Student Support and Professional Development Grant

A program providing funds to county offices of education, school districts, charter schools, and the state special schools for discretionary purposes, to use the grant to “address rising costs” and fund specified state priorities.

Funding

Fiscal Year 2025–26

Section 81 of Assembly Bill (AB) 121 (Chapter 8, Statutes of 2025) ; Schedule (2) of Item 6100-485 and Provision 2 of Item 6100-488 of the Budget Act of 2025 (Chapter 4, Statutes of 2025) , as amended by AB 102 (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2025) , and as further amended by Section 141 of AB 126 (Chapter 65, Statutes of 2026) authorizes the Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant (SSPDBG). For 2025–26, the sum of $1.7 billion was appropriated from the General Fund to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) for the SSPDBG Grant Program.

Funds are allocated on the basis of an equal amount per unit of average daily attendance for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as those numbers were reported as of the second principal apportionment for the 2024–25 fiscal year. The average daily attendance for each state special school shall be deemed to be 97 percent of the enrollment as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System as of the 2024–25 Fall 1 Submission.

Funds may be expended during the 2025–26, 2026–27, 2027–28, and 2028–29 fiscal years. By September 30, 2029, each county office of education, school district, charter school, and state special school receiving an allocation pursuant to this section shall report final expenditures to the State Department of Education, which shall initiate collection of any unexpended funds no later than January 31, 2030.

Allowable Uses of Funds for 2025–26

Section 81 of Assembly Bill (AB) 121 (Chapter 8, Statutes of 2025) authorizes Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant (SSPDBG) funds expended for discretionary purposes, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

Providing standards-aligned professional development for teachers on the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework and the Literacy Roadmap, including strategies to support literacy for English learners.
Providing standards-aligned professional development for teachers on the Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools.
Developing and expanding teacher recruitment and retention strategies.
Expanding career pathways and dual enrollment efforts, consistent with the Master Plan for Career Education.
Addressing rising costs.

Fiscal Year 2026–27

Section 76 of AB 126 (Chapter 65, Statutes of 2026) , appropriated an additional $5 billion from the General Fund to the SSPI for the SSPDBG Grant Program.

Funds are allocated on the basis of an equal amount per unit of average daily attendance for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as those numbers were reported as of the second principal apportionment for the 2026–27 fiscal year. The average daily attendance for each state special school shall be deemed to be 97 percent of the enrollment as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System as of the 2025–26 Fall 1 Submission.

Funds may be expended during the 2026–27, 2027–28, 2028–29, 2029–30, 2030–2031, and 2031–32 fiscal years. By September 30, 2032, each county office of education, school district, charter school, and state special school receiving an allocation pursuant to this section shall report final expenditures to the State Department of Education, which shall initiate collection of any unexpended funds no later than January 31, 2033.

Student Support and Professional Development Grant Funding Profile (2026)
Student Support and Professional Development Grant Funding Results (2026)

Allowable Uses of Funds for 2026–27

Section 76 of Assembly Bill (AB) 126 (Chapter 65, Statutes of 2026) authorizes SSPDBG funds expended for discretionary purposes, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

Providing standards-aligned professional development for teachers on the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework and the Literacy Roadmap, including strategies to support literacy for English learners, and effective language acquisition programs for English learners, which may include integrated language development within and across content areas, and building and strengthening capacity to increase bilingual and biliterate proficiency.
Providing standards-aligned professional development for teachers on the Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools.
Providing professional development for certificated and classified educators of transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, and elementary school site administrators on the principles and guidelines of developmentally appropriate instruction, including developmentally appropriate behaviors and behavior interventions, and developmentally appropriate transitional kindergarten pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 48000 of the Education Code, to improve the implementation of transitional kindergarten.
Developing and expanding teacher recruitment and retention strategies, including, but not limited to, coaching and mentoring of staff serving in an instructional setting, and beginning teacher or administrator induction.
Expanding career pathways and dual enrollment efforts, consistent with the Master Plan for Career Education.
Community school and promising neighborhood partnerships pursuant to the California Community Schools Partnership Act (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 8900) of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1).
Deferred maintenance of school facilities.
Addressing rising costs.

Other Information

Annual Expenditure Reports and Data Reports Overview (DOCX)
The information included in this document serves as an example of the type of data that the California Department of Education will collect.

Student Support and Professional Development Grant

Funding

Fiscal Year 2025–26

Allowable Uses of Funds for 2025–26

Fiscal Year 2026–27

Allowable Uses of Funds for 2026–27

Other Information

Fiscal Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Technical Assistance Webinars

Reporting Resources

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