This week in Sacramento, the Senate Education Committee took action on two charter-specific bills, while the Assembly took a deep dive into the Charter Schools Facilities Grant Program.
AB 1604 (Bonta) Charter Schools Facility Grant
This insidious bill seeks to impose restrictions on the Charter Schools Facility Grant Program (CSFGP), the only state-funded program that provides a partial reimbursement for charter schools that lease private facilities. CSDC opposes this bill.
This week, the CSFGP was scrutinized twice in the Capitol.
On Tuesday, the program was reviewed by the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance. For background: last year, charter advocates secured a $60 million augmentation to the budget to be split over two years. This year, the staff questioned whether the second tranche was necessary given the proposed cuts in other areas of the state budget. CSDC testified in support of maintaining the $30 million included in the governor’s budget for...
