The California legislature recently passed the state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Included in the bill is $151.4 billion in funding for TK-12 education programs. The goal of this monumental investment is to provide California students with the skills they need to graduate and thrive in the real world.
One notable line item is the $1 billion allocated to the continuation and expansion of Community School Programs. Since the passage of the California Community Schools Partnership Act in 2021, over 2,500 schools and 500 LEAs have used the funds to expand student supports and integrate health and social services directly into their school sites through the lens of MTSS.
These investments have proved fruitful, with participating schools seeing improved attendance rates, reduced suspensions, and improved academic achievement when compared to comparison schools.
Now, more LEAs will have the opportunity to use the expanded funding to drive similar gains with their students. The question for California district and County Offices of Education leaders is: How do you position your district to make the most of this moment?
Making the most of this investment in community schools will require leaders to think beyond one-off resources and programs and invest in sustainable systems that extend beyond the life of the grants.
Here is what the new budget includes:
For districts already doing community school work, this is reinforcement — not a reset. But with one-time investments come accountability expectations. Districts taking part will need to show how their MTSS and community school work are connected, and that the investment is producing results.
California's Community Schools Framework is built on four evidence-informed pillars. Most district leaders are already familiar with them. What the 2026 budget makes more urgent is the question of how well your district is actually implementing each one — and whether your systems are set up to show it.
The four pillars:
MTSS provides an operational framework that helps districts coordinate and implement the four pillars. Without a tiered system, each pillar tends to operate on its own track — separate programs, separate data, separate teams. With it, districts can connect the dots across every investment and support the whole-child.
Related Resource: A Guide to Self-Assessment of MTSS Implementation
Most California districts are not starting from scratch. After the first CCSPP funding rounds, many schools added community school coordinators, launched family engagement programs, expanded extended learning, and deepened behavioral health partnerships.
What early implementation has revealed, however, is that having the right programs in place doesn't automatically create a coordinated system.
The most common friction points:
Overcoming these obstacles is essential to ensure implementation remains consistent and meaningful across all levels.
In a budget year where one-time investments carry real accountability expectations, these points of friction can make it harder to scale what's working, use new dollars strategically, and produce the cross-school evidence that justifies continued investment.
The challenge: Connecting academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and mental health supports into one coherent system.
How MTSS supports implementation:
⬆️ Success Story: How “Know Every Student” Became a Reality at Springs Charter Schools
Many districts are finding that a purpose-built technology platform can help streamline this work by bringing data, intervention planning, and documentation into one place.
The challenge: Connecting family engagement to what's actually happening with each student's support plan. This is especially true for English language learners, youth in foster care, and other high-need populations.
How MTSS supports implementation:
Strong family engagement is most effective when it is connected to ongoing student support efforts rather than operating as a separate initiative.
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The challenge: Giving every educator shared visibility into what support a student is receiving and how it's working.
How MTSS supports implementation:
As districts scale community school efforts, consistent collaboration structures become increasingly important for maintaining alignment across multiple schools and departments.
The challenge: Making sure new funding reaches the students who actually need it, including the $50 million directed toward middle and high schools.
How MTSS supports implementation:
Districts that have strong MTSS infrastructure — where academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and mental health supports are connected, visible, and consistently implemented — will move faster, use new dollars more effectively, and produce the kind of evidence that sustains investment over time.
What that looks like in practice:
California's investment in community schools creates an opportunity to build stronger, more connected systems of support.
Branching Minds helps districts accomplish the whole-child approach outlined in the CCSPP with a comprehensive student support platform that improves collaboration and provides visibility into implementation and student outcomes.