On June 26, 2026, the Governor and Legislature reached an agreement on the 2026–27 state budget. The agreement comes at a critical time as California works to protect safety net programs and underserved Californians from federal impacts, while also lowering the state deficit in the Governor’s final budget before the end of his term.
We are encouraged that the budget agreement includes several key investments that EDGE has been advocating for, including funding for dual enrollment, credit for prior learning, immigrant entrepreneurship, and implementation of Workforce Pell. The agreement also includes important investments in health care workforce training and support for the child care sector, helping working families stay connected to care, education, and employment.
The budget agreement avoids several proposed cuts to safety net programs and includes record funding for education. Overall, the budget plan includes $351.7 billion in total state spending, including $251.5 billion from the General Fund for 2026–27.
The Legislature is expected to vote this week on several bills needed to implement the final budget agreement. Additional budget-related bills may still move forward before the legislative session ends in August, which could further clarify some details in the agreement.
EDGE will continue to track the budget process closely and will provide a deeper analysis once the final state budget is enacted. Below are highlights of the budget agreement.
For questions, please contact Valerie Johnson, EDGE Policy & Advocacy Manager, at vjohnson@caedge.org.
EDUCATION
- Dual Enrollment. $100 million one-time to expand dual enrollment programs, including support for College and Career Access Pathways programs, instructional flexibility, dual credit clarifications, and technical assistance. The budget also includes an additional $10 million for dual enrollment technical assistance.
- Credit for Prior Learning. $37 million Proposition 98 General Fund for the Credit for Prior Learning Initiative. The budget also requires the CA Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to establish Credit for Prior Learning as a systemwide initiative, helping students earn college credit for skills and knowledge gained through work, military service, and other experiences.
- Strong Workforce Program. $15.75 million one-time Proposition 98 funding for the Strong Workforce Program, an important partial restoration after prior funding was shifted to support nursing education. This investment helps sustain community college career education and workforce training aligned with regional labor market needs.
- Cradle-to-Career Data System. Includes sustained investments for the Cradle-to-Career Data System and approves trailer bill language requiring data providers to enter into data-sharing agreements needed to implement the system.
- Community Colleges COLA. $30.6 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to support a 2.87% cost-of-living adjustment for adult education and other key programs that support students.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
- Workforce Pell. $664,000 to support implementation of the new federal Workforce Pell Grant program and establishes a state framework for the California Student Aid Commission to approve eligible short-term programs. Programs must align with in-demand jobs, lead to stackable credentials, connect to further education, and report data to the Cradle-to-Career Data System. The trailer bill also aligns Cal Grant C with Workforce Pell by allowing it to support shorter career training programs.
- SEED. $10.8 million one-time General Fund for the Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) program. While the budget agreement did not fully fund the $45 million request, this investment provides important support for entrepreneurship and small business opportunities for immigrant and underserved communities.
- Jail to Jobs Pilot. $5 million one-time from the Labor and Workforce Development Fund for a Los Angeles County pilot to connect justice-involved individuals, including people at the pretrial stage, to workforce training, employment services, and pathways to quality jobs.
- Health Care Workforce.
- $15 million to support workforce training and expansion for promotoras, trusted community health workers who help connect families to health information, services, and care.
- $100 million ongoing from the Behavioral Health Services Fund to support Proposition 1 workforce initiatives, including development, implementation, administration, and evaluation.
- $5 million to support physician access and workforce development in shortage areas, helping strengthen health care capacity in communities with provider gaps.
SAFETY NET
- Child Care. The budget agreement adds 22,770 new child care slots, providing a 2% rate increase for child care programs, and maintaining support for child care administration and provider infrastructure.
- Food Access. $108 million for CalFood emergency food banks and $14 million for CalFresh outreach, along with funding to help counties manage CalFresh workload related to federal H.R. 1 changes. However, the budget does not appear to include new funding to expand the California Food Assistance Program, which provides food assistance to immigrant Californians excluded from federal benefits.
- Health Care Access for Immigrant Californians. The budget delays several proposed Medi-Cal cuts affecting immigrant Californians until 2027 and provides $303.1 million to continue full-scope Medi-Cal coverage for qualified immigrants, such as refugees, asylees, and victims of trafficking, through July 1, 2027. It also includes $39 million for care coordination and navigation support for immigrant Medi-Cal members who will be moved out of managed care plans and into a different Medi-Cal delivery system.