The 2025-26 California Spending Plan

Higher Education

This post summarizes the state’s 2025-26 spending package for higher education. It is part of our Spending Plan series. In this post, we provide an overview of the state’s higher education spending package, then cover spending for the California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU), University of California (UC), student financial aid, and California State Library. The EdBudget part of our website contains many tables providing more detail about the 2025-26 education budget.

Overview

Budget Reduces State Spending for Higher Education in 2025-26. As Figure 1 shows, ongoing General Fund support for higher education is $22.4 billion in 2025-26, reflecting a decrease of $1 billion (4.3 percent) over the revised 2024-25 level. Rather than programmatic reductions, the decrease in 2025-26 spending almost entirely reflects payment deferrals and cost shifts to 2026-27. Though net ongoing General Fund support declines, the 2025-26 budget contains some ongoing augmentations for community colleges and student financial aid programs. The budget also includes a total of $272 million in one-time General Fund spending for various higher education purposes.

Tuition Charges Increase at UC and CSU, Stays Flat at CCC. In addition to state support, all three public higher education segments receive revenue from student tuition and fees. In 2025-26, tuition and fee revenue comprise an estimated 52 percent of ongoing core funding at UC, 39 percent at CSU, and 3 percent at CCC. As this EdBudget table shows, both UC and CSU raised tuition charges for 2025-26. Consistent with its cohort-based tuition policy, UC raised tuition 3.4 percent for incoming resident undergraduates, held tuition charges flat for continuing resident undergraduates, and raised tuition for resident graduate students by 3 percent. (UC also raised supplemental tuition changes for most professional degree programs as well as for nonresident students.) CSU raised tuition by 6 percent for all resident undergraduate and graduate students. The CCC enrollment fee, which the state sets in statute, is held flat at $46 per unit.

Budget Sets Higher Enrollment Growth Expectations for All Three Segments. As we discuss in more detail in the subsequent sections of this post, the state expects UC, CSU, and CCC to increase their resident undergraduate enrollment levels in 2025-26. Provisional budget language sets growth targets of 1.4 percent for UC, 2.1 percent for CSU, and 2.35 percent for CCC. The budget does not earmark enrollment growth funding for UC or CSU, but it provides $140 million to cover CCC enrollment growth. Provisional budget language does not contain growth targets for graduate enrollment at UC or CSU, but each segment still is planning for 1 percent growth. This EdBudget table shows changes in enrollment expectations at each of the segments.

Major Higher Education Decisions Were Made at Key Junctures. This EdBudget table highlights the major higher education developments that unfolded throughout the state budget process. The Governor’s January budget launched the new budget season by proposing notable Proposition 98 spending increases for CCC while including notable reductions in non-Proposition 98 General Fund spending for UC and CSU. Among various changes, the May Revision lowered the base reductions for UC and CSU from 7.95 percent to 3 percent. Later in the budget season, the legislative budget package rejected the 3 percent base reduction for UC and CSU, instead adopting payment deferrals. The legislative package also made major changes to how the state budgets for the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) program by locking in award coverage (rather than adjusting it to fit within the provided appropriation), budgeting for the program one year in arrears, and paying for budget-year costs using a General Fund loan. The final budget package retained most aspects of the legislative package, yet also reinstated funding for many of the Governor’s budget priorities and added more than a dozen new legislative initiatives.

California Community Colleges

Budget Provides $13 Billion Proposition 98 Funding for CCC in 2025-26. Proposition 98 funding (a mix of state General Fund and local property tax revenue) is the primary source of support for the community colleges. Largely due to higher-than-expected state General Fund revenues, the budget package revises Proposition 98 funding for CCC in 2024-25 upward by $366 million, bringing it to $13.5 billion. From this revised 2024-25 level, Proposition 98 funding for CCC in 2025-26 decreases by $514 million (3.8 percent), as Figure 2 shows. The decrease reflects lower projected General Fund support, which is partly offset by projected growth in local property tax revenue. Of the decrease, $233 million is due to a change in how the split of Proposition 98 funding between schools and community colleges is calculated (related to excluding transitional kindergarten from that calculation).

Budget Package Includes Ongoing and One-Time CCC Spending Increases. As Figure 3 shows, the budget package includes $402 million in new ongoing Proposition 98 spending and $644 million in new one-time Proposition 98 spending at the community colleges. The state covers this spending using new 2024-25 funds, funds freed up as previous one-time spending expires, and certain other one-time actions we discuss later in this section. The ongoing spending increases are primarily for cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) and enrollment growth. The one-time spending increases are primarily to repay a 2024-25 apportionments deferral adopted in last year’s budget and address a shortfall in 2024-25 apportionments funding. The budget also includes smaller increases for more than a dozen initiatives, most of which are related to student support, career technical education (CTE), or technology.

Ongoing Increases Are Primarily for Core Operations and Enrollment Growth. The largest ongoing CCC spending increase is $217 million for a 2.3 percent COLA for apportionments. The budget also provides a total of $140 million ongoing for 2.35 percent enrollment growth. Of this amount, $100 million is provided beginning in 2024-25, increasing the growth target in that year from the previously enacted level of 0.5 percent to 2.28 percent. The remaining $40 million is provided in 2025-26 for further growth of 0.57 percent. Across the two years, the growth funds are estimated to support approximately 23,000 additional students.

Budget Partly Covers Ongoing Costs Through One-Time Actions. Proposition 98 funding in 2025-26 is insufficient to support all ongoing CCC spending authorized in the budget. As a result, the budget relies on three one-time actions to help cover apportionments costs. First, the budget defers $408 million in apportionments payments from May and June 2026 to July 2026, thereby shifting these costs from 2025-26 to 2026-27. Second, the budget reappropriates $133 million in unspent funds from previous years for 2025-26 apportionments costs. Third, the budget withdraws $50 million from the Proposition 98 Reserve for 2025-26 apportionments costs. (Together with K-12 withdrawals, the state depletes the Proposition 98 Reserve in 2025-26.) These actions create a notable structural shortfall in the CCC budget, as the one-time savings will expire in 2026-27 while the ongoing apportionments costs will remain.

Budget Includes Several One-Time Student Support Initiatives. The largest of these initiatives is $60 million for a student support block grant. Trailer legislation directs the Chancellor’s Office to allocate these funds to districts by first providing a base amount of $150,000 per college, then distributing the remaining funds based on student headcount and the number of students receiving need-based fee waivers or nonresident tuition exemptions. Districts may use the funds to provide various forms of student support, including basic needs assistance, financial aid advising, legal services, and employment services. Districts have until June 30, 2029 to spend these funds. In addition to the block grant, the budget provides one-time funding for several other student support initiatives, including emergency student financial aid, Dreamer Resource Liaisons (staff assisting undocumented students), and financial aid outreach and application assistance.

Budget Also Includes a Few CTE Initiatives. The budget funds two initiatives at CCC related to the Governor’s Master Plan for Career Education. Specifically, it provides $25 million one time to develop a “career passport” (a digital tool that displays an individual’s skills and credentials), as well as $15 million one time and $5 million ongoing to support credit for prior learning. The budget also provides one-time funding for CTE initiatives related to emergency medical services, school food services, apprenticeships, Los Angeles wildfire recovery, and firefighting. (In addition to these initiatives at CCC, the budget provides $1.5 million ongoing non-Proposition 98 General Fund to the Government Operations Agency for establishing a statewide coordinating council for education and workforce agencies and $1 million one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund to the Labor Agency for an evaluation of regional coordination models for career education. It also provides $500,000 one-time and $187,000 ongoing non-Proposition 98 General Fund and one research data specialist position to the Government Operations Agency’s Cradle-to-Career office for supporting the development of career passports.)

Budget Provides Funding for a Student Data Platform. The budget provides $12 million one time for the Common Cloud Data Platform, an information technology project intended to enhance reporting, data sharing, and analytical tools across community college districts and the Chancellor’s Office. This platform builds upon a demonstration project the Chancellor’s Office launched in October 2023 using $10 million in one-time funds set aside from the Student Equity and Achievement Program. Provisional language requires the Chancellor’s Office to report by January 15, 2026, on the progress of the platform and any plans for its further development and expansion. The Department of Technology and the Department of Finance are to review the report and make recommendations by March 31, 2026, related to the platform’s further development and expansion.

Budget Redirects Certain Existing Funds Toward New Initiatives. The budget supports two new CCC initiatives by redirecting funds from two existing CCC initiatives. First, trailer legislation authorizes the Chancellor’s Office to redirect unspent one-time funds previously provided for a zero-textbook-cost degree initiative toward a statewide open educational resources platform. The Chancellor’s Office indicates that about $6 million in unspent funds will be redirected toward this statewide platform. Second, trailer legislation includes intent language to redirect funds from the CCC Classified Employee Summer Assistance Program toward basic needs centers in 2026-27 and 2027-28. The state currently provides $10 million annually for the summer assistance program, which offers additional summer pay to classified employees who choose to have part of their salary withheld during the school year. To date, that program has lacked sufficient participation to spend most of this annual allotment. Funds redirected from this program are to support basic needs centers in providing classified employees with access to campus food pantries.

Budget Authorizes Many CCC Capital Outlay Projects. The budget includes $142 million in Proposition 2 (2024) state general obligation bonds for this purpose. Of this amount, $87 million supports a previously approved intersegmental student housing project involving Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz. These funds replace a like amount of funds that the state had previously approved for the project (with UC originally intended to issue university revenue bonds on behalf of the college). The other $55 million supports the preliminary plans and working drawings phases of 29 new projects. The total Proposition 2 cost across all phases of these projects, including the intersegmental student housing project, is $863 million, representing more than half of the $1.5 billion in Proposition 2 bond funds available for CCC. The remaining Proposition 2 bond funds are available for allocation in future years. In addition, the budget provides $14 million from an earlier general obligation bond, Proposition 51 (2016), for the construction phase of one continuing project. This EdBudget table lists all the new and continuing projects.

California State University

CSU Ongoing Core Funding Increases to $9.4 Billion in 2025-26. As Figure 4 shows, of this amount, $5.6 billion is state General Fund, $3.7 billion is student tuition and fee revenue, and $71 million is lottery revenue. Ongoing core funding increases by $346 million (3.8 percent) from 2024-25. About 40 percent of the increase ($133 million) is from ongoing General Fund support and about 60 percent ($217 million) is from student tuition and fee revenue. Tuition revenue increases are due to rising tuition charges (consistent with CSU’s tuition policy) and anticipated enrollment growth. Taking enrollment growth into account, ongoing core funding per student is set to increase by $444 (2 percent), reaching $22,990.

CSU Receives Ongoing General Fund Augmentations for Targeted Purposes. Figure 5 shows all of the General Fund spending changes for CSU in 2025-26. The largest ongoing General Fund increases are to cover certain pension and retiree health costs. Additionally, the budget provides CSU with a $75 million unrestricted base increase (part of a budget agreement made last year). The budget also includes three smaller ongoing General Fund augmentations for CSU: $1.3 million to fund 50 percent salary increases for the Capital Fellows program; $345,000 to provide drug test devices to every on-campus health center as required by recently enacted legislation; and $158,000 for certain increases in technology charges. Altogether, ongoing General Fund support for CSU increases by $277 million in 2025-26.

CSU Receives One-Time Funding to Support Campuses Facing Declining Enrollment. Beyond ongoing increases, the budget includes $66 million one-time General Fund for various initiatives. The largest one-time initiative is $45 million to help Sonoma State University establish a long-term turnaround plan. The budget earmarks this campus funding specifically for expanding its nursing program, supporting its environmental science programs, establishing a data science program, launching other new academic programs, increasing enrollment, expanding its career center, and supporting its athletics programs. The budget also contains $5 million for helping other low-enrollment CSU campuses with their outreach efforts. The budget includes reporting language requiring campuses that have experienced sustained declining enrollment to submit turnaround plans to the Chancellor’s Office by December 31, 2025, with the Chancellor’s Office submitting a consolidated report to the Legislature by March 1, 2026.

CSU Also Receives One-Time Funding for a Few Other Notable Purposes. The budget provides one-time General Fund for two initiatives related to the California Reparations Task Force. The state provides $6 million for CSU to explore options for determining how to confirm whether an individual is a descendant of an enslaved person and establishing a process for making related genealogical determinations. This initiative will help implement some of the recommendations set forth by the task force. The state also provides $6 million for the Tides Foundation to write a report on the findings of the California Reparations Task Force. CSU will pass through these funds to the Tides Foundation. In addition, the budget package includes $3 million for a customer relations management database to help the CSU Foundation with gift processing and tracking, donor relations, and reporting. It provides $806,000 for the CSU Northridge Student Success and Inclusion Center.

Spending Plan Includes a Payment Deferral Instead of Base Reduction. The budget package defers a $144 million General Fund payment from May/June to July 2026, thereby achieving one-time savings in 2025-26. Provisional language offers CSU an associated no-interest General Fund loan, if needed for cash flow purposes in May/June 2026. The budget package does not specify when the state would resume the regular timing of payments (by providing a one-time back payment). The amount of the deferral equates to 3 percent of CSU’s General Fund support. The May Revision had proposed a 3 percent reduction. The Governor’s January budget had proposed a 7.95 percent reduction, consistent with the intent of the two-year budget plan enacted in 2024-25.

State Modifies Multiyear CSU Budget Plan. The budget package includes intent language to provide CSU with certain augmentations in future years. Specifically, the package includes provisions associated with the state not providing a 5 percent base increase in 2025-26 (as originally planned under the Governor’s multiyear compact with the CSU Chancellor). Rather than providing CSU with a 5 percent General Fund base increase in 2025-26, the budget plan intends to provide a 2 percent increase ($101 million) in 2026-27 and a 3 percent increase ($151 million) in 2028-29. (These delayed increases are intended to be on top of the 5 percent annual base increase specified in the compact for 2026-27.) The multiyear budget plan also intends to provide CSU with a one-time payment of $252 million in 2027-28 attributable to 2025-26. The top part of this EdBudget table shows these planned increases.

Budget Sets Enrollment Growth Expectations for CSU Through 2026-27. Provisional language states an intent for CSU to increase resident undergraduate enrollment by 7,152 full-time equivalent (FTE) students (2.1 percent) in 2025-26. This would bring its resident undergraduate enrollment to 349,999 FTE students (slightly below its currently funded level). The language authorizes the administration to reduce funding for CSU if it enrolls fewer students than expected. Funding would be reduced at the 2025-26 state marginal cost rate of $10,983 for each student below the expected level. The language also states an intent for CSU to increase enrollment by an additional 10,161 FTE students (2.9 percent) in 2026-27, bringing its resident undergraduate enrollment to 360,160 FTE students.

University of California

UC Ongoing Core Funding Increases to $11.1 Billion in 2025-26. As Figure 6 shows, $5.7 billion comes from student tuition and fee revenue, $4.9 billion comes from state General Fund, and the remainder comes from various smaller sources, including lottery revenue, a portion of royalty income, and certain overhead allotments from federal grants. Ongoing core funding increases by $236 million (2.2 percent) from 2024-25. The increase comes entirely from student tuition and fee revenue, with General Fund support declining slightly. Tuition revenue increases due to rising tuition charges and anticipated enrollment growth. Taking enrollment growth into account, ongoing core funding per student is set to increase by $463 (1.3 percent), reaching $36,968.

Budget Includes a Couple of Ongoing Augmentations and More Than a Dozen One-Time Initiatives. Figure 7 shows all of the General Fund spending changes for UC in 2025-26. Similar to CSU, the budget provides UC with a $125 million unrestricted General Fund base increase (as part of prior budget agreement). The budget also shifts funding for a repository of historical California newspapers from the California State Library to UC (specifically UC Riverside, which administers the repository). In addition, the 2025-26 Budget Act includes a total of $89 million for 14 one-time initiatives. The initiatives mostly fund various research initiatives and fellowship programs. Whereas some of the funding is to expand existing initiatives, some is for new initiatives. All but two of these one-time initiatives were added as part of final budget negotiations in late June or September.

Spending Plan Includes a Payment Deferral Instead of Base Reduction. Similar to CSU, the budget package contains a payment deferral for UC. The 2025-26 Budget Act defers $130 million from May/June to July 2026, thereby achieving one-time savings in 2025-26. The budget package does not specify when the state would resume the regular timing of payments (by providing a one-time back payment). Provisional language offers UC an associated no-interest General Fund loan, if needed for cash flow purposes in May/June 2026. The budget package does not specify when the state would resume the regular timing of payments (by providing a one-time back payment). The amount of the deferral equates to 3 percent of UC’s General Fund support. The May Revision had proposed a 3 percent reduction. The Governor’s January budget had proposed a 7.95 percent reduction, consistent with the intent of the two-year budget plan enacted in 2024-25.

State Modifies Multiyear UC Budget Plan. The budget package includes intent language to provide UC with certain augmentations in future years. Specifically, the package includes provisions associated with the state not providing a 5 percent base increase in 2025-26 (as originally planned under the Governor’s multiyear compact with the UC President). Rather than providing UC with a 5 percent General Fund base increase in 2025-26, the budget plan intends to provide a 2 percent in 2026-27 and a 3 percent in 2028-29. (These delayed increases are intended to be on top of the 5 percent annual base increase specified in the compact for 2026-27.) The multiyear budget plan also intends to provide UC with a one-time payment of $240 million in 2027-28 attributable to 2025-26. The bottom part of this EdBudget table shows these planned increases for UC.

Budget Establishes Resident Undergraduate Enrollment Expectations. Though the budget for 2025-26 and 2026-27 does not contain the annual base increases envisioned under the Governor’s compact, the budget package maintains enrollment expectations consistent with the compact. Provisional language sets an expectation that UC grow resident undergraduate enrollment by 2,947 FTE students in 2025-26 (reaching 209,535 FTE students) and 2,968 FTE students in 2026-27 (reaching 212,503 FTE students). UC reports having exceeded the state enrollment expectation for 2024-25 by approximately 3,000 FTE students (reaching 209,585 FTE students). It also anticipates exceeding its state enrollment expectation for 2025-26 by approximately 1,800 FTE students (reaching 211,368 FTE students).

Enrollment Expectations Include Replacement of Nonresident Students. These annual growth targets include the replacement of 902 nonresident students with resident undergraduates at the three highest-demand campuses (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego). The 2025-26 Budget Act contains new provisional language allowing UC to attribute any nonresident replacement slots above 902 in 2022-23 through 2024-25 toward the 2025-26 expectation. (The language also allows UC to count any slots above 902 in 2025-26 to the 2026-27 expectation.) The budget package defers $31 million in associated nonresident replacement funding from 2025-26 to 2026-27. (The state has been backfilling UC for the loss of associated nonresident supplemental tuition revenue and higher resident financial aid costs.) Provisional language includes intent to provide UC with a one-time back payment of $31 million in 2027-28 attributable to 2025-26. Under the nonresident enrollment replacement plan, the three high-demand campuses are to reduce nonresident undergraduate enrollment to no more than 18 percent of total undergraduate enrollment by 2026-27. Though the three affected campuses generally have made progress toward the 18 percent cap, none has yet achieved it.

State Supports Four UC Facility Projects. As part of the 2025-26 budget package, the state approves two new affordable student housing projects—one at the Davis campus and the other at the Santa Barbara campus. The 2023-24 budget provided UC with $50.7 million ongoing General Fund for debt service associated with eight state-approved affordable student housing projects. In early 2025, UC indicated that actual debt service costs for those projects was $44.5 million. Of the $6.2 million difference, the state redirects $2.6 million each, to the Davis and Santa Barbara projects to cover associated debt service and reverts the remaining $1 million. Beyond these projects, the state approves a renovation project at UC Irvine—primarily using funds freed up from a suspended project at that same campus. The state also authorizes additional funds for the UC Los Angeles Powell Library seismic renovation project. Specifically, the state authorizes UC to draw down the small remaining amounts of funding from previous state general obligation and lease revenue bonds, including remaining interest earnings. This EdBudget table provides more information about these four projects.

College of the Law, San Francisco (CLSF) Receives Substantial Increase in State Support. CLSF ongoing core funding increases to $102 million in 2025-26 (as this EdBudget table shows). This reflects a $16 million (18 percent) increase from 2024-25. Of the increase, $12 million comes from state General Fund and $4.3 million comes from student tuition and fee revenue. The largest increase is $10.1 million in ongoing General Fund support to cover new debt service costs on the McAllister Tower, phase 2 project. The state expects to incur this annual cost for the next approximately 30 years. The budget package also includes a $2.4 million ongoing General Fund augmentation for core operations. This augmentation is partly offset by a $695,000 General Fund reduction associated with Control Section 4.05 of the 2024-25 Budget Act, for a net increase of $1.7 million (7.1 percent). The school’s tuition revenue is growing primarily due to increases in tuition charges. The budget sets no enrollment expectations for the school, but the school anticipates increasing its enrollment by 1 student, for a total of 1,129 FTE students in 2025-26.

Student Financial Aid

California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) Total Funding Is $3 Billion in 2025-26. Of this amount, $2.5 billion is state General Fund, $400 million is federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding, and a small amount is from other funds and reimbursements (as this EdBudget table shows). Figure 8 shows all the General Fund spending changes for CSAC in 2025-26. The largest ongoing General Fund augmentation is for covering higher projected costs in the Cal Grant program. The budget also includes a total of $100 million in one-time funding for various special purposes. More than offsetting this higher spending is a new budgetary approach for the MCS program that results in one-time budgetary savings of approximately $1 billion. Below, we first describe major CSAC spending changes for 2024-25 and 2025-26. We then cover notable changes to financial aid programs administered by other agencies.

Budget Adjusts Cal Grant Spending Upward in 2024-25. The budget package revises Cal Grant spending for 2024-25 upward by $109 million from the previously enacted level that year. This cost increase is primarily explained by a higher-than-expected number of Cal Grant recipients. Recipient counts in the CCC Expanded Entitlement program were notably higher than original budget assumptions (23 percent higher), as were recipient counts for the Transfer Entitlement program (14 percent). Recipient counts for the High School Entitlement program also were somewhat higher than original budget assumptions (4.5 percent).

Cal Grant Spending Increases in 2025-26. The budget includes a $243 million ongoing General Fund increase for Cal Grants in 2025-26 over the revised 2024-25 level. This increase brings total Cal Grant spending to $2.8 billion—reflecting a 9.5 percent increase over the revised 2024-25 level. This growth rate is notably higher than the ten-year historical average of 3.6 percent. The growth is largely due to two factors. Some of the growth is at UC and CSU (11 percent increase at both segments), primarily due to their planned tuition increases. (Cal Grants provide full tuition coverage for eligible students attending these segments [as well as nontuition coverage for certain students].) The rest of the growth is primarily attributable to higher spending for CCC Expanded Entitlement awards (15 percent increase). This growth, in turn, is due to enrollment increases at community colleges, along with more community college students transferring to UC and CSU. (The CCC Expanded Entitlement program allows students to retain their Cal Grant awards when they transfer.) Our Cal Grant Spending and Cal Grant Recipients EdBudget tables summarize costs and recipients, respectively, by segment and award type.

MCS Spending Increases Too. The budget assumes higher MCS program costs in both 2024-25 and 2025-26. For 2024-25, the budget package provides an additional $78 million from the previously enacted level that year—bringing MCS spending up to $1 billion General Fund ($636 million ongoing and $368 million one time). Similar to Cal Grant adjustments, higher MCS costs in 2024-25 are driven primarily by a higher-than-anticipated increase in recipients, with recipient counts approximately 67,000 (24 percent) above original budget assumptions. For 2025-26, the state’s previous budget agreement (from June 2024) assumed MCS spending would be reduced to $527 million as a way to address the state deficit. The new budget agreement (from June 2025) assumes MCS program costs of nearly $1 billion for 2025-26 (as discussed in the next paragraph).

State Adopts New Budgetary Approach for MCS Program. MCS awards cover a certain percentage of students’ remaining cost of attendance after accounting for various other available resources. In previous years, statute directed CSAC to adjust the percentage of award coverage to remain within the annual state appropriation for the program. Beginning in 2025-26, the state instead is locking in the percentage of award coverage for a given year, then committing to cover the associated cost one year in arrears. For 2025-26, the state has set award coverage for most students at 35 percent of their remaining cost of attendance (the same award coverage as in 2024-25). On a cash basis, the state will pay actual costs as they are incurred in 2025-26 using a no-interest General Fund loan. On August 11, the administration issued an Executive Order authorizing a loan of $996 million. The exact program cost for 2025-26 will depend on the number of MCS recipients, together with changes in the total cost of attendance, other gift aid, and students’ collective financial need. Our Middle Class Scholarship EdBudget table summarizes estimated recipients, spending, and award amounts by segment.

Budget Includes Additional One-Time Funding for Golden State Teacher Grants. The budget includes $50 million in new one-time General Fund support for this program in 2025-26, along with carrying over $18 million in unspent program funds from 2024-25. The $50 million is in addition to the $500 million one-time General Fund appropriation provided in the 2021-22 Budget Act for this program. Along with the additional funding, trailer legislation extends the program by one year, through June 30, 2026. This program provides one-time grants of up to $10,000 to students in teacher preparation programs who commit to working at a priority school (a school where at least 55 percent of students are low-income, English learners, or foster youth). Under existing law, CSAC must report on the effectiveness of the program every two years, beginning December 31, 2025.

Budget Includes One-Time Funding to Support Two Nonprofit Colleges. The budget includes $20 million one-time General Fund for the California College of the Arts to help stabilize the school’s financial situation. This is the second year that the state will be providing the school with general fiscal support (having provided $2.5 million in 2024-25). The budget also contains $10 million one-time General Fund to provide general fiscal support to the California Indian Nations College. (The state provided this school with $5 million in 2022-23).

Budget Provides Net Funding Increase for CSAC State Operations. The budget includes $230,000 ongoing General Fund to add a Chief Information Security Officer position at CSAC. The 2025-26 budget also includes $1.9 million one-time General Fund to help CSAC address general cost increases. Starting in 2026-27, the state intends to provide $3 million ongoing General Fund for CSAC to continue addressing operating cost increases. Offsetting some of this increase is $245,000 in General Fund reductions in 2024-25 (adjusted to $240,000 ongoing in 2025-26) and the removal of 0.75 positions associated with Control Section 4.05 and Control Section 4.12 of the 2024-25 Budget Act.

Budget Supports Additional College Savings Accounts for Certain Foster Youth. The budget provides the Scholarshare Investment Board (SIB) with $6.1 million one-time General Fund to open additional college savings accounts for foster youth as part of the California Kids Investment and Development Savings (CalKIDS) program. Chapter 622 of 2024 (AB 2508, McCarty) authorizes accounts for all foster youth in first through twelfth grade, whereas accounts previously were authorized only for foster youth in first grade. Deposits for foster youth remain set at $1,000. The additional funds provided in the 2025-26 Budget Act remain available for SIB to encumber through January 1, 2029. The budget also provides SIB with $566,000 ongoing General Fund for three new full-time positions to support administration of the CalKIDS program. The new positions are to focus on marketing, outreach, customer service, and data analysis. With these new positions, SIB will have a total of seven permanent positions for CalKIDS administration.

Budget Funds Expansion of College Corps Program. The budget provides $5 million one-time General Fund to California Volunteers in 2025-26 to undertake certain activities relating to expanding the College Corps program. The budget plan also includes $84 million ongoing General Fund support starting in 2026-27 to operate the expanded program permanently. The state created this program as a one-time initiative in 2021-22, with the intent to operate it through the 2025-26 academic year. Under the program, students generally receive $10,000 of financial aid for completing 450 hours of community service. The program currently partners with 45 campuses and serves about 3,400 students. We cover California Volunteers, housed within the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, in the “Other Provisions” post of our Spending Plan series.

California State Library

California State Library’s Operational Funding Is Adjusted in Various Ways. The State Library was subject to funding and staffing reductions pursuant to Control Section 4.05 and Control Section 4.12 of the 2024-25 Budget Act. Together, these control sections reduced the Library’s state operations funding by $3.2 million and removed authority for ten permanent positions. Beyond these reductions, the budget redirects all ongoing General Fund from two existing State Library programs ($430,000 for the California Local Newspaper Project and $100,000 for the State Government Oral History Program) to the Library’s state operations. (In a related action, the budget provides UC with $430,000 for the newspaper project, which UC Riverside administers.) Additionally, the State Library received an augmentation of $334,000 General Fund ($282,000 ongoing and $57,000 one time) in 2025-26 for cybersecurity upgrades.

Budget Supports Several Local Library Projects. This EdBudget table shows all of the General Fund changes for the State Library. Whereas the State Library originally had planned to eliminate funding for the Braille Institute, Los Angeles in response to the control section reductions, the budget restores $500,000 ongoing and adds $800,000 one-time General Fund for this institute. In addition, the 2025-26 Budget Act includes $9 million to fund one or two new local library infrastructure projects (likely in the San Jose and/or Santa Cruz areas), $3.6 million for the Altadena Library District, and $2 million for the San Francisco Hillel Center (using freed-up funds from the San Diego Hillel Center project).

Budget Shifts Remaining Funds for Imagination Library to Another Department. The budget includes an estimated $39 million one-time General Fund for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This amount reflects the remainder of the original $68 million that the 2022-23 Budget Act provided to the State Library for this initiative. The 2025-26 Budget Act shifts the initiative from the State Library to the Department of General Services (DGS), with the intent to expedite its administration. DGS is to pass through funding to the Dollywood Foundation. This foundation operates the Imagination Library, which mails books free of charge to children under age five.

Anticipated Federal Funding Fluctuated During Budget Development. Early in the budget process, the State Library was notified that its federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant was being terminated. A few months later, the federal government subsequently reinstated this grant—maintaining the grant at the same level as in the previous year. June budget legislation reflected this reinstatement of funding. September budget legislation adjusted the distribution of federal funding, however, across the State Library’s state operations and local library assistance programs. Specifically, the September legislation moved $1.4 million in federal funding away from local library assistance programs to state operations. After this redirection, the budget appropriates $9.9 million in federal funding for the State Library’s local assistance programs and $8.5 million for its state operations.