Bill > SB743

This bill establishes the Equalization Reserve Account in the General Fund to help address funding disparities among school districts. Specifically, the bill creates a mechanism to transfer money from the General Fund to this new account in fiscal years when there is an increase in state funding for public schools and higher education. The funds can then be appropriated by the Legislature to increase per-pupil funding for "non-basic aid school districts" (defined as districts that received state funding under the Local Control Funding Formula in the previous three fiscal years). The bill is designed to close spending gaps between school districts without reducing any district's existing funding. However, these provisions will only become operative if a constitutional amendment is approved by voters, which would exclude these funds from certain state funding calculations and mandate that the Legislature allocate a percentage of the account's funds to increase per-pupil spending in non-basic aid districts. The bill emphasizes its intent to create a dedicated funding source to equalize school district spending while maintaining existing funding levels.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB743