This bill designates March 22, 2026, as California STEAM Robotics Day to recognize the importance of robotics within science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education. The measure directly affects schools and educational organizations across the state by providing a specific date for them to host events or activities focused on robotics. It does not create new funding, change laws, or mandate specific actions, but rather serves as a formal proclamation to raise awareness about the field. The legislation was passed by the state legislature and signed into law as part of the 2026 statutes.
This measure would recognize February 2026 as the centennial anniversary of Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents of African Americans and the achievements and contributions they make to their communities to create equity and equality for education, economics, and social justice. The measure would recognize the significance in protecting the fundamental human rights enshrined in the United States Constitution and its Amendments, the United States Bill of Rights, and the California Constitution, as specified. The measure would also affirm the commitment of the Legislature all people are equal and shall be treated with respect and dignity and shall enjoy the equal application of the law for which the Legislature has been entrusted.
This Senate Resolution officially recognizes March 2, 2026, as Read Across America Day in California. The measure is sponsored by the Senate and aligns with the California Teachers Association to promote literacy and reading among students. It commemorates the national campaign that encourages participation from educators, families, and community leaders on Dr. Seuss's birthday. The resolution does not create new laws or funding but serves as a formal acknowledgment of the event's importance to education.
Existing federal law establishes the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program, under which pupils who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals receive $40 per month, with specified adjustments, during summer months for grocery benefits. Existing federal regulations require, by 2025, the designated state agency to make a Summer EBT application available to households whose children are enrolled in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program and who do not already have an individual eligibility determination. Existing state law requires the State Department of Social Services, as the lead agency in partnership with the State Department of Education, to maximize participation in the Summer EBT program. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and the county superintendent of schools to make paper applications for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils at all times during each regular schoolday. Existing law authorizes those entities to make an application electronically available online if the online application complies with certain requirements, including, among others, the inclusion of links to certain internet websites providing information on, and applications for, other government programs, such as CalFresh. This bill, the Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025, would require, upon an appropriation made by the Legislature, the State Department of Education, with support from the State Department of Social Services, to comply with the above-described federal regulations by developing, and providing families with, a statewide application that is made available through a single statewide internet website that enables families to submit federally required information relating to the Summer EBT program, as specified. The bill would require the internet website to, among other things, have the capability of routing a family's completed information to the family's local educational agency to determine Summer EBT eligibility. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, a county superintendent of schools, and the governing body of a charter school to make the above-described paper applications available if required by federal law and guidance, as specified. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, the governing body of a charter school, or a school food authority that provides an application online for free or reduced-price meals, as described above, to also provide links to the internet website providing information about the Summer EBT program. To the extent that the bill would create new duties for local educational agencies or county or other local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
This Senate Resolution designates February 2026 as Montessori Month in California to honor the educational contributions of Dr. Maria Montessori and the state's Montessori schools. The measure recognizes the Montessori Method's focus on child development, independence, and peace education, and acknowledges the presence of hundreds of public and private Montessori schools across the state. Additionally, the resolution encourages the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to work toward creating certification pathways for Montessori-trained educators to obtain Child Development Permits.
This Senate Resolution recognizes and celebrates school board members across California for their work in public education. It declares January 2026 as School Board Recognition Month to honor the dedication of nearly 5,000 locally elected school board members who serve on over 1,000 school districts and county offices of education. The resolution urges community members to support local school boards and work together to improve the education system for all children. This is a commemorative measure rather than a policy change, as it does not alter existing laws or regulations.
(1) Existing law establishes a system of elementary and secondary education in this state. This system consists of the public and private schools that provide instruction in kindergarten and in grades 1 to 12, inclusive. This bill would enact the School Choice Flex Account Act of 2025 and establish the School Choice Flex Account (SCFA) Trust, to be known as the SCFA Trust, as a fund within the State Treasury to be administered by the SCFA Trust Board. For the 2027–28 to 2030–31, inclusive, school years, the bill would authorize certain children eligible to be enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to establish an SCFA or Special Education Flex Account (SEFA) , based on parent or guardian income. The bill would, beginning with the 2031–32 school year, authorize every child eligible to be enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to establish an SCFA or SEFA. The bill would credit a deposit amount to the account of every eligible student enrolled in an eligible school for tuition and certain school expenses. The bill would specify the deposit amounts for the 2027–28 school year, and require the Department of Finance, beginning on July 1, 2028, to determine the SCFA and SEFA deposit amounts annually for the upcoming school year, as provided. The bill would require the Controller to transfer an amount of money from the General Fund to the SCFA Trust in those amounts. The bill would require any unused funds remaining in an SCFA or SEFA account on June 30 of each school year to be returned to the state for the benefit of elementary and secondary education, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would specify the membership of the SCFA Trust Board and would vest the SCFA Trust Board with certain powers and duties. The bill would establish 2 accounts within the SCFA Trust, the SCFA Trust Program Account and the SCFA Trust Administrative Account, and would continuously appropriate the moneys in the program account to the SCFA Trust Board for purposes of the bill, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a procedure for the parents and legal guardians of eligible students to apply to establish an SCFA or SEFA and submit an executed participation agreement. The bill would authorize the SCFA Trust Board to disburse funds from SCFAs or SEFAs to eligible schools, defined as private full-time day schools accredited by, or, except as provided, awaiting accreditation from, a regional accrediting agency recognized by the state or the United States Department of Education. The bill would specify the procedures for participating eligible schools to receive funds disbursed by the SCFA Trust Board. (2) 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 based on one of 3 tests in any given fiscal year, one of which is based on the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts, respectively, in the 1986–87 fiscal year, and 2 of which are based on, among other things, changes in enrollment. This bill would require the Legislature to recalculate that minimum education funding guarantee by including eligible students not enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school before the operative date of the act in those minimum funding guarantee calculations based on average daily attendance, as provided. The bill would also require the costs of providing SCFA and SEFA deposit amounts for eligible students to be apportioned between the General Fund and the public school district in which those eligible students reside in the same ratio of General Fund and local property tax revenue that would have been used to educate those eligible students in their public school district. (3) The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income for purposes of computing tax liability. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, exclude from gross income any amounts received as distribution from an SCFA or SEFA, as defined, as part of a participation agreement. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. (4) These provisions would become operative on January 1, 2027, and only if Senate Constitutional Amendment ____ of the 2025–26 Regular Session is approved by the voters at the statewide general election on November 4, 2026.
(1) 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 permits a school district to apply for hardship assistance in cases of extraordinary circumstances. The act requires, for health and safety projects for school facilities that are determined by the Department of General Services to pose an unacceptable risk of injury to occupants in the event of a seismic event, a school district to demonstrate that certain conditions are satisfied, including that the school facilities are needed to ensure the health and safety of pupils if the health and safety of pupils is at risk. This bill would apply the above-described provisions to health and safety projects for school facilities that are determined by the Department of General Services to pose an unacceptable risk of injury to occupants in the event of a wildfire, flood, or other state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, and would specify that the above-described condition includes ending the disruption to the delivery of educational services due to damage to, or destruction of, school facilities. The bill, for projects approved under these provisions, would authorize a school district to employ any project delivery method authorized under existing law to support concurrent coordination and approval by the State Department of Education, the State Architect, and the State Allocation Board for expedited permitting, approval, and construction processes, and would authorize those state agencies to use machine learning to automate nondiscretionary aspects of those processes. The bill would also authorize a school district to use machine learning to prepare documents and materials for the permitting process for these projects. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to take specified actions relating to the construction of school facilities, including to establish standards for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities are educationally appropriate and promote school safety. This bill would require the department, the Division of the State Architect, the Office of Public School Construction, and the State Allocation Board, beginning July 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, to engage the Government Operations Agency to collaboratively review the processes relating to school design and construction to identify short-term, intermediate, and long-term improvements that can be made to those processes. The bill would require those entities, on or before December 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, to submit a report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature that identifies process changes to streamline how local educational agencies receive the approval required for school construction and secure state funding. The bill would require the report required on or before December 1, 2026, to also address specified priorities, including, among other things, implementation of specific timeframes for the Division of the State Architect to review submitted proposals and the development of an alternative project delivery method specific to the need to expedite school reconstruction and repair in the aftermath of an emergency.
Existing law, known as the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, provides that the act's purpose is to increase California community college student access and success by providing effective core matriculation services, including orientation, assessment and placement, counseling, and other education planning services, and academic interventions. This bill would require, as part of the act, community colleges to provide, commencing with the 2026–27 academic year, students with specified information related to completing and submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the California Dream Act application, and to confirm, commencing with the 2027–28 academic year, that students who have not opted out have completed and submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act application, as specified. The bill would require community college districts to ensure that students are directed to services to assist students in complying with the bill's requirements, and that the information shared by students is handled in compliance with state and federal privacy laws. The bill would require the Student Aid Commission to adopt regulations that include model opt-out forms and acceptable use policies, as specified. By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 requires each school district, county superintendent of schools, and charter school to make available a nutritionally adequate breakfast, as defined, and a nutritionally adequate lunch, as defined, free of charge during each schoolday to any pupil who requests a meal, without consideration of the pupil's eligibility for a federally funded free or reduced-price meal, as provided. Existing law defines "schoolday" for these purposes to mean any day that pupils in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, are present at a schoolsite for purposes of instruction or educational activities, including, among other things, pupil attendance at summer school, including incoming kindergarten pupils, as provided. This bill would, contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes and to the extent authorized by federal law, require the State Department of Education to establish a process for state reimbursement, adjusted annually for inflation, for federal summer meal program operators, as defined, for meals served to guardians of eligible pupils receiving a meal pursuant to a summer meal program, as provided. The bill would require the department to develop related guidance, as specified, and, if necessary, to apply for a waiver of federal law to secure federal reimbursement for these meals. The bill would require the department to distribute information about the federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Program to guardians whose children are eligible for specified summer food programs. The bill would require a guardian of an eligible pupil to be present at the summer meal program site in order for the summer meal program operator to receive state-funded reimbursement for that meal, unless noncongregate rules are in place. The bill would require summer meal program operators receiving state-funded reimbursement to report to the department the number of meals served to guardians by meal site no later than 30 days after the end of summer meal site operations.
