On June 1, the Assembly and Senate announced their response to the Governor’s May Budget Revision. This announcement reflects the Legislature’s stance as they begin their negotiations with the Gov. Gavin Newsom on the 2022–23 state budget.
The following is a breakdown of the Legislature’s budget plan:
- Local Control Funding Formula
- Increases the LCFF base grant by $6.6 billion, which is approximately $4.5 billion above the Governor’s proposed $2.1 billion increase.
- Rejects the CSBA and ACSA proposal for COVID ADA Relief but adopts the Governor’s January budget proposal on declining enrollment by including the average of three prior years’ average daily attendance for funding. Also provides a one-year ADA protection for classroom-based charter schools.
- Provides an unspecified increase in LCFF funding for county offices of education.
- Expands the definition of low-income to those who meet 250 percent of the federal poverty level and adds homeless students to unduplicated pupil counts.
- School transportation
- Rejects CSBA’s proposal to adequately fund home-to-school transportation as proposed in Assembly Bill 2933 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach) by proposing a new weighted funding formula for school transportation with an additional $1.2 billion.
- Requires all local educational agencies offer transportation services to students in TK-6 and low-income students by 2027–28 and repeals pupil fees.
- Maintains the Governor’s proposal to provide $1.5 billion in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for the purchase of zero- and low-emission vehicles manufactured by high-road employers.
- After-school Education and Safety (ASES) Program & Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP)
- Maintains the Governor’s proposed budget funding levels for the ELOP for total program funding of $4.4 billion ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund.
- Collapses and renames the programs as the California Universal Afterschool and ELO Program funding LEAs that must offer the program to all students at $3,000 per unduplicated pupil and funds LEAs that must offer the program to half of their unduplicated students at $1,500 per unduplicated pupil. Also adds a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) at full implementation.
- Learning Recovery Discretionary Block Grant
- Increases the Governor’s May Budget Revision proposal by $500 million to $8.5 billion in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund and specifies that it be allocated on a per-pupil basis and available for use for up to seven years. Also specifies that funds shall be used for personnel-related costs.
- Career & college readiness
- Reduces the Governor’s May Revise proposal from $1.5 billion to $700 million in college and career readiness initiatives.
- Transitional kindergarten
- Approves the Governor’s proposal to expand eligibility for transitional kindergarten and reduce student-to-adult ratios.
- Provides an additional $300 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for PreKindergarten Planning and Implementation Grants.
- Provides an additional $650 million in non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Full-Day Kindergarten Facility Program.
- Arts, Music, Instructional Materials, and Libraries Block Grant
- Collapses the Governor’s proposed grant programs into a single $1.1 billion block grant using one-time Proposition 98 General Fund. LEAs may use the funds for learning tools in arts, music, instructional materials and multilingual library books.
- School facilities
- Augments the Governor’s proposals for the School Facilities Program by $1 billion General Fund and ensures that facility funds are available through 2026.
- Universal school meals
- Approves the Governor’s proposal to increase reimbursement rates for school meals under the state’s new universal school meals program and provides the Department of Finance the authority to approve mid-year funding adjustments if needed.
