CA AB 141
Title: Education finance: education omnibus budget trailer bill.
Author: House Budget Committee
Summary
AB 141, as amended, Committee on Budget. Education finance: education omnibus budget trailer bill. (1) The Early Education Act, among other things, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all California state preschool programs, including, but not limited to, part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children. The act requires, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, inclusive, at least 5% of funded enrollment to be reserved for children with exceptional needs, requires at least 7.5% of funded enrollment to be reserved for children with exceptional needs commencing July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, inclusive, and requires at least 10% of funded enrollment to be reserved for children with exceptional needs commencing July 1, 2026. On and after July 1, 2026, existing law provides that any agency that does not meet those requirements may be put on a conditional contract, as provided.This bill would reestablish the 5% requirement until June 30, 2025, and make any agency that does not meet that requirement eligible to be placed on a conditional contract as of July 1, 2026. For any agency that does not meet the 7.5% or 10% requirements, the bill would delay their eligibility to be placed on a conditional contract to July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2028, respectively.The act requires each state preschool program applicant or contracting agency to give priority for enrollment for part-day and full-day programs according to a specified priority ranking. Existing law requires the 3rd priority for services to be given to eligible 3- and 4-year old children who are not enrolled in a state-funded transitional kindergarten program. Within this priority, the act provides that if 2 or more families have the same income ranking according to the most recent schedule of income ceiling eligibility table, a child from a family in which the primary home language is a language other than English shall be enrolled first.This bill would revise the latter priority criteria to be based on whether those children are identified as dual language learners instead of whether they are from a family in which the primary home language is a language other than English.(2) Existing law establishes the California Prekindergarten Planning and Implementation Grant Program as a state early learning initiative with the goal of expanding access to classroom-based prekindergarten programs. Existing law appropriates $300,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education in both the 2021–22 fiscal year and the 2022–23 fiscal year for allocation to local educational agencies as base grants, enrollment grants, and supplemental grants, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to allocate or prorate unexpended funds returned by or collected from a grant recipient for grants to local educational agencies for costs associated with the educational expenses of current and future California state preschool program, transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten professionals that support their attainment of required credentials, permits, or professional development in early childhood instruction or child development, including developing competencies in serving inclusive classrooms and dual language learners, as provided.This bill would extend the encumbrance period for those funds, as specified, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require any remaining unexpended funds to revert to the General Fund on June 30, 2028.(3) Existing law creates the Learning Recovery Emergency Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of receiving appropriations for school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and community college districts related to the state of emergency declared by the Governor on March 4, 2020, relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Former law initially appropriated $7,936,000,000 from the General Fund to the department for transfer to the Learning Recovery Emergency
Status
Re-referred to Com. on B. & F.R.
Bill Documents
CA AB 141 - 08/29/23 - Amended Senate
08/29/23 - CA AB 141 (08/29/23 - Amended Senate)
CA AB 141 - 08/27/23 - Amended Senate
08/27/23 - CA AB 141 (08/27/23 - Amended Senate)
CA AB 141 - 02/01/23 - Amended Assembly
02/01/23 - CA AB 141 (02/01/23 - Amended Assembly)
CA AB 141 - 01/09/23 - Introduced
01/09/23 - CA AB 141 (01/09/23 - Introduced)