SB 126: Education finance: education omnibus trailer bill.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

(1)Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to submit 2 reports during the fiscal year to the county board of education and to certify in writing, as part of each report, whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for 2 subsequent fiscal years. Existing law requires the certifications to be classified as positive, qualified, or negative and authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to reclassify a certification in accordance with specified standards. Existing law authorizes, if a county office of education receives a negative certification, the Superintendent or their designee, to take specified actions that are necessary to ensure that the county office of education meets its financial obligations.

This bill would require the Superintendent to provide notice of an action to reclassify a certification to the governing board of the county office of education. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the bill would require, instead of authorize, the Superintendent, or their designee, to take the above-described actions.

(2)Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent to annually calculate a county local control funding formula for each county superintendent of schools that includes, among other things, an alternative education grant, as specified. Existing law includes, among other things, a base grant based upon average daily attendance as a component of that alternative education grant.

Existing law requires the Superintendent to add $300,000 and other specified amounts, that are dependent upon the number and size of school districts under its jurisdiction and that are determined to be in need of differentiated assistance, to a county superintendent of school’s local control funding formula allocation, as specified. Existing law also requires the Superintendent to add $100,000 per charter school determined to be in need of differentiated assistance to each county superintendent of school’s local control funding formula allocation, as specified.

This bill would, commencing with the 2026–27 fiscal year, replace the above-described additions to a county superintendent of school’s local control funding formula allocation, based on the number of school districts and charter schools determined to be in need of differentiated assistance, with a universal and targeted assistance county office of education funding grant allocated to a county office of education, on an annual basis, to support all local educational agencies within the county’s jurisdiction. The bill would require the grant to be calculated as the sum of (A) $500,000, with annual inflation adjustments, (B) a county office of education’s county average daily attendance grant, based on a specified formula, and (C) a stability grant for each county office of education that would receive a lesser universal and targeted assistance county office of education funding grant amount than in previous years, as provided. For a school district or county office of education that operates within a county in which there is only one school district, the bill would require the average daily attendance grant component and the stability grant component to be allocated to the lead agency of the region, identified pursuant to specified processes, in which the county office of education is located. The bill would require allocated grant funds to be used to provide universal and targeted assistance, free of cost, to support the continuous improvement of local educational agencies located within the county to improve outcomes under specified state priorities, as provided. The bill would, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, require county offices of education to spend their grant funds in a manner that prioritizes the support of school districts identified for technical assistance pursuant to specified provisions. The bill would require county offices of education to ensure local educational agencies identified for technical assistance are informed of the availability of this universal assistance. To the extent this imposes new duties on county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)Existing law appropriates $7,000,000 in the 2025–26 fiscal year from the General Fund to the Superintendent for allocation to the Los Angeles County Office of Education to develop a statewide repository of high-quality curriculum-embedded performance tasks across all grade levels, mapped to the Next Generation Science standards for use by local educational agencies and educators to support inquiry-based instruction and assessment.

Sponsors

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. July 2, 2026Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET pursuant to Assembly Rule 97.
2. June 29, 2026Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 53. Noes 14. Page 5891.)
3. June 29, 2026Withdrawn from committee pursuant to Asssembly Rule 96.
4. June 26, 2026From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.
5. March 24, 2025Referred to Com. on BUDGET.
6. March 20, 2025In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
7. March 20, 2025Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 28. Noes 10. Page 439.) Ordered to the Assembly.
8. March 18, 2025Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
9. March 17, 2025Ordered to second reading.
10. March 17, 2025Withdrawn from committee. (Ayes 27. Noes 10. Page 384.)
11. February 5, 2025Referred to Com. on B. & F. R.
12. January 24, 2025From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 23.