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.
Existing law establishes the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The Donahoe Higher Education Act prohibits the campuses of those segments from charging mandatory systemwide tuition or fees to specified students who apply for a waiver, including a child of any veteran of the United States military who has a service-connected disability, has been killed in service, or has died of a service-connected disability, an undergraduate student who is a recipient of a Medal of Honor, or an undergraduate student who is a child of a recipient of a Medal of Honor and who is no more than 27 years of age, if certain requirements are satisfied. This bill would additionally prohibit the campuses of the University of California and California State University from charging tuition or fees for specified students who enroll in an extended education course if certain requirements are satisfied and the extended education course is being used to meet the requirements of an undergraduate degree program. The bill would apply to the campuses of the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make it apply. Existing law establishes various student financial aid programs under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, including the California Military Department GI Bill Award Program. Existing law requires a qualifying member of the California National Guard, the State Guard, or the Naval Militia that receives an award under the program to, among other things, agree to use the award to obtain a certificate, degree, or diploma that the person does not hold at the time they apply for the award. Existing law authorizes the award to be used to obtain one baccalaureate, graduate, or doctoral degree or a certificate, degree, or diploma that leads to a baccalaureate, graduate, or doctoral degree. This bill would authorize the award to also be used for an extended education course at a campus of the University of California or the California State University if the extended education course is being used to meet the requirements of an undergraduate degree program.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Serves Program under the administration of the State Department of Education, in collaboration with CaliforniaVolunteers, for purposes of promoting access to effective service learning for pupils in grade 12 who are enrolled at participating local educational agencies. Existing law requires the department, in partnership with CaliforniaVolunteers, to review available evidence on ways to incorporate effective service learning for pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, develop model uniform metrics for the measurement of pupil progress, provide recommendations to the Legislature on, and post on the department's and CaliforniaVolunteers' internet websites information related to, evidence-based strategies to expand access to high-quality service learning programs, as provided. Existing law, commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year, appropriates $5,000,000 from the General Fund, each fiscal year, to the department to award grants of up to $500,000 annually to local educational agencies in which at least 55% of enrolled pupils are unduplicated pupils, as defined, to be used for, among other things, the purchase of instructional materials and participation and personnel costs, as provided. This bill would expand the California Serves Program to promote access to effective service learning for pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, who are enrolled at participating local educational agencies. By expanding the purposes of ongoing appropriations, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require the department, in partnership with CaliforniaVolunteers, on or before January 1, 2027, to (A) review available evidence on ways to incorporate effective service learning for pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, (B) develop model uniform metrics for the measurement of pupil progress for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and (C) provide recommendations to the Legislature on, and post on the department's and CaliforniaVolunteers' internet websites information related to, evidence-based strategies to expand access to high-quality service learning programs for grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided. (2) Existing law establishes the State Seal of Civic Engagement to recognize pupils who have demonstrated excellence in civics education and participation and have demonstrated an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government, as provided. This bill would require school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to implement a Civic Engagement Pathway Program for pupils in grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to increase pupil awareness and civic engagement in democratic governmental institutions at the local, state, and national levels, and to provide civic learning resources and support for teachers to implement that programming. The bill would require the Civic Engagement Pathway Program to provide opportunities for pupils in grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to engage in civic engagement experiences with governmental institutions that are supportive of pupils earning the State Seal of Civic Engagement, as provided. The bill also would encourage those local educational agencies to establish local recognition programs to recognize pupils participating in a Civic Engagement Pathway Program based on locally developed criteria. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the State Board of Education and the department to request that the Instructional Quality Commission review and revise, as necessary, the course requirements in the history-social science framework, as specified. Existing law requires, whenever the history-social science framework is revised as required by law, the commission to, among other things, consider how civics and history instruction, at all appropriate grade levels, includes, in addition to the acquisition of content knowledge, the application of that content to develop the competence and skills needed for civic engagement. This bill would require the commission to include civic engagement experiences with governmental institutions that are supportive of pupils earning the State Seal of Civic Engagement, as provided, when making the above-described consideration regarding civics and history instruction. (4) 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.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, in an amount equal to the unreimbursed amount paid or incurred by a qualified teacher during the taxable year for instructional materials and classroom supplies, as defined, not to exceed $250. The bill would define qualified teacher as a teacher in a public, charter, or private school offering instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for at least 900 hours during a school year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax law, excludes from the gross income distributions to a beneficiary of, and earnings by a contributor to, a qualified tuition program, which includes a Golden State Scholarshare College Savings Trust, if specified conditions are met. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, would allow under that law a deduction against gross income in the amount equal to the monetary contribution made by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, to the California qualified tuition program established pursuant to the Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act not to exceed either $5,000 or $10,000, as provided. The bill would require, with exceptions, in the case of any distribution in excess of qualified higher education expenses, as defined, that the aggregate amount of the deduction allowed that reduced the qualified taxpayer's gross income in any taxable year be added to the gross income of the qualified taxpayer in the taxable year of the distribution, as provided. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax deduction to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax deduction will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill would make specified findings detailing the goals, purposes, and objectives of the above-described tax deduction, performance indicators for determining whether the deduction meets those goals, purposes, and objectives, and data collection requirements. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income. Existing law, known as the Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act, establishes the Golden State Scholarshare College Savings Trust (Scholarshare trust) , under the administration of the Scholarshare Investment Board, to provide financial aid for postsecondary education costs of participating students. Existing state and federal law generally includes in gross income distributions from a qualified tuition program, as defined to include the Scholarshare trust, except as provided. Existing federal law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, excludes from gross income, for federal income tax purposes, distributions from a qualified tuition program that are made after December 31, 2023, and are paid in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to a Roth IRA, as described. This bill would exempt from gross income distribution made from a long-term qualified tuition program during the taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2030, that are paid in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to a Roth IRA, and would conform state tax law to those changes relating to federal law, as described above. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law establishes uniform residency requirements for purposes of ascertaining the amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students of public postsecondary educational institutions. Existing law requires a student classified as a nonresident to pay nonresident tuition, in addition to other fees required by the institution, except as provided. This bill, the California Community Colleges Access and Continuity for Deported Students Act, would, until January 1, 2030, exempt a community college student from paying nonresident tuition if the student departs the United States on or after January 1, 2025, for specified reasons, was not paying nonresident tuition at the time of departure, provides an attestation of specified information related to the departure, and reenrolls in a community college online education program no later than 3 years from the date the student departed the United States. The bill, until January 1, 2030, would require a deported student, as defined, who resumes in-person education at a community college to be eligible to retain residency status for the purpose of determining tuition and fees, provided the student was previously classified as a resident and eligible for the nonresident tuition exemption at the time of departure, and would require the student to be eligible to apply for financial aid upon reenrollment. To the extent that the bill would impose 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the World Language Teacher Exchange and Recruitment Law of 1963, requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules and regulations under which teachers employed by California school districts may exchange positions with teachers in schools in other countries for a period of one year or less. Existing law requires the arrangements for the exchanges to be made through the State Department of Education and in cooperation with the teacher exchange programs administered by agencies of the federal government. This bill would require the state board's rules and regulations for the exchanges to (1) expressly provide for exchanges with Mexico, (2) apply to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, and (3) authorize specified visa sponsors designated by the United States Department of State, in addition to the State Department of Education, to sponsor teachers from Mexico for placement in California school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to promote cultural exchange for specified purposes.
Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires the local control funding formula, in part, to be based on average daily attendance, as defined. For purposes of state apportionments based on average daily attendance, as provided, if the average daily attendance of a school district, county office of education, or charter school has been materially decreased during a fiscal year because of a specified type of emergency, existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to estimate the average daily attendance in a manner that credits to the school district, county office of education, or charter school the total average daily attendance that would have been credited had the emergency not occurred, as provided. This bill would, until July 1, 2029, add an immigration enforcement activity, as defined, to the list of emergencies for which the above-described provisions related to calculating average daily attendance for purposes of state apportionments apply, as provided. The bill would, for purposes of these provisions related to calculating average daily attendance for purposes of state apportionments, prohibit a school district, county office of education, or charter school from being credited for more than 10 days of missed attendance for a pupil due to an immigration enforcement activity. For affidavits submitted to the Superintendent for emergency events occurring after September 1, 2021, but on or before June 30, 2026, that resulted in a school closure or material decrease in attendance, existing law requires a school district, county office of education, or charter school that provides an affidavit to the Superintendent to certify that it has a plan for which independent study will be offered to pupils, as provided, and requires that plan to comply with certain requirements, including, among other things, that independent study is offered to any impacted pupil within 10 instructional days of the first day of a school closure or material decrease in attendance. This bill would, for affidavits submitted to the Superintendent for an immigration enforcement activity that occurred on or after January 1, 2025, but on or before June 30, 2026, that resulted in a school closure or material decrease in attendance, require a school district, county office of education, or charter school that provides an affidavit to the Superintendent to additionally require the independent study plan to either (1) require the offering of live interaction or synchronous instruction to pupils, as provided, or (2) provide a description of both the extenuating circumstances that prevent the offering of live interaction or synchronous instruction and a description of what pupil engagement, services, and instruction will be provided to support pupils during or immediately after the period of closure or material decrease in attendance. The bill would, as applied to the above-described provisions for calculating average daily attendance for purposes of state apportionments and related affidavits certifying independent study plans, exempt from the California Public Records Act any documentation related to an immigration enforcement activity submitted to the Superintendent by a school district, charter school, county office of education, or county superintendent of schools, as provided. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2029, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2030. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution prohibits the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable. This bill would state that the California State University, the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions may consider providing a preference in admissions to an applicant who is a descendant of slavery, as defined, to the extent it does not conflict with federal law.
