Assembly BillChaptered/SignedEducation
AB 2496: Local educational agencies: reports: school accountability report card: California School Dashboard: local control accountability plan: local control funding formula budget overview.
What AB 2496 does, verified September 29, 2026
This bill would eliminate the school accountability report card and replace it with the California School Dashboard. The dashboard is a web-based system that reports performance data on state and local indicators. The bill would require school districts to publicize the dashboard and notify parents or guardians annually when it is released. Additionally, the bill would make changes to the local control accountability plan and local control funding formula budget overview. The changes would eliminate the requirement for a report on the annual update to the plan and budget overview. The bill would also require the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for any costs mandated by the state.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 615, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-27)Alert me
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| Sep. 27, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 615, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 27, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 03, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6649.). |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 27, 2026 · 4,708 words
Assembly Bill No. 2496
CHAPTER 615
An act to amend Sections 32286, 33352, 47606.5, 52062, 52068, and 60800 of, and to add and repeal Section 33126.7 of, the Education Code, relating to school accountability.
[ Approved by Governor September 27, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 27, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2496, Solache. Local educational agencies: reports: school accountability report card: California School Dashboard: local control accountability plan: local control funding formula budget overview.
The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, amended the California Constitution to, among other things, require school districts maintaining an elementary or secondary school to adopt a school accountability report card for each school. The act also requires, by statute, the governing boards of school districts maintaining an elementary or secondary school to annually issue a school accountability report card that includes certain information for each school in the school district, publicize those reports, and notify parents and guardians of pupils that a hard copy of those reports is available upon request, as specified.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the State Board of Education, to develop and maintain the California School Dashboard, a web-based system for publicly reporting performance data on the state and local indicators included in evaluation rubrics.
This bill would require the department, on or before August 31, 2027, to provide a report to the Legislature that identifies duplication between the data contained in the school accountability report card and other publicly available data sources, as provided.
Existing law requires a local educational agency to develop annually a summary document known as the local control funding formula budget overview for parents. Existing law requires, before the governing board or body of a local educational agency considers the adoption of a local control and accountability plan (LCAP) or an annual update to the LCAP, certain things to occur, including that the superintendent of the school district, the county superintendent of schools, or the charter school present a report on the annual update to the LCAP and the local control funding formula budget overview for parents on or before February 28 of each year at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board or body of the local educational agency, as specified.
This bill would eliminate the February 28 deadline for the presentation of the above-described report on the annual update to the LCAP and the local control funding formula budget overview.
Under existing law, each school district and county office of education is responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in consultation with certain local entities. Existing law requires each school to annually review and update its comprehensive school safety plan, and to report each July on the status of its school safety plan, including a description of its key elements in the annual school accountability report card, as provided.
This bill would repeal the requirement that each school annually report on the status of its school safety plan.
Existing law requires the department to exercise general supervision over the courses of physical education in the elementary and secondary schools of the state, advise officials, school boards, and teachers in the development and improvement of their physical education and activity programs, and investigate the work in physical education in the public schools. Existing law requires the department to ensure that the data collected through the categorical program monitoring indicates the extent to which each school within the jurisdiction of a school district or county office of education provides, among other things, for inclusion of the results of physical testing of pupils in the school accountability report card, as provided.
This bill would repeal the above-described requirement that the results of physical testing of pupils be included in the school accountability report card.
Existing law requires the governing board of each school district maintaining any of grades 5, 7, or 9, during the month of February, March, April, or May, to administer to each pupil in those grades the physical performance test designated by the state board and report the aggregate results of this physical performance testing in its annual school accountability report card.
This bill would repeal this reporting requirement.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) The school accountability report card (SARC) was established in the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act (act), an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election. The act established a formula for stable school funding and paired with it a requirement that each school district annually adopt a SARC for each school maintained by the school district. The SARC was intended to make schools accountable by requiring that each school make public a progress report on test scores, dropout rates, classroom discipline, class size, instructional materials, the quality of instruction, and school leadership. The Legislature subsequently established that the SARC is also intended to provide data by which a parent can make meaningful comparisons between public schools that enable them to make informed decisions on the school in which to enroll their children.
(2) In 2013, the state reformed school funding by adopting the local control funding formula (LCFF). Like Proposition 98, school accountability was a central focus of LCFF. The LCFF statutes established the requirement to complete a local control and accountability plan, a three-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services, and expenditures to support pupil outcomes that address both state and local priorities. The LCFF statutes also created the California School Dashboard as a new accountability tool to reflect local educational agency and school performance across the state priority areas so that parents and the public have a complete picture of what is happening in the state’s schools and local educational agencies and can identify those that need additional support.
(3) While the LCFF statutes created a new accountability system and tools to better inform the public and ensure parents have meaningful information to engage in local planning and accountability, they did not reform the SARC. The result is a now largely duplicative system that increases school district staff workload without commensurately increasing accountability, transparency, parent and family engagement in local planning and accountability, and pupil achievement.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do both of the following:
(1) Consolidate, truncate, or replace duplicative or obsolete reports that increase the reporting burden of local educational agencies and do not benefit accountability, transparency, parent and family engagement in local planning and accountability, and pupil achievement.
(2) Ensure that reporting mechanisms provide information in meaningful, accessible, and efficient ways to enable the active involvement of parents and guardians, pupils, educators, community leaders, school boards, and schoolsite teams in local decisionmaking.
SEC. 2.
Section 32286 of the Education Code is amended to read:32286.
Each school shall adopt its comprehensive school safety plan by March 1, 2000, and shall review and update its plan by March 1, every year thereafter. A new school campus that begins offering classes to pupils after March 1, 2001, shall adopt a comprehensive school safety plan within one year of initiating operation, and shall review and update its plan by March 1, every year thereafter.SEC. 3.
Section 33126.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:33126.7.
(a) The department shall, on or before August 31, 2027, and in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, provide a report to the Legislature that identifies duplication between the data contained in the school accountability report card and other publicly available data sources.(b) In complying with subdivision (a), for each table in the most recent school accountability report card template adopted by the state board, excluding those described in subdivision (e), the department shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify the statutory requirement that requires the data to be submitted by school districts and note each instance where the template exceeds statutory requirements.
(2) Identify other publicly available data sources that provide substantially similar information. Sources of other data shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) The California School Dashboard, established pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 52064.5.
(B) The department’s DataQuest internet website.
(C) Any other internet web page or system managed by the department.
(D) Any other internet web page or system managed by other state entities, such as the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, where data is obtained from the department pursuant to a data sharing agreement.
(E) Any data related to measures on the most recent school accountability report card template adopted by the state board that a school district is also required by statute or regulation to do any of the following with that data:
(i) Post on its internet website.
(ii) Present at a governing board meeting.
(iii) Include in another plan or report, including, but not limited to, a local control and accountability plan or the School Plan for Student Achievement.
(3) Analyze how closely the data identified in paragraph (2) aligns with or differs from the current data available in the school accountability report card. This may include, but is not limited to, an indication that the data is identical, that the information is similar but not identical with a notation of the differences, or that the information addresses the same topic but is available at a different level, such as at a school district level when the school accountability report card requires schoolsite-level information.
(c) In complying with subdivision (a), the department shall also identify any instance where data provided by school districts in a school accountability report card is used to satisfy other state or federal requirements and what other alternatives may exist to satisfy those same requirements.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department makes a broad interpretation of the similarity of other publicly available data sources so as to promote a robust analysis of the degree of duplication. However, differences should be thoroughly described, including, but not limited to, differences in the level of information, such as schoolsite or district level, how the information is displayed or formatted, the number of years of data available, and the steps required to access the data.
(e) For purposes of this section, the department shall exclude from its report tables or data elements that have been removed from statute but not yet removed from the school accountability report card template.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 4.
Section 33352 of the Education Code is amended to read:33352.
(a) The department shall exercise general supervision over the courses of physical education in the elementary and secondary schools of the state; advise school officials, school boards, and teachers in the development and improvement of their physical education and activity programs; and investigate the work in physical education in the public schools.(b) The department shall ensure that the data collected through the categorical program monitoring indicates the extent to which each school within the jurisdiction of a school district or county office of education does all of the following that are applicable to the school:
(1) Provides instruction in physical education for a total period of time of not less than 200 minutes each 10 schooldays to pupils in grades 1 to 6, inclusive, as required pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 51210.
(2) Provides instruction in physical education for a total period of time of not less than 400 minutes each 10 schooldays to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51222.
(3) Provides instruction in physical education for a total period of time of not less than 200 minutes each 10 schooldays to pupils in an elementary school maintaining grades 1 to 8, inclusive, as required pursuant to Section 51223.
(4) Conducts physical fitness testing of pupils as required pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 60800) of Part 33 of Division 4.
(5) Offers pupils exempted from required attendance in physical education courses pursuant to paragraph (1) of either subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 51241 a variety of elective physical education courses of not less than 400 minutes every 10 schooldays.
(6) Provides a course of study in physical education to pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that includes a developmentally appropriate sequence of instruction, including the effects of physical activity upon dynamic health, the mechanics of body movement, aquatics, gymnastics and tumbling, individual and dual sports, rhythms and dance, team sports, and combatives.
(7) Provides instruction in physical education to pupils that provides equal opportunities for participation regardless of gender.
(8) Provides instruction in physical education to pupils in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, by physical education teachers who hold appropriate teaching credentials issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(c) The department annually shall do both of the following:
(1) Submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature that summarizes the data collected through categorical program monitoring regarding the items described in paragraphs (1) to (8), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(2) Post a summary of the data collected through categorical program monitoring regarding the items described in paragraphs (1) to (8), inclusive, of subdivision (b) on the internet website of the department.
SEC. 5.
Section 47606.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:47606.5.
(a) On or before July 1, 2015, and each year thereafter, the governing body of a charter school shall hold a public hearing to adopt a local control and accountability plan using a template adopted by the state board. The governing body of a charter school shall update the goals and annual actions to achieve those goals identified in the charter petition pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 47605 or subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 47605.6, as applicable, using the template for the local control and accountability plan and annual update to the local control and accountability plan adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 52064 and shall include all of the following:(1) A review of the progress toward the goals included in the charter, an assessment of the effectiveness of the specific actions described in the charter toward achieving the goals, and a description of changes to the specific actions the charter school will make as a result of the review and assessment.
(2) A listing and description of the expenditures for the fiscal year implementing the specific actions included in the charter as a result of the reviews and assessment required by paragraph (1).
(b) For purposes of the review required by subdivision (a), a governing body of a charter school may consider qualitative information, including, but not limited to, findings that result from school quality reviews conducted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 52052 or any other reviews.
(c) To the extent practicable, data reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner consistent with how information is reported on the California School Dashboard maintained by the department pursuant to Section 52064.5.
(d) The charter school shall consult with teachers, principals, administrators, other school personnel, parents, and pupils in developing the local control and accountability plan and annual update to the local control and accountability plan.
(e) (1) The charter school shall present a report on the annual update to the local control and accountability plan and the local control funding formula budget overview for parents each year as part of a nonconsent item at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing body of the charter school.
(2) The report shall include both of the following:
(A) All available midyear outcome data related to metrics identified in the current year’s local control and accountability plan.
(B) All available midyear expenditure and implementation data on all actions identified in the current year’s local control and accountability plan.
(f) The governing body of a charter school shall hold at least one public hearing to solicit the recommendations and comments of members of the public regarding the specific actions and expenditures proposed to be included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan. The agenda for the public hearing shall be posted at least 72 hours before the public hearing, and the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan shall be made available for public inspection at each site operated by the charter school.
(g) The governing body of a charter school may adopt revisions to a local control and accountability plan during the period the local control and accountability plan is in effect. The governing body of a charter school may only adopt a revision to a local control and accountability plan if it follows the process to adopt a local control and accountability plan pursuant to this section and the revisions are adopted in a public meeting.
(h) Pursuant to Section 47604.33, the charter school shall submit the adopted or revised local control and accountability plan pursuant to this section to its chartering authority and the county superintendent of schools, or only to the county superintendent of schools if the county board of education is the chartering authority.
(i) The charter school shall prominently post on the home page of the internet website of the charter school any local control and accountability plan adopted by the governing body of the charter school, and any updates, revisions, or addenda, including those to comply with federal law, to a local control and accountability plan approved by the governing body of the charter school.
SEC. 6.
Section 52062 of the Education Code is amended to read:52062.
(a) Before the governing board of a school district considers the adoption of a local control and accountability plan or an annual update to the local control and accountability plan, all of the following shall occur:(1) The superintendent of the school district shall present the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan to the applicable committees pursuant to Section 52063 for review and comment. The superintendent of the school district shall respond, in writing, to comments received from the parent advisory committee.
(2) The superintendent of the school district shall present the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan to the English learner parent advisory committee established pursuant to Section 52063, if applicable, for review and comment. The superintendent of the school district shall respond, in writing, to comments received from the English learner parent advisory committee.
(3) The superintendent of the school district shall notify members of the public of the opportunity to submit written comments regarding the specific actions and expenditures proposed to be included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan, using the most efficient method of notification possible. This paragraph shall not require a school district to produce printed notices or to send notices by mail. The superintendent of the school district shall ensure that all written notifications related to the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan are provided consistent with Section 48985.
(4) The superintendent of the school district shall review school plans submitted pursuant to Section 64001 for schools within the school district and ensure that the specific actions included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan are consistent with strategies included in the school plans submitted pursuant to Section 64001.
(5) The superintendent of the school district shall consult with its special education local plan area administrator or administrators to determine that specific actions for individuals with exceptional needs are included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan, and are consistent with strategies included in the annual assurances support plan for the education of individuals with exceptional needs.
(6) (A) The superintendent of the school district shall present a report on the annual update to the local control and accountability plan and the local control funding formula budget overview for parents each year as part of a nonconsent item at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school district.
(B) The report shall include both of the following:
(i) All available midyear outcome data related to metrics identified in the current year’s local control and accountability plan.
(ii) All available midyear expenditure and implementation data on all actions identified in the current year’s local control and accountability plan.
(b) (1) A governing board of a school district shall hold at least one public hearing to solicit the recommendations and comments of members of the public regarding the specific actions and expenditures proposed to be included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan. The agenda for the public hearing shall be posted at least 72 hours before the public hearing and shall include the location where the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan will be available for public inspection. The public hearing shall be held at the same meeting as the public hearing required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 42127.
(2) A governing board of a school district shall adopt a local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan in a public meeting. This meeting shall be held after, but not on the same day as, the public hearing held pursuant to paragraph (1). This meeting shall be the same meeting as that during which the governing board of the school district adopts a budget pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 42127.
(c) A governing board of a school district may adopt revisions to a local control and accountability plan during the period the local control and accountability plan is in effect. A governing board of a school district may only adopt a revision to a local control and accountability plan if it follows the process to adopt a local control and accountability plan pursuant to this section and the revisions are adopted in a public meeting.
SEC. 7.
Section 52068 of the Education Code is amended to read:52068.
(a) Before the county board of education considers the adoption of a local control and accountability plan or an annual update to the local control and accountability plan, all of the following shall occur:(1) The county superintendent of schools shall present the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan to a parent advisory committee established pursuant to Section 52069 for review and comment. The county superintendent of schools shall respond, in writing, to comments received from the parent advisory committee.
(2) The county superintendent of schools shall present the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan to the English learner parent advisory committee established pursuant to Section 52069, if applicable, for review and comment. The county superintendent of schools shall respond, in writing, to comments received from the English learner parent advisory committee.
(3) The county superintendent of schools shall notify members of the public of the opportunity to submit written comments regarding the specific actions and expenditures proposed to be included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan, using the most efficient method of notification possible. This paragraph shall not require a county superintendent of schools to produce printed notices or to send notices by mail. The county superintendent of schools shall ensure that all written notifications related to the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan are provided consistent with Section 48985.
(4) The county superintendent of schools shall review school plans submitted pursuant to Section 64001 for schools operated by the county superintendent of schools and ensure that the specific actions included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan are consistent with strategies included in the school plans submitted pursuant to Section 64001.
(5) The county superintendent of schools shall consult with its special education local plan area administrator or administrators to determine that specific actions for individuals with exceptional needs are included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan, and are consistent with strategies included in the annual assurances support plan for the education of individuals with exceptional needs.
(6) (A) The county superintendent of schools shall present a report on the annual update to the local control and accountability plan and the local control funding formula budget overview for parents each year as part of a nonconsent item at a regularly scheduled meeting of the county board of education.
(B) The report shall include all of the following:
(i) All available midyear outcome data related to metrics identified in the current year’s local control and accountability plan.
(ii) All available midyear expenditure and implementation data on all actions identified in the current year’s local control and accountability plan.
(b) (1) The county board of education shall hold at least one public hearing to solicit the recommendations and comments of members of the public regarding the specific actions and expenditures proposed to be included in the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan. The agenda for the public hearing shall be posted at least 72 hours before the public hearing and shall include the location where the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan, and any comments received pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a), will be available for public inspection. The public hearing shall be held at the same meeting as the public hearing required by Section 1620.
(2) The county board of education shall adopt a local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan in a public meeting. This meeting shall be held after, but not on the same day as, the public hearing held pursuant to paragraph (1). This meeting shall be the same meeting as that during which the county board of education adopts a budget pursuant to Section 1622.
(c) A county superintendent of schools may develop and present to a county board of education for adoption revisions to a local control and accountability plan during the period the local control and accountability plan is in effect. The county board of education may only adopt a revision to a local control and accountability plan if it follows the process to adopt a local control and accountability plan pursuant to this section and the revisions are adopted in a public meeting.
SEC. 8.
Section 60800 of the Education Code is amended to read:60800.
(a) During the month of February, March, April, or May, the governing board of each school district maintaining any of grades 5, 7, and 9 shall administer to each pupil in those grades the physical performance test designated by the state board. Each pupil with a physical disability and each pupil who is physically unable to take all of the physical performance test shall be given as much of the test as their condition will permit.(b) Upon request of the department, a school district shall submit to the department, at least once every two years, the results of its physical performance testing.
(c) Pupils shall be provided with their individual results after completing the physical performance testing. The test results may be provided orally as the pupil completes the testing.
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