Earlier this month, Governor Newsom released his proposed state budget for 2026-27. We applaud the Governor for his commitment to investing $149.1 billion for TK-12 public education and for using his last year in office to pave a new path for education governance in California.
With regards to the proposed budget, Innovate applauds the Governor’s proposed investment in the initiatives that advance critical education initiatives:
- Investment in Literacy and Expanded Learning Programs:
- Providing $40 million in additional funding to ensure effective implementation of the universal screener for students who may experience reading challenges in grades K-2.
- Ongoing investment in the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) to ensure high-quality expanded learning programs are available to students across the state.
- Special Education and Community Schools Models:
- Providing an additional $509 million in the Prop 98 General Fund to increase special education base rates; and
- Expanding the community schools model to more school sites with a large proportion of low-income students, English learners, and youth in foster care by investing $1 billion in the Prop 98 General Fund.
- Cradle to Career Support:
- Continuing to rollout Pre-K for All or universal access to free transitional kindergarten for all four-year old children and expanded access to preschool for children ages 2-4.
- Investing in college and career pathways through a $100 million in one-time funding and an allocation from the $2.8 billion Student Support and Discretionary Block Grant.
At the same time, Innovate families across California continue to advocate for a number of priorities that are not yet reflected in the proposed budget. As the Governor and legislature continue to negotiate our state’s budget, we urge them to invest in the following:
- Math Outcomes
- Develop a plan to invest in evidence-based programs, curricula, and teacher training to improve student outcomes in math.
- Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Preparation
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- Utilize a portion of the $250 million investment in the Teacher Resident Grant (TRG) Program or new, ongoing funding to support both:
- The Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative (DELPI) Grant Program, which ensures that local education agencies across the state can maintain, deepen, and scale their efforts to prepare diverse and culturally responsive school administrators; and
- The Golden State Teacher Grant (GSTG) Program. The effectiveness of the GSTG is demonstrated in this recent policy brief, led by Edvoice and other partners.
- Utilize a portion of the $250 million investment in the Teacher Resident Grant (TRG) Program or new, ongoing funding to support both:
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- Whole Child Supports
- Ensure California provides the resources necessary to meet the demand for more subsidized high-quality childcare spaces, not only to provide our young learners with the care they need outside of the classroom to thrive, but also to ensure families have the support necessary to fully engage in the workforce.
- Dedicate funding to ensure all of California’s students can access healthcare, particularly in light of federal cuts to Medi-Cal which jeopardize the access to health-care for many of California’s immigrant students.
- Community Engagement
- Work with communities (including families, district leaders, educators, and others) to develop guidance and ensure accountability for the use of the $2.8 billion in discretionary block grants that is outlined in the proposed budget.
Overall, Innovate appreciates the Governor’s proposal to streamline and strengthen California’s education governance system by improving coordination and accountability across TK–12. The long-standing fragmentation of our state’s education governance has created real challenges for students, families, educators, and administrators alike, and we share the goal of creating a more coherent system that better serves California’s diverse learners.
At this critical moment, how these changes are designed and implemented matters deeply.
While we welcome a renewed focus on accountability, we urge the Governor and Legislature to meaningfully engage communities in shaping the rollout and structure of this new governance model. Without intentional, inclusive engagement, there is a real risk that governance reforms could centralize too much power without addressing the core problem they seek to solve: ensuring communities have real decision-making power to create solutions that will prioritize the needs and improve the outcomes of our most underserved students.
Key questions remain unanswered.
- What will accountability look like in practice under this new structure?
- How will responsibilities be clearly defined, and how will success be measured?
- Most importantly, what is the Governor’s plan for engaging communities in building a system that is responsive, transparent, and durable?
As our state prepares for its next Governor’s race, these questions and the priorities of our gubernatorial candidates will become even more critical to examine. Our hope is that the Governor and Legislature will work with a broad base of community members and education leaders to address these questions before this structure is put in place and before we elect our next Governor.
Far too often, communities most impacted by inequities in our education system are left out of the solution-building process, even though they are best positioned to identify what works and what doesn’t. This is especially concerning in a state where more than one in five students live in mixed-status households and where federal cuts, including to Medi-Cal, threaten access to critical supports that directly affect students’ ability to learn and thrive.
As budget negotiations continue, Innovate also urges the state to pair its policy commitments with sustained investment in implementation.
This includes ensuring sufficient providers and strong coordination across early learning systems so that expanded access to transitional kindergarten, preschool, and childcare translates into real, equitable opportunities for families. Similarly, as the state allocates $2.8 billion in discretionary block grants and continues to oversee the use of LCFF funding and other programs like ELO-P, clear guidance, transparency, and accountability will be essential to ensure all of these funds are used effectively and reach the students they are intended to serve.
California has an opportunity to take a meaningful step forward to strengthen accountability while centering community voice, invest in what works, and ensure that reforms lead to real improvements in student outcomes. Innovate looks forward to continuing to partner with families, community leaders, and policymakers to ensure this budget reflects both the urgency of the moment and the promise of what is possible for California’s students.