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.
Existing law establishes a single system for providing support to local educational agencies and schools and for specified federal educational programs. Existing law provides that the purpose of the statewide system of support is to build the capacity of local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law requires the State Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to establish a process, administered by the department, to select, subject to approval by the executive director of the State Board of Education, an expert lead agency based on specific expertise in an area of need to conduct activities and build statewide capacity to address that area of need within the statewide system of support, as well as geographic lead agencies for other specified purposes, as provided. This bill, contingent upon an appropriation for these purposes, would require the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, on or before July 1, 2026, to select an applicant county office of education to serve as a Statewide School Library Lead to work collaboratively with the State Board of Education, the department, and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, among others, to establish library and literacy services that support the statewide system of support. The bill would require the selected county office of education to employ at least one fully credentialed teacher librarian. The bill would specify that the Statewide School Library Lead's duties include, among other things, enhancing the state's investment in literacy and aligning those efforts with the California Comprehensive State Literacy Plan and working directly with school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to build capacity to develop excellent school library services and accelerate literacy and learning, including coordinating support, providing direct technical assistance, and delivering professional learning.
Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education. Existing law, the Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A Entitlement Awards, the Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Expanded Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the commission. Existing law establishes eligibility requirements for awards under the Cal Grant Program for participating students attending qualifying postsecondary educational institutions, and prescribes requirements that postsecondary educational institutions must comply with in order to be a qualifying postsecondary educational institution for purposes of the Cal Grant Program, including, among others, certain disclosure requirements. This bill would require, on or before April 1, 2026, the commission to convene a workgroup. The bill would require the workgroup to include, but not be limited to, the commission, all segments of postsecondary education, student organizations, and experts. The bill would require the workgroup to identify the common terms, definitions, and structure of financial aid offer letters sent by postsecondary educational institutions, and would require, on or before July 1, 2027, the workgroup to create a financial aid offer letter template. The bill would also require, on or before July 1, 2027, the workgroup to submit a report to the Legislature that includes the financial aid offer letter template. The bill would require, as part of the criteria to be a qualifying institution under the Cal Grant Program, an institution, by the start of the 2028–29 academic year, to use the financial aid offer letter template for all conditional offers of attendance, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district or a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school, as provided. Existing law provides that the minimum schoolday in any 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 specified. This bill would additionally reduce the 240-minute minimum schoolday to instead be 180 minutes of attendance for a pupil enrolled under a CCAP partnership if the pupil is also enrolled in a community college, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Instructional School Gardens Program for the promotion, creation, and support of instructional school gardens through the allocation of grants, and through technical assistance provided, to school districts, charter schools, or county offices of education. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to administer the program, as provided. This bill would revise and recast the Instructional School Gardens Program by, among other things, reestablishing the program under the administration of the Department of Food and Agriculture for the promotion, creation, and support of instructional school gardens through the allocation of grants and the provision of technical assistance to support instructional school garden programming in school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. The bill would require the department to convene a working group consisting of the department, the State Department of Education, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and instructional school garden community-based organizations. The bill would require the working group to advise and assist the Department of Food and Agriculture in carrying out the program, as provided. The bill would establish the Instructional School Gardens and Maintenance Fund in the State Treasury and would require moneys in the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for purposes of the program, as specified. This bill, contingent upon an appropriation or receipt of sufficient private funds, as specified, for its purposes, would require the department, on or before July 1, 2026, and in consultation with the working group, to develop a competitive grant process, including selection criteria, goals, prioritizations, and guidelines, for purposes of the program, as provided. The bill would require eligible applicants to be local educational agencies or other entities that have an established track record of operating outdoor, experiential learning programs in schools and that are in partnership, as defined, with at least one local educational agency, and would require applicants to designate one of 2 grant categories for each proposed schoolsite, as provided, and to submit a plan and measurable outcomes for a program of experiential, outdoor instruction that meet specified requirements. Before developing the competitive grant process, the bill would require the department to hold at least 2 public meetings to gather public input on the development of the competitive grant process.
