Education

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law sets forth the minimum requirements for a preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services, which include, among other requirements, possession of one of various types of credentials and the completion of either an entry-level program of specialized and professional preparation in administrative services or a one-year internship in a program of supervised training in administrative services, as provided. This bill would limit the above-described one-year internship programs to those provided by a school district, county office of education, or regionally accredited institution of higher education. The bill would require the commission to examine its preservice, professional development, and supervision requirements for those internship programs when the commission next considers administrative services credential pathways. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 44270 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1009 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1009 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law, the Compulsory Education Law, generally makes persons between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age subject to compulsory full-time education, unless exempted. Existing law makes a parent or guardian of a pupil of 6 years of age or more who is in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and subject to compulsory full-time or continuing education, whose child is a chronic truant, as defined, who has failed to reasonably supervise and encourage the pupil's school attendance, and who has been offered support services to address the pupil's truancy, guilty of a misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, or imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would repeal that criminal offense.

(1) Existing law, the Child Care and Developmental Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Existing law authorizes, upon departmental approval, the use of appropriated funds for alternative payment programs to allow for maximum parental choice. Existing law authorizes those programs to include, among other things, a subsidy that follows the family from one provider to another, or choices among hours of service. Under existing law, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers and license-exempt providers is to be based on the maximum authorized hours of care, as specified. Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. Under existing law, commencing January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026, reimbursement of California state preschool family childcare home education network providers is to be based on the maximum certified hours of care, as specified. This bill would extend the period in which reimbursement of state-subsidized childcare and development providers, license-exempt providers, and California state preschool family childcare home education network providers is based on the maximum authorized or certified, as applicable, hours of care to July 1, 2028. (2) Existing law allocates certain appropriated funds to the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education to provide specified family childcare providers and childcare centers with a monthly cost of care plus rate commencing January 1, 2024, and through June 30, 2026. The monthly cost of care plus rate is a supplemental monthly payment to those providers and centers. Existing law establishes the base amount of the monthly cost of care plus rate and, for the period from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, provides for an increase to that base amount. This bill would extend the payment of the monthly cost of care plus rate, including the increase, indefinitely, for those family childcare providers and childcare centers. The bill would additionally establish a one-time payment to family daycare providers for the total amount of the increase for each month or partial month occurring between July 1, 2025, and December 30, 2025. The bill would require the payment to be paid to providers by January 1, 2026, contingent on full ratification by September 30, 2025, of the tentative agreement received between the State of California and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) on August 7, 2025. The bill would specify that, if full ratification of the tentative agreement is not achieved by September 30, 2025, the January 1, 2026, deadline for the payment would not be applicable; however, the bill would require, if the payment is not made by January 1, 2026, that providers receive an increase to the one-time payment, as specified. The bill would also require those family daycare providers and childcare centers to receive a one-time, per-child stabilization payment. That payment would be $431 for licensed family childcare providers and childcare centers and $300 for license-exempt family childcare providers. The bill would require, if the tentative agreement described above is ratified by September 30, 2025, this one-time payment to be made to family childcare providers by January 1, 2026. This bill would appropriate $157,852,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Social Services for the purpose of making those one-time stabilization payments to family childcare providers and childcare centers, as specified. The bill would also approve the agreement dated August 7, 2025, entered into by the Governor and Child Care Providers United - California, in its sole capacity as the certified provider organization representing family childcare providers, as specified. (3) Existing law establishes, and appropriates funds to, the Joint Child Care Providers United - State of California Training Partnership Fund and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) Workers Health Care Fund. Existing law also appropriates funds to the State Department of Social Services for a one-time contribution payable to Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) , or its designee, for the establishment of the CCPU Retirement Trust. This bill would, for each year of the tentative agreement described above, from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2028, inclusive, require funds to be allocated in the annual Budget Act, upon approval of the Department of Finance, to those funds and trust. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

This measure would recognize May 2025 as Head Start Month and call on the Congress and the President of the United States to protect and increase funding for Head Start.

This measure would call on members of the United States Congress to oppose reductions to funding that negatively impact educational services for students with disabilities and would call on the President of the United States and Congress to ensure that services and funding for students with disabilities are uninterrupted.