AB 181 – Provides $25 Million In New Funding For K-12 Education Programs

AB 181 provides for statutory changes necessary to enact the K-12 statutory provisions of the Budget Act of 2022. AB 181 took effect immediately upon approval of the Governor on June 30, 2022. The bill makes the following appropriations and statutory changes:

1. Amends existing law to include a county superintendent of schools in a county where the county board of education serves as the governing board of any school district under its jurisdiction to be included in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Provides for an overall ongoing $101.2 million in Proposition 98 General Fund for county offices of education through their LCFF allocation. The bill requires the Superintendent to add $100,000 per charter school determined to be in need of differentiated assistance to each county superintendent of the school’s LCFF allocation.
2. Increases ongoing LCFF funding by $9.0 billion, including a 13% base increase to the formula, $637 million in increases to the Home to School Transportation, and $500 million in Special Education funding.
3. Extends the deadline for the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a standardized English language teacher observation protocol for use by teachers in evaluating a pupil’s English language proficiency, by one year, to December 31, 2023.
4. Amends existing law to require the county office of education to pay 75% of fees charged by the Superintendent for administrative expenses or costs involved in reviewing and confirming the county office of education will meet its budget, and requires the Superintendent to cover the other 25%.
5. Provides $300 million in additional one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for additional PreKindergarten Planning and Implementation Grants, including operational costs.
6. Provides $650 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for the California Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten, and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program. Grant funds may be used to construct new school facilities or retrofit existing school facilities for providing transitional kindergarten classrooms, full-day kindergarten classrooms, or preschool classrooms. Also clarifies that community colleges that operate preschool programs on behalf of county offices of education or school districts can apply for funds for this program.
7. Amends the California Community Schools Partnership Act to extend the expenditure and encumbrance period by 3 years, make changes to the definition of qualifying entity, removes the authority to issue coordination grants and instead authorize extensions of implementation grants to LEA implementation grantees, revise priority criteria, and revise program evaluation requirements. Requires up to $1.4 million of the appropriated money to be allocated to county offices of education serving at least 2 qualifying entities receiving grant funding pursuant to the act to coordinate county-level governmental, nonprofit community-based organizations, and other external partnerships to support community school implementation at grant recipients in their county, including by designating a county-level community schools liaison, as provided. Provides an additional $1.1 billion in Proposition 98 General Fund to support the grant extensions provided.
8. Starting in 2022-2023, allows school districts to receive 60% of their reimbursed costs for the home-to-school transportation programs as a continuous apportionment. Also requires governing boards to develop and adopt a plan to provide transportation services to its students, and prohibits LEAs from charging a fee for unduplicated pupils.
9. Expands transitional kindergarten eligibility, consistent with the 2021 Budget, and rebenches the Proposition 98 guarantee to accommodate enrollment increases, estimated at $611 million in Proposition 98 General Fund. Also reduces the adult-to-student ratio for transitional kindergarten, at an estimated cost of $383 million in Proposition 98 General Fund.
10. Amends existing law by eliminating the number of deferments a county board of education can provide a school district that has been organized for more than 3 years and is lapsed. For purposes of this article, a lapse occurs if the number of registered electors in the school district is less than six or if the average daily attendance of pupils in the school or schools maintained by the school district is less than six in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, or is less than 11 in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
11. Provides $200 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund over the next five years to expand dual enrollment planning and implementation opportunities coupled with student advising and support services.
12. Authorizes the use of funds allocated to the Educator Effectiveness Block Grant to fund coursework that would allow existing staff to become credentialed or fully credentialed for their assignment, costs reasonably related to providing and attending professional learning, and strategies to improve beginning teacher retention and support through teacher induction programs. Extends the deadline for developing an expenditure plan and reporting requirements related to the block grant.
13. Amends existing law authorizing the Orange County Department of Education to grant Multi-tiered Systems of Support to be awarded as grants to LEAs on or before December 15, 2022.
14. Provides $200 million for the CDE, in consultation with the office of the Chancellor of the CCC, to administer a competitive grant program to enable LEAs to establish opportunities for pupils to obtain college credits while enrolled in high school and provide dual enrollment opportunities, by January 1, 2023. Authorizes LEAs to apply for one-time grants of up to $250,000 to support the costs to plan for, and start-up, a middle college or early college high school that is located on the campus of an LEA, a partnering community college, or other location determined by the local partnership. Also authorizes LEAs to apply for one-time grants of up to $100,000 to establish a California Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership.
15. Provides $500 million to CDE to competitively award grant funds to school districts, charter schools, county offices of education, or regional occupational centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority, or county office of education. Also authorizes community college districts to partner with LEAs to submit applications to receive funding to support the offering of a Golden State Pathways Program. Requires grant applicants to, among other things, commit to providing high school pupils with various academic and career development opportunities, as provided. Conditions grant eligibility on certain funding commitments, alignment with the priorities and activities of the grantee’s local control and accountability plan, and data collection, as provided. Authorizes the Superintendent to award up to 10% of the total grant funds as consortium development and planning grants and no less than 85% of the total grant funds as implementation grants, as provided. Also authorizes the department to use up to 5% of the total appropriation to contract with up to 10 local educational agencies for the provision of technical assistance to local educational agencies, applicants, and grant recipients.
16. Amends existing law to require the governing board of a school district to exempt parents and guardians of pupils who are unduplicated pupils instead of exempting indigent pupils.
17. Repeals outdated code sections related to home-to-school transportation provisions.
18. Extends additional relief provided under AB 1840 (2018) to Oakland Unified School District and Inglewood Unified School District. The bill conditions the release of funds on certain requirements.
19. Provides 2021-2022 average daily attendance (ADA) protections for LEAs that can demonstrate they provided independent study offerings to students. Also revises the calculation of a school district’s average daily attendance.
20. Commencing with the 2022–23 fiscal year revise the funding bands used to compute necessary small schools and high schools entitlements to provide qualifying small schools with the greater of either their computed LCFF entitlement or their computed necessary small schools entitlement.
21. Amends existing reporting requirements for the A-G Completion Improvement Grant Program.
22. Revises the Integrated Teacher Preparation Program, to promote four-year teacher credential and degree initiatives.
23. Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Commission) to plan grants of up to $250,000 each to regionally accredited institutions of higher education to develop plans for the creation of integrated programs of professional preparation that lead to more credentialed teachers with an emphasis on identified shortage fields. Requires the Commission to award implementation or expansion grants of up to $500,000 each for regionally accredited institutions of higher education to develop new programs of professional preparation or to establish a new partnership with a California community college. Makes these grant programs contingent upon the appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
24. Provides additional funding to the Teacher Residency Grant Program established in the 2021 Budget in the amount of $184 million in a one-time Proposition 98 General Fund. This additional allocation provides for a total increase of $250 million in Proposition 98 General fund and expands eligibility to school counselors. Also extends the sunset deadline by one year to 2030.
25. Provides $20 million for a state technical assistance center for teacher residency programs.
26. Amends the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy program to require the Department of Education and the collaborative to establish criteria and measures to assess the performance of the grantees and authorizes the collaborative to enter into contracts to assist with program evaluation.
27. Provides an additional ongoing $3 billion in Proposition 98 General Fund for the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, for total program expenditures of $4 billion in ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund for after-school and summer options for all pupils. Provides grant amounts of $2,750 per unduplicated pupil in schools required to offer services to all students, and $1,250 per unduplicated pupil in schools required to serve half their low-income, foster-youth, and dual-language-learner students.
28. Amends existing law to extend the definition of an acquiring charter school by 2 years until July 1, 2025, and the charter school will no longer be regarded as a continuing charter school.
29. Commencing with the 2022–23 school year requires the Superintendent to withhold from the school district’s or charter school’s LCFF funds if they fail to comply with the requirements imposed on early childhood programs.
30. Amends existing law to eliminate the requirement that the CDE revise its illness verification regulations, as necessary, to account for including a pupil’s absence for the benefit of the pupil’s mental or behavioral health.
31. Amends the definition of “foster youth” to include the following two definitions: (a) a child who has been removed from their home pursuant to the temporary custody provisions of the juvenile dependency law; and (b) a child who is the subject of a juvenile wardship or dependency petition, whether or not the child has been removed from their home.
32. Requires an LEA to exempt an individual with exceptional needs who satisfy specified eligibility criteria from all coursework and other requirements adopted by the governing board or governing body of the LEA that is additional to the above-described coursework requirements and to award the pupil a diploma of graduation from high school.
33. Establishes California Serves Program to expand access for high school graduates in obtaining a State Seal of Civil Engagement through service learning.
34. Revises various provisions of Independent Study to clarify requirements for special education students, synchronous instruction allowance, and chronic attendance triggers for tiered re-engagement and signature timelines. Also requires a pupil’s individualized education program team to make an individualized determination as to whether the pupil can receive a free appropriate public education in an independent study placement following a request by the pupil’s parent or guardian for independent study.
35. Revises the requirement regarding the composition of parent advisory committees to, among other things, require the inclusion of parents or legal guardians of pupils with disabilities currently enrolled in those schools.
36. Requires an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Addendum process for the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that will be adopted by the CDE by 2025 to coordinate the IDEA spending planning process with existing LCAP spending planning.
37. Provides $100 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for the Community Engagement Initiative Expansion, which will be co-administered by California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency.
38. Shifts funding for Educationally Related Mental Health Services funds from Special Education Local Plan Areas to LEAs, beginning in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
39. Increases the special education base rate to $820, makes statutory changes to calculate Special Education funding rates by LEA ADA and requires the CDE to report the calculation publicly.
40. Requires the CDE to collect and track Transitional Kindergarten pupil data as a distinct grade, rather than program, in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System.
41. Clarifies reporting requirements for the California College Guidance Initiative.
42. Allows the eligibility of the Golden State Teachers program to expand to candidates seeking pupil personnel services credentials, and other clarifying changes to the program.
43. Exempts deposits by a local school jurisdiction into a routine restricted maintenance account from the state definition of “proceeds of taxes.”
44. Extends substitute teacher 60-day maximums through the 2022-23 school year, and conforms to retirement policy.
45. Makes statutory changes to the California Newcomer Education and Well-Being Program administered by the Department of Social Services. The 2022 Budget includes a $5 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund appropriation.
46. Shifts Early Literacy Block Grant administration costs of $2.92 million to the General Fund.
47. Permits carryover for purposes of the 2021-22 Budget Act’s Kitchen Infrastructure Grant.
48. Disallows overhead for the Exploratorium contract with San Francisco Unified School District.
49. Allows Nonpublic Schools providing contracted Special Education services to receive funding, as specified.
50. Makes technical changes to allow the CDE to fully allocate available Education Protection Account revenues to local educational agencies in 2021-22.
51. Provides $85 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for a Math and Science Professional Development program.
52. Provides $413 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to provide declining enrollment protections for classroom-based charter schools for the 2021- 22 fiscal year.
53. Provides a total of $35 million in Proposition 98 General Fund for the Educator Workforce Investment Grant, for English Language Learners, special needs, and computer science educators, pursuant to statute.
54. Provides $15 million in one-time Proposition 98 funding for 6,000 educators to assist participants in earning reading and literacy instruction authorizations through the Commission.
55. Provides $1.7 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for the existing Center on Teacher Careers.
56. Provides $1.3 billion in General Funds for the School Facility Program, and states legislative intent for a total of $4.24 billion General Fund into 2025, after the exhaustion of $1.4 billion in remaining bond fund authority for new construction and modernization.
57. Amends existing law to authorize additional General Funds for special education programs, with consideration of property tax fund availability.
58. Provides $30 million in one-time General Fund for the Special Olympics of Northern and Southern California.
59. Appropriates $600 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for kitchen infrastructure grants that will support local educational agencies in preparing for universal meals implementation, and the preparation of healthy, local, plant-based, and dietary-restricted meals, as specified.
60. Provides $100 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund, for school meals for Food Best Practices procurement grant administered by the CDE, in consultation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Eligible foods include California-grown, plant-based, and special dietary-restriction necessities for students in the existing universal school meal program.
61. Provides for a total of $3.48 billion in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for an Arts, Music, and Instructional Materials Discretionary Block Grant, to all local education agencies, based on average daily attendance.
62. Provides up to $250 million in General Funds for emergency replacement facilities in the Lynwood Unified School District, through the Office of Public School Construction.
63. Provides $14 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for the development of model curricula, pursuant to law.
64. Creates a one-time $250 million Literacy Coaches program for intensive literacy action plans in schools with at least 97 percent low-income student populations with minimum grant awards of $450,000 per school site over five years. Funds are to hire literacy coaches and implement evidence-based literacy action plans for students from Preschool through grade 3 and their families.
65. Provides an additional $10 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for the Anti-Bias Education Grant Program, established in the 2021-22 Budget Act.
66. Provides $1.5 billion in one-time Proposition 98 funding to the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board, to administer a state-wide zero-emissions school bus program. This program would prioritize low-income and rural LEAs, and LEAs purchasing electric school buses with bi-directional charging. State contracts are required to meet labor practices, as specified. LEAs have various requirements, as specified.
67. Provides $2.2 million in Proposition 98 General Fund backfill for basic aid districts due to property tax revenue losses because of the 2020 wildfires.
68. Extends various statutory deadlines from prior Budget Acts.

(AB 181 amends Sections 313.3, 1630, 2574, 2575.2, 8281.5, 8901, 8902, 14002, 14041, 17375, 35780, 39807.5, 41203.1, 41480, 41490, 41544, 41590, 42238.02, 42238.025, 42238.05, 42238.051, 42280, 42282, 42284, 42287, 44259.1, 44395, 44415.5, 44418, 44690, 45500, 46120, 46392, 47606.5, 47654, 47655, 48205, 48850, 48853.5, 49069.5, 49421.5, 51225.2, 51745, 51745.5, 51746, 51747, 51747.5, 51749.5, 51749.6, 52063, 52064, 52065, 52066, 52069, 52073.2, 56122, 56402, 56836.07, 56836.144, 56836.146, 56836.148, 60900, 60900.5, and 69617 of, amends and repeals Section 42238.052 of, adds Sections 2575.3, 2575.4, 39800.1, 41850.1, 41204.7, 42162, 42163, 42238.023, 44415.6, 44415.7, 48000.1, 51225.31, 51475, 51744, 52064.3, and 52073.3 to, to add Article 8.5, commencing with Section 41585, to Chapter 3.2 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, adds Chapter 16.1, commencing with Section 53020, to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, repeals Sections 41851, 41851.2, 41851.5, 41851.7, 41852, 41853, 41854, 41855, 41856, and 42286 of, to repeal Article 10.5, commencing with Section 41860, of Chapter 5 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, repeals Article 4.7, commencing with Section 42300, of Chapter 7 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, and to repeal and add Section 41851.12 of, the Education Code, amends Sections 7901, 7906, and 20309 of the Government Code, amends Section 13265 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, amends Sections 113 and 119 of Chapter 24 of the Statutes of 2020, to amends Sections 123, 138, and 147 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2021, and amends Sections 47 and 52 of Chapter 252 of the Statutes of 2021.)