An act relating to the Budget Act of 2025. An act to amend Sections 1622, 1623, 1630, 8281.5, 8320, 8337, 8902, 14041.5, 14041.6, 14041.8, 32526, 41020.2, 41203.1, 41344.1, 41490, 41601, 42127.1, 42127.6, 42128, 42129, 42238.01, 42238.016, 42238.02, 44258.9, 44283, 44395, 46120, 46211, 46392, 48000.1, 48857, 51225.3, 51284.5, 52064.5, 56836.168, 60151, and 66032.2 of, to add Sections 1631, 17037, 17075.11, 33319.6, 41011.1, 42238.017, 42252.1, 44283.1, 44415.8, 48004, 49506.5, 52065.1, 52073.4, and 53009 to, to add Article 13.5 (commencing with Section 44400) to Chapter 2 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, and to repeal Section 42120 of, the Education Code, to amend Sections 17581.6 and 66007 of the Government Code, to amend Sections 137 and 152 of Chapter 44 of the Statutes of 2021, to amend Sections 121, 126, and 132 of Chapter 52 of the Statutes of 2022, to amend Section 108 of Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2023, to amend Section 110 of Chapter 38 of the Statutes of 2024, to repeal Section 112 of Chapter 38 of the Statutes of 2024, to amend the Budget Act of 2017 (Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2017) by amending Item 6100-139-8080 of Section 2.00 of that act, to amend the Budget Act of 2021 (Chapters 21, 69, and 240 of the Statutes of 2021) by amending Items 6100-001-0001 and 7760-101-0001 of Section 2.00 of that act, and to amend the Budget Act of 2024 (Chapters 22, 35, and 994 of the Statutes of 2024) by amending Item 6100-001-0001 of Section 2.00 of that act, relating to education finance, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget.
SB 121 is a broad education budget trailer bill for the 2025–26 budget year. It makes numerous changes across California’s K–12 and early education finance systems, including appropriating and extending the availability of funds for preschool, transitional kindergarten, literacy, teacher recruitment, community schools, expanded learning, special education-related supports, and emergency or hardship assistance. It also updates several ongoing programs and reporting systems, such as teacher assignment monitoring, salary and benefits data collection, local control and accountability plan (LCAP) compliance, and school finance apportionment timing.
The bill also revises state oversight and intervention rules for county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools. It expands the Superintendent’s and county superintendents’ authority to review fiscal distress indicators, respond to significant fiscal events, withhold apportionments for missing required plans or reports, and impose or conditionally approve budgets. In addition, it creates or modifies several grant programs and appropriations aimed at literacy instruction, student teacher stipends, teacher residency, National Board certification, community schools, universal preschool, inclusive early education, and school meal support, while also extending deadlines or reauthorizing prior appropriations that would otherwise lapse.
SB 121 would make extensive changes to the Education Code and related budget statutes, affecting school finance formulas, apportionment timing, fiscal oversight, credentialing, early learning, and program-specific grant administration. It would increase or extend funding for multiple education programs, create new reporting and accounting requirements for local educational agencies, and alter eligibility and compliance rules tied to LCFF, LCAPs, attendance recovery, expanded learning, and teacher staffing data. The bill also appropriates new General Fund and stabilization-account dollars and reauthorizes or repurposes prior appropriations, making it a significant fiscal measure with statewide effects on school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and teacher preparation entities.
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s breadth, its many appropriations, and the increased compliance and oversight obligations it places on local educational agencies. Provisions that tighten LCAP enforcement, authorize withholding of pay or apportionments, expand fiscal intervention authority, and impose new reporting or accounting requirements could draw concern from school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education. Other potentially disputed items include the reallocation or extension of existing funds, the reduction of some program set-asides, and the bill’s many program-specific changes that may be viewed as either necessary investments or as overreach in a single omnibus budget measure.