California's Statewide System of Support

As noted above, various state and local agencies provide an array of resources and voluntary assistance that all local educational agencies (LEAs) may use to improve student performance at the LEA and school level and narrow disparities among student groups across the Local Control Funding Formula priorities, including recognition of success and the ability to share promising practices.

Support providers play a critical role in helping LEAs access resources that are responsive to their local needs and adapt those resources to fit the local context. Accordingly, work to further develop Universal Support is focused on the “supports” that are used or referenced by assistance providers when working with LEAs and ensuring those supports are relevant, targeted, and reliable in responding to a locally identified need in order to assist in effective implementation of the state priorities and improved outcomes for all students.

The term “Universal and Targeted technical assistance”, used in Education Code (EC) Section 2575.35, as added by Assembly Bill (AB) 126 (the 2026-27 Education Omnibus Trailer bill), refers to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) allocation for county offices of education and does not establish a new type of tier of technical assistance. The existing three-tiered framework of universal assistance, Differentiated Assistance (DA) (Level 2), and Direct Technical Assistance (DTA) (Level 3) remains unchanged. Rather, the funding changes shift the basis of COE funding away from the number and size of districts eligible for DA and toward a model primarily based on total Average Daily Attendance (ADA) within the county. This approach is intended to strengthen the availability and accessibility of universal support, available to all LEAs, and encourages a more proactive approach to technical assistance. Please refer to the COE Funding, Universal, and DA section below for FAQs on funding for support.

California provides numerous universal resources and supports that are available to all local educational agencies and schools. These include curriculum frameworks, practice guides, assistance from regional lead agencies, professional learning opportunities, individual coaching, grants, and resource clearinghouses that have been created through various state and federal programs.

Using the new DA criteria (see below), the CDE, pursuant to the requirements specified in the 2026-27 state budget, will publish a new annual data file of LEAs meeting the new DA criteria based on Dashboard data. COEs are to use this file to prioritize Universal Assistance. (EC Section 2575.35(c)(2).)

DA, as it is commonly termed, is targeted technical assistance under California’s public school accountability system as part of the Local Control Funding Formula legislation. DA is designed to assist LEAs to address underlying causes that led to low student outcomes while strengthening the LEA’s overall ability to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and programs, adjusting as appropriate. DA is provided to school districts (districts), county offices of education, and charter schools.

DA is not a status or label that LEAs enter or exit, but a type of support rooted in continuous improvement.

Related Education Code (EC) sections are as follows: EC 52071 (Districts), EC 52071.5 (County Offices of Education), and EC 47607.3 (Charters).

As noted, California’s public school accountability system is designed to reinforce the expectation that everyone can improve while also ensuring additional support is provided to LEAs that are struggling. It also includes an intentional focus on providing assistance in a manner that builds the capacity of the LEA receiving assistance in order to ensure improved outcomes and success for all students.

DA is therefore intended not only to help the LEA address the underlying causes that led to its eligibility for assistance, but also to strengthen the LEA’s overall ability to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and programs and make adjustments as appropriate for the benefit of all students. This approach equips the LEA to improve in areas that were not the focus of differentiated assistance and increases the likelihood that improvements will be sustained when the DA ends.

Eligibility for differentiated assistance is based on performance criteria set by the State Board of Education, which are described below. Although this system continues to evolve, the criteria are currently based on performance within the Local Control Funding Formula state priorities, measured through the state indicators that are reported annually in the California School Dashboard (Dashboard).

More information on the Dashboard, including the state and local indicators, is available on the California School Dashboard Frequently Asked Questions web page.

In July 2026, the SBE adopted new criteria to determine local education agency (LEA) eligibility for California’s system of support for DA. The new DA criteria now align the eligibility criteria for districts, COEs and charter schools with a three-year support cycle that aligns to the LCAP and federal accountability timelines. The new DA eligibility criteria that are taking effect with the 2026 Dashboard are as follows:

• At least two Red state indicators in each of the last three Dashboard years.
  • Same indicator
  • Same student group
• Addition of an All-Student group
• Use of the Red and Orange performance level for the English Learner Progress Indicator (ELPI) for the English Learner (EL) and Long-Term English Learner (LTEL) student groups
• Moves to a three-year identification cycle with the next cycle occurring with the release of the 2029 Dashboard
• Aligns criteria for all LEAs (county offices of education, districts, and charters are treated the same)

CDE is in the process of developing resources within the Dashboard Communications Toolkit to assist the field with understanding the new criteria.

The DA eligibility is posted in conjunction with the release of the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) as the "COE/District Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Assistance Status Spreadsheet" or "Charter School Assistance Status Spreadsheet."

For those local educational agencies (LEAs) eligible to receive DA, the LCFF Assistance files identifies how the LEA met the eligibility criteria (i.e., the student group[s] and relevant indicators).

For 2026, the initial release of the Dashboard and LCFF Assistance Status Spreadsheets is scheduled for October 15, 2026. A secondary release will occur on December 15, 2026. The LCFF Assistance Status Spreadsheets are organized by county and LEA, and what type of assistance they are receiving. For those LEAs receiving differentiated assistance, it also identifies how the LEA met the eligibility criteria (i.e., the student group[s] and relevant indicators). A separate spreadsheet will be available for charter schools. More information about the LCFF Assistance Status Spreadsheets can be found on the LCFF web page on the California Department of Education website at Local Control Funding Formula.

Yes. Resources regarding the 2026 Dashboard and the State and Local Indicators will be found on the CDE Dashboard Communications Toolkit web page and the Local Indicators web page on October 15, 2026.

Yes. LEAs have an opportunity to preview the Dashboard data files the day before the public release. Information about the preview is shared with the designated Dashboard Coordinator(s) at each LEA.

School District

COEs provide DA to eligible school districts located in their county. The COE, in consultation with the school district, may solicit another service provider to assist the eligible district.

Charter Schools

COEs provide DA to eligible charter schools located in their county, unless that COE is the authorizer of the eligible charter school. In that case, the Geographic Lead Agency for the COE will provide DA.

County Offices of Education

The CDE provides support for eligible COEs and their schools. COEs may be given the option to work with another COE in conjunction with CDE.

Statue describes what DA may entail through four examples, all of which reflect the intent that agencies providing DA work collaboratively with the LEA receiving assistance and that the assistance be flexible and context-specific.

Consistent with the intent under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) that DA be tailored to locally identified needs rather than imposed as a one-size-fits all solution, the approach to providing DA has the following features:

• Support providers work alongside LEAs and their schools to identify key challenges and opportunities,
• A systemic approach tailored to locally identified needs and strengths connected to the LEA’s annual Local Control and Accountability Plan process,
• Engagement with local educators and communities as part of decision making, and/or
• LEAs retain control to select the improvement strategies and actions they will implement to address identified challenges and opportunities.

All COEs have committed to working with their districts and charter schools to facilitate a collaborative review of their Dashboard and other local data and a discussion of underlying causes of performance challenges. CDE is also committed to working with COEs on their continuous improvement process. COES and CDE have developed common tools and protocols for the facilitated process grounded in improvement science.

Beginning with the release of the 2026 Dashboard, DA support will be provided to districts, county offices of education, and charter schools for a minimum of three years following identification of eligibility. (Education Code 52071[c] and 52071.5 [b]). A year of support is the timeframe of "Dashboard to Dashboard."

County offices of education (COEs) will be required to provide DA to local educational agencies with schools not exiting CSI within four years based on the 2026 Dashboard. (EC Section 52071(c)(1).) The file that contains LEAs eligible for DA through the CSI pathway will be released on December 15, 2026, along with the re-release of the LCFF Assistance file to include LEAs with schools not exiting CSI within four years. See the Federal School Improvement Requirements section below for additional information related to DA and federal accountability. You can also check out the CSI to DA Pathway FAQs.

Based on the eligibility criteria (provided above) for DA, LEAs do have to be eligible for the same student group(s) and state priority areas for three years to become eligible for DA (EC 52064.5 (g)). For the 2026 DA eligibility determination, data from the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Dashboards will be used.

Eligibility is not only determined annually through student group performance, but also by local indicators not being met for two or more years. Therefore, a charter school can become eligible through student group performance in one year, and local indicator performance in the following year.

No, eligibility for DA has no impact on the LCAP engagement requirements for charter schools. California Education Code (EC) Section 47606.5(d)  requires that a charter school consult with teachers, principals, administrators, other school personnel, parents, and pupils in developing the LCAP.

Note: A charter school that is using its LCAP as its School Plan for Student Achievement must also meet the requirements of EC Section 52062(a) .

The "LCAP process" is an annual cycle that includes development of the LCAP and ongoing implementation of the actions and services included in the approved LCAP.

As part of developing the LCAP and annual update, every LEA is expected to review its data, including performance on state and local indicators in the California Dashboard (Dashboard) and the effectiveness of actions and services included in the LCAP, and engage with educational partners when developing and/or updating goals, actions, and services that are ultimately included in the locally approved LCAP.

This is reflected in the current LCAP template, which includes a plan summary with prompts requiring LEAs to reflect annually on strengths, areas of low performance, and performance gaps as reflected in the Dashboard and other local data. Ongoing implementation and progress monitoring throughout the year is expected to inform the development/update of the goals, actions, and services included in the LCAP for the following year.

DA provides support to LEAs to build their capacity to improve student outcomes through the LCAP process. "DA exists within the LCAP process. There is no statutory requirement for developing a new 'improvement plan'" separate from the LCAP (November 2017 SBE Meeting, Item 4, Attachment 1 [DOC]).

LEAs identified for DA continue to complete their LCAPs and annual updates. A key element of DA is the review of data and analysis of underlying causes, which all LEAs are expected to complete as part of developing an LCAP, with additional support from the COE.

As noted, school districts (districts) do not have to develop a new improvement plan as part of DA. Instead, the insights and conclusions gained from DA should be reflected in the district’s ongoing LCAP process, which requires stakeholder engagement.

District superintendents, or their designees, are responsible for engaging with their COEs and local educational partners in the DA process. COEs are required to provide DA to eligible districts. The initial step is a management consultation between the COE and district leadership. The district superintendent, or his or her designee, is responsible for determining who participates in the meetings with the COE staff.

Local educational partners have critical insights on strengths/weaknesses and underlying causes of low performance that will strengthen the DA process. COEs should offer to assist districts in thinking through how to engage local educational partners in the DA process and to integrate feedback into the district’s LCAP development process.

The insights and conclusions gained from DA should be reflected in the district’s LCAP process, which requires stakeholder engagement. Engaging educational partners in the decision-making process is a central principle of the LCFF. Districts should engage local educational partners before reaching definitive conclusions or settling on specific strategies. This is true regardless of whether a district elects to work primarily with a COE, a partner agency such as the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, or another provider.

Yes. LEAs (charters, districts, and COEs) eligible for DA must provide a summary of the DA work underway as part of their LCAP.

These will be posted as they become available.

No. COEs must provide DA to eligible districts. DA is intended to support districts and charters in building their capacity to improve student outcomes through the LCAP process, which includes deciding how to use resources provided through the LCFF and other state, local, and federal funding sources to meet the needs of students and the local community. Districts also have the choice of working with another agency or provider. .

Yes, commencing with 2026-27, COEs will receive a Universal and Targeted Assistance Grant (UTAG) to support all LEAs within the county’s jurisdiction. This funding is intended to improve outcomes for LCFF state priorities identified in the LCAP pursuant to Education Code Sections 52060 and 52066, and may be used for activities including the provision of DA.

UTAG funding replaces the previous DA funding formula, which was primarily based on the size and number of school districts and charter schools identified for DA.

For 2026-27, COEs will generate UTAG funding consisting of the following components:

For 2027-28 and forward, COEs will generate UTAG funding consisting of the following components:

Pursuant to Education Code (EC) 2575.35(e), the ADA Grant and Stability Grant components of a single district county’s UTAG funding is allocated to the Geographic Lead Agency of the region in which the single district county is located based on the table available on the Geographic Lead Agencies web page. Single district counties will receive the Base Funding component.

Yes. Since Local Control Funding Formula's (LCFF’s) enactment COEs have used the unrestricted funding through the LCFF COE formula to provide support to districts. For example, some COEs have realigned the professional learning opportunities they provide to their districts or supported job-alike meetings or networks for staff across districts within their county to support focus on LCFF priorities and/or student groups central to the LCAP and the new accountability system. Finally, COEs review and approve LCAPs for their districts and offer assistance throughout that process.

As California moves forward in implementing the System of Support, there are many opportunities for COEs and districts to work collaboratively to address locally identified needs, regardless of whether a district has been identified to receive DA, through the LCAP development process. For example, the same protocols that COEs and districts use for DA (investigation of data, analysis of underlying causes, etc.) can be incorporated into ongoing conversations and coaching around LCAP development.

COEs will receive these additional funds through continuous appropriations, as part of their Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Funds will be added to their LCFF state aid and paid in monthly increments per the Principal Apportionment (PA) payment. The PA payment schedule will be posted on the Principal Apportionment web page at every certification period.

Under the ESSA, the state must identify schools that meet eligibility criteria for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI). CSI and ATSI determinations are made on a three-year cycle, that is, once every three years. TSI determinations are made in non-CSI/ATSI determination years. Specific eligibility criteria information for ESSA school support determinations is available in the Dashboard Technical Guide which can be accessed on the Dashboard Resources web page. Programmatic and planning-related information for CSI, TSI, and ATSI is available on the ESSA School Support FAQs web page.

LEAs are responsible for developing and/or approving school-level improvement plans for eligible schools. As described in more detail below, California will use the existing LCAP and school level planning process to meet these federal requirements, with the state providing general resources and technical assistance to support LEAs.

Consistent with the System of Support’s focus on increasing the capacity of LEAs to meet the needs of all students, these resources will focus on building the capacity of LEAs to support their schools and differentiate those supports as appropriate based on data about opportunities and outcomes within the LCAP process. These resources will be available to all LEAs, i.e., they are Universal Support (Level 1), and LEAs with eligible schools will be responsible for using those resources to meet ESSA’s school improvement requirements.

ESSA’s school identification requirements intersect with DA (Level 2) only when a school has been identified for CSI and has not met exit criteria within four years. In that circumstance, federal law requires more rigorous state-determined intervention. California’s more rigorous intervention is to identify the LEA to receive differentiated assistance based on the persistent low performance of one or more of its schools. California will determine LEAs eligible for DA via the CSI to DA pathway in School Year 2026−27 based on the results of the 2026 Dashboard. Additional information about the CSI pathway to DA is available on the CSI to LEA DA tab of the ESSA School Support FAQs web page.

The ESSA requires the development of a school improvement plan for each school eligible for CSI, TSI, or ATSI. Planning requirements differ somewhat for each category of support. Information related to planning requirements is available on the CSI and TSI/ATSI web pages.

California will utilize an existing school planning process for LEAs and schools to address the federal school planning requirements. Legislation enacted in 2018redesignated what was formerly known as the Single Plan for Student Achievement to the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) and updated statute to ensure this plan and the stakeholder engagement process for its development address federal planning requirements. The CDE has developed a SPSA template for each category of support. SPSA templates and instructions are available on the LCAP web page.

Additionally, for CSI-eligible schools, the SBE must ultimately approve the plans developed by the LEAs for these schools. To address this requirement, three CSI prompts in the Plan Summary section of the LCAP must be completed by LEAs with CSI-eligible schools. COEs must approve this section of the LCAP prior to final SBE approval of the plans annually. More information about the CSI prompts and the approval of the LCAP is available on the LCAP web page.

Effective January 1, 2019, state law provides that single school districts and charter schools may utilize the LCAP to serve as the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), provided that the LCAP meets federal school planning requirements and relevant stakeholder requirements for LCAPs under state law (EC 64001(j).

Charter schools and single school districts may use the LCAP planning process to meet the planning requirements of the LCAP and the SPSA. In doing so, they may utilize the LCAP stakeholder engagement requirements. If they choose to continue to develop both an LCAP and a SPSA, then, in the development of their SPSA, they must establish a School Site Council (SSC) to meet the federal planning requirements. Charter schools and single school districts may also choose to utilize a committee, such as the SSC, that meets federal planning requirements in developing their LCAP.

A communications toolkit, which includes resources about the Dashboard, DA, and the system of support is available on the CDE California School Dashboard and System of Support web page. COEs can also support school districts in determining how to communicate with local stakeholders.