Stuart Foundation Statement on the California 2026–27 Education Budget
With the signing of California’s 2026–27 education budget, the state has reached an important milestone in its commitment to creating the schools that adolescents need to thrive. The ongoing $1 billion investment in community schools reflects California’s continued support for a whole child approach that recognizes the unique developmental needs and extraordinary potential of adolescents. The $50 million in one-time funds to integrate secondary school redesign and the community schools model signals an important step toward a coherent approach to school transformation that leverages and connects resources and initiatives. Other one-time investments, such as funding for dual enrollment, can further strengthen this work, which is essential to preparing students for a complex and rapidly changing future.
These investments reaffirm what we hear from adolescents and what we know from the science of learning and adolescent development: namely, that young people need to be engaged, challenged with rigorous content, empowered, and connected through trusting relationships to create the conditions for meaningful learning. Together, these investments represent more than individual programs. They reflect an increasingly coherent vision for adolescent success and school transformation in California, shaped by the continued leadership of the Governor and the Legislature, working alongside educators, students, families, researchers, advocates, community organizations, philanthropy, and many others. It will take the ongoing engagement of this broad cross-section of individuals and organizations to translate these policy milestones into meaningful and lasting changes for students. Fully realizing California’s commitment to the shared leadership of students, families, and educators will be key to advancing and sustaining school transformation.
When California invests in adolescents through exciting and challenging learning, strong relationships, authentic opportunities, and integrated systems of support, it is investing in the future of the state itself.
The 2026-27 education budget also includes important investments for the state’s most marginalized and underserved students. Among these: an historic $2.4 billion increase for special education funding; $100 million for a newcomer program; $75 million for Dream Resource Centers; and $116 million to support students experiencing homelessness.
As we celebrate these investments, we are also mindful that young people’s success depends on much more than what happens in schools. Many of the health, mental health, housing, nutrition, and other supports that adolescents and families rely on are under increasing strain because of broader fiscal pressures, including reductions in federal funding that are affecting communities across California. Young people facing the greatest barriers to opportunity—including students in foster care, students experiencing homelessness, and those from low-income or mixed-immigration-status families—are likely to feel these pressures most acutely. A strong education system is most effective when it is part of a broader ecosystem of support that enables every young person to learn, grow, and thrive.
This budget reinforces an important truth: when California invests in adolescents through exciting and challenging learning, strong relationships, authentic opportunities, and integrated systems of support, it is investing in the future of the state itself. We celebrate these important milestones, which speak to the impact of an ongoing and broadly held commitment to transformation, rooted in coherence and equity. We look forward to continuing to work alongside partners across California to translate these policy advances into meaningful changes in teaching, learning, and opportunity for every young person.