What Newsom's proposed budget means for education in California
Key takeaways
- Public school districts were winners in Gov.
- The governor also proposed a 14-week paid pregnancy disability leave for TK-12 and community college employees starting or enlarging their families.
- “If you’re going to focus on recruitment and retention, you have to be pragmatic and address the needs of young women,” Newsom said.
Students work in a classroom at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton in 2025. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press) By Howard Blume, Jaweed Kaleem and Kate Sequeira May 14, 2026 3:13 PM PT 9 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Public school districts were winners in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal for next year, with boosted funding that includes $2.4 billion in ongoing increases for services to students with disabilities, money that education officials have said is badly needed as the number of children who need extra help grows.
Newsom, who overcame dyslexia as a child, called the increase for students with disabilities “the largest investment in special education in California’s history,” adding, “I don’t know that many other states can lay claim to this kind of investment, maybe in American history.”