Your AB 126 Checklist: 6 Things to Do Before November 1

Part 3 of a 3-Part AB 126 Series

Part 1: What Is AB 126?

Part 2: AB 126 and Expanded Learning

Part 3: Your AB 126 Checklist (you are here)

The opt-in deadline for AB 126 community schools funding is November 1, 2026. That’s less than three months away. Here’s exactly what to do between now and then.

1. Identify Your Eligible Sites

Pull your prior year Fall 1 CALPADS data. Any school with an unduplicated pupil percentage (UPP) of 65% or higher and at least 10 students enrolled qualifies (Ed. Code § 8901(h)(1)(A)). UPP counts students who are low-income, English learners, or foster youth.

Schools already receiving a CCSPP (California Community Schools Partnership Program) implementation grant also qualify (Ed. Code § 8901(h)(1)(B)).

Run the numbers. Know which sites are in.

2. Have the Board Conversation

Opting in is a governance decision. The funding is real: $75,000 to $400,000 per site, every year, adjusted for inflation (Ed. Code § 8903(c)(1)(B)). But it comes with commitments. Sites must follow the Community Schools Framework, submit implementation plans, and eventually go through a certification process starting in 2031-32 (Ed. Code § 8903(e)(4)(A)).

Your board needs to understand what they’re saying yes to, not just the dollar amount.

3. Collect Commitment Letters

The opt-in notification requires assurances that you’ve collected signed commitment letters from (Ed. Code § 8903(c)(1)(E)(i)):

• The superintendent
• Site principals
• Teacher representatives
• Classified staff representatives
• Student representatives
• Parent representatives

This is often the bottleneck. Don’t wait until October. Start conversations with these groups now.

4. Decide: Planning or Implementation?

Each site goes one of two ways (Ed. Code § 8903(e)):

Planning: Up to 24 months to build your community schools infrastructure. Needs assessments, coordinator hiring, partner development, plan drafting. If you don’t submit a satisfactory plan to CDE within 24 months, you lose the funding (Ed. Code § 8903(e)(1)(C)).

Implementation: You’re ready to go. Shared decision-making teams, site plans, expenditure reporting, annual attestations.

Be honest about where each site is. Choosing implementation when you’re not ready creates problems. Choosing planning when you could be implementing leaves impact on the table.

5. Loop In Your Expanded Learning Team

If your district runs ELOP (Expanded Learning Opportunities Program), ASES (After School Education and Safety Program), or 21st CCLC (21st Century Community Learning Centers) at eligible sites, your expanded learning coordinator needs to be part of this process. AB 126 requires your community school implementation plan to describe how you braid funds across these programs (Ed. Code § 8903(e)(2)(C)(iv)). You can even submit your ELOP and ASES plans as part of the community school plan (Ed. Code § 8903(e)(2)(E)).

Don’t treat this as a separate conversation. It’s not.

6. Attend the September 23 CDE/S-TAC Webinar

CDE and S-TAC (the State Transformational Assistance Center) are hosting an informational webinar on September 23, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. If you’re considering opting in, this is your best opportunity to hear directly from the department and ask questions before the November 1 deadline.

Key Dates at a Glance

The funding is ongoing. The deadline is not. If your sites qualify, start moving now.

Want to talk through what AB 126 means for your district’s expanded learning programs? We’d love to help. Reach out at attendly.com/contact-us.

Sources

1. AB 126 (2025-2026), Chapter 65, Education finance: education omnibus trailer bill. Approved by Governor July 9, 2026. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB126

2. California Education Code § 8901, Definitions, California Community Schools Partnership Act. As amended by AB 126 § 16.

3. California Education Code § 8903, California Community Schools Partnership Program (ongoing apportionments). Added by AB 126 § 19.

4. California Education Code § 8902, California Community Schools Partnership Program (one-time grants). As amended by AB 126 § 18.