match and sets that amount at $2 for every $1 received from the program. Existing law prohibits an applicant from being awarded an amount higher than the amount that the allocation formula determines the applicant to be eligible to receive under the program. Existing law authorizes a grant recipient under the program to consist of one or more, or any combination, of school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by joint powers authorities or county offices of education, as provided. Existing law provides that an applicant receiving a grant from the program in a prior fiscal year is eligible to apply to receive a renewal grant if the applicant's career technical education program continues to meet specified requirements, as provided. This bill would delete the prohibition against an applicant being awarded more than the amount determined by the allocation formula and would instead provide that an applicant receiving a grant from the program in a prior fiscal year is required to receive a renewal grant for at least 3 additional years, as provided. The bill would require the Superintendent to cease distribution of funding and recover previously distributed funding if certain conditions occur, including, among others, that the grant recipient did not implement the program substantively as was initially proposed, as provided.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the office of the Chancellor of the California State University, and requests the office of the President of the University of California, on or before July 1, 2022, to conduct a needs assessment to determine the projected student housing needs, by campus, for the 2022–23 fiscal year to the 2026–27 fiscal year, inclusive, and create a student housing plan, with a focus on affordable student housing, that outlines how they will meet the projected student housing needs, by campus, as provided. Existing law also requires the chancellor's office, and requests the president's office, to, every 3 years after July 1, 2022, review and update the student housing plan, and include the specific actions to be taken in the next 5 fiscal years. This bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California State University, on or before July 1, 2027, to convene a working group to develop recommendations, identify opportunities, and support the sharing of best practices related to student housing, including intersegmental student housing, as provided. The bill would require the working group to include representatives designated by the office of the Chancellor of the California State University, the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and the statewide student organizations for the California State University and the California Community Colleges. The bill would request the office of the President of the University of California to participate in the working group and designate representatives and, upon such participation, would require the statewide student organization for the University of California to designate representatives to serve on the working group. This bill would require the working group to consult with representatives from campuses that have pursued intersegmental student housing projects and representatives from campus and system-level offices responsible for, among other things, housing operations and facilities development. The bill would require the working group to submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on or before July 1, 2028, that includes, among other things, recommendations related to assessing and determining unmet student housing need and recommended best practices and implementation supports for campuses interested in pursuing intersegmental student housing development. This bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2029.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school to, no later than July 1, 2026, develop and adopt, and update every 5 years, a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that local educational agency. Under existing law, a pupil shall not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone under specified circumstances, including, among others, when the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupil's individualized education program. This bill, commencing July 1, 2028, would require the above-described policy to continue to apply only to pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school that serves pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to, no later than July 1, 2028, develop and adopt a policy that prohibits the use of smartphones by those pupils while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that local educational agency, as provided. The bill, commencing July 1, 2028, would prohibit instruction provided to pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, from requiring the use of a smartphone by a pupil. The bill, commencing January 1, 2027, would require (1) a pupil in any grade to also be allowed to possess or use a smartphone when the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupil's plan developed pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and (2) a policy adopted or updated pursuant to these provisions be included in a pupil handbook, if one is provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2029, to submit to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, and post on their internet website, a report that contains (1) a description of the pupil smartphone policies of at least 30 selected local educational agencies that have provided consent to participate and that are representative of the demographic and geographic diversity of the state, including a copy of each policy, as provided, (2) the results of a survey of those local educational agencies, which the bill would require the department to conduct, and (3) recommended best practices for future local educational agency pupil smartphone use policies. The bill would authorize the department to collaborate with specified organizations with relevant expertise in preparing the report. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2033. 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.
Existing law establishes the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations and requires the division, among other things, to evaluate apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs to ensure that the program evaluated is complying with its standards, as specified. Existing law requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform various functions with respect to apprenticeship programs and the welfare of apprentices. This bill would establish the Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program to be administered by the division and would authorize the division to work with the State Department of Education and the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges in order to, among other things, identify resources to support youth apprenticeships. The bill would require a program applicant for a Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program to submit documentation to the chief, as specified. The bill would require the chief, before approving a Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program, to present the application, as described, to the State Department of Education to review whether specified requirements are met. The bill would authorize the chief, among other things, to issue rules and regulations that govern Career Apprenticeship Bridge Programs, as specified.
Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined, have a meaningful opportunity to meet the challenging state pupil academic achievement standards to which all pupils are held. Existing law requires educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and the juvenile courts to work together to maintain stable school placements and to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least restrictive educational programs and has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils, as provided. This bill would require the State Department of Education to administer formula grants as part of a pilot program, to be known as the Unaccompanied Youth Support Grant Program, for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide supports necessary to improve school attendance, pupil engagement, pupil graduation rates, and pupil wellbeing for unaccompanied youth, as defined, who are 16 or 17 years of age, including connecting youth with resources to find stable housing. The bill would require, subject to an appropriation and subject to specified allocation metrics, 5-year grants that commence with the 2028–29 fiscal year, to be awarded by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to local educational agencies, or consortia of local educational agencies, to support unaccompanied youth, and would require grant funds to be used for, among other things, referrals to existing social services support systems, and providing basic needs and educational support services, as specified. The bill would require, to be eligible to apply for a grant under the program, a local educational agency to have identified at least one unaccompanied youth enrolled during the prior fiscal year, as specified. The bill would require local educational agencies applying for grant funds under the program to submit an application that includes, among other things, a description of how grant funds will be used to identify eligible pupils, the types of supports to be provided based on the eligible uses of grant funds, and the performance measures the local educational agency will use to measure progress towards program goals. The bill would require local educational agencies awarded grant funds under the program to submit annual reports to the department that include, among other things, a description of the expenditure of funds and the number and characteristics of unaccompanied youth served.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the board to appoint a chief executive officer, known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, under the administration of community college district governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at the community college campuses they operate. Existing law establishes the Part-Time Community College Faculty Health Insurance Program, which authorizes the governing board of a community college district to provide a program of health insurance for part-time faculty, multidistrict part-time faculty, and their dependents. Existing law requires the chancellor, by June 15 of each year, to apportion to each community college that establishes a program an amount that equals up to12 of the total cost of the individual premiums required to be paid for the health insurance coverage of participating part-time faculty, multidistrict part-time faculty, and their dependents, and to apportion any remaining funds to each community college district that establishes a program and meets certain criteria, up to the total cost of the individual premiums required to be paid for the health insurance coverage of the participants, as provided. If funds appropriated for purposes of the program remain after those apportionments, existing law requires that the balance revert to the General Fund annually, as specified. This bill would instead require that the balance be deposited into the Part-Time Community College Faculty Health Insurance Program Fund, which the bill would create. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the chancellor for purposes of the above-described apportionments, as specified. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that, by January 1, 2030, each community college district commence negotiations with the exclusive representatives for part-time community college faculty to offer health insurance benefits to part-time and multidistrict part-time community college faculty and their eligible dependents.
(1) Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for school districts and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires funding pursuant to the local control funding formula to include a base grant that in each fiscal year is adjusted for inflation by the percentage change in the annual average value of the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services for the United States, as specified. If the inflation adjustment for the base grant for a school district or charter school is calculated to be less than 4%, this bill would require the inflation adjustment for the base grant for a school district or charter school to instead be 4%. The bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2030, to establish and publish on its internet website regional cost adjustment factors in order address regional cost differences in housing and labor, and, commencing with the 2030–31 fiscal year, would require the adjustment to the base grant, whether calculated by the inflation adjustment or 4%, as applicable, to be further adjusted by multiplying that calculation by the applicable regional cost adjustment factor. (2) Existing law requires the local control funding formula to include, in addition to the base grant, supplemental and concentration grant add-ons that are based on the percentage of pupils who are unduplicated pupils, as defined to include English learners, pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and foster youth, as specified. Existing law requires school districts and charter schools to annually report their enrollment of unduplicated pupils to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as specified, and requires county superintendents of schools to review and validate that pupil data, as provided. Existing law requires pupils who are classified in more than one of these groups to be counted only once for these purposes. The bill would add pupils experiencing homelessness, as defined, to the categories of pupils who are unduplicated pupils for purposes of determining eligibility for supplemental and concentration grants. The bill would place reporting requirements on school districts and charter schools to implement these provisions. By imposing additional duties on county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools related to reporting unduplicated pupils, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the supplemental grant add-on to be equal to 20% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils, as specified, and requires the concentration grant add-on to be equal to 65% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils in excess of 55% of the school district's or charter school's total enrollment, as specified. Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt regulations that govern the expenditure of funds apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils, as provided. This bill, commencing with the 2030–31 fiscal year, would require the supplemental grant add-on to instead be equal to 35% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils, as specified, and would require the concentration grant add-on to instead be equal to 65% of the base grants, as adjusted, for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils in excess of 45% of the school district's or charter school's total enrollment, as specified. The bill would establish transition adjustments for the 2025–26 fiscal year to the 2029–30 fiscal years, inclusive, to be calculated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for each school district and charter school based on increased funding that would have been generated by the changes to supplemental and concentration grant eligibility and percentages described above, as provided. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys necessary to implement those adjustments and would require the Superintendent to add those transition amounts to the school district's and charter school's local control funding formula amounts. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, would require any increase in apportionment to a school district or charter school due to the bill's changes to the local control funding formula to be demonstrated to be used to support additional services for the targeted pupil group. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill, commencing with the 2025–26 fiscal year, would prohibit each school district and charter school from receiving less state aid under the local control funding formula for the then current fiscal year than they received in the 2024–25 fiscal year under the local control funding formula, as calculated on a per average daily attendance basis. (4) Existing law requires the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature on the effects of changing the pupil count methodology of the local control funding formula from average daily attendance to pupil enrollment, as provided. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Legislature that studies the impact of the changes to the local control funding formula made by the bill within and between geographic regions of the state. (5) This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to develop recommendations for adequacy adjustments to the grade span adjusted base grants in order to address the unique costs for each grade span and to account for the revisions to supplemental and concentration grants described above, and to report those recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, as provided. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to fully transition the local control funding formula commencing with the 2030–31 fiscal year consistent with those recommendations. (6) 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. (7) 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.
