California Funding for School Counseling (Updated - Nov. 2024)
Current California budget deficits will likely impact most school districts' discretionary spending. However, it's also important to note that there are still several sources of funding that could potentially support your school counseling program, enhance professional development, and bolster student services.
We’ve created this California Funding for School Counseling document to provide a comprehensive list of these grants, their respective deadlines, and the resource codes necessary to inquire about the remaining funds in your district. We recommend requesting a budget report for each of these resource codes from your business department so you can gain a clearer understanding of how your district is utilizing these funds and what is still available. With this knowledge, you'll be better equipped to advocate for these funds to be allocated to support your school counseling program.
Grant Funded Programs
1. Educator Effectiveness Block Grant (EEBG) ($1.5 billion) - SACS Resource Code 6266
Ends June 30, 2026
Educator Effectiveness funds may be used to support the professional learning for certificated staff, including school counselors, administrators, and paraprofessional educators. Funds can be expended for any of the
Professional development of certificated and classified staff.
Coaching systems organized around social-emotional learning, including self-management, social awareness, relationships, responsible decision-making skills, improving teacher attitudes and beliefs about self and others, and supporting learning for educators to engage in a meaningful classroom
2. A-G Completion Improvement Grant ($694 million) - SACS Resource Code 7412, 7413
Ends August 30, 2026
Note: The 2024 budget trailer bill, SB 153, requires each local educational agency receiving a grant to report its final expenditure to CDE on or before September 30, 2026, and would require CDE to initiate collection of any unexpended funds.
Providing teachers, administrators, and school counselors with professional development opportunities to improve the LEA’s A–G completion rate.
Developing comprehensive advising plans and pupil supports, including tutoring programs, to improve the LEA’s A–G completion rate.
Expanding access to coursework or other opportunities to satisfy A–G course requirements
Advanced Placement and International
Baccalaureate fees for unduplicated pupils.
Encourages LEAs to direct A–G Success Grant funds towards pupils in danger of not achieving a grade of “C” or better in A–G courses.
3. Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant ($6.3 billion) - SACS Resource Code 7435
Ends June 30, 2028.
The approved 2024 budget trailer bill, SB 153, now requires a local educational agency that has received or will receive a Learning Recovery Emergency Fund Block Grant to develop a needs assessment and be included in the LCAP regarding the use and expenditure of grant funds for the 2025–26, 2026–27, and 2027–28 school years.
Funds are intended to support academic learning recovery and staff and pupil social and emotional well-being
Integrating pupil supports to address other barriers to learning, and staff supports and training, such as the provision of health, counseling, or mental health services, or programs to address pupil trauma and social-emotional learning, or referrals for support for family or pupil needs.
Access to instruction for credit-deficient pupils to complete graduation or grade promotion requirements and to increase or improve pupils’ college eligibility.
4. California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) ($16.7 billion) - SACS Resource Code 6332
The California legislature appropriated over $4 billion for the CCSPP to support and expand community schools until June 30, 2031. Implementation grants will be funded for up to five years at a rate of up to $500,000 annually per school site, determined by school enrollment levels. The CCSPP Extension Grants are for CCSPP Implementation grantees to extend CCSPP funding for an additional two years. The grant awards are up to $100,000 annually, beginning in the 2025–26 fiscal year.
The California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) supports strong and intentional community partnerships ensuring pupil learning and whole child and family development, and includes the following:
Integrated support services, including the coordination of trauma-informed health, mental health, and social services, including early screening, intervention for learning, and other needs.
Culturally responsive community partnerships to strengthen family well-being and stability, and school climate surveys.
Professional development to transform school culture and climate, that centers on pupil learning and supports mental and behavioral health, trauma-informed care, social-emotional learning, restorative justice, and other key areas relating to pupil learning and whole child and family development.
5. School-Linked Partnerships and Capacity Grants ($550 million)
On March 13, 2024, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released a funding guidance memo to provide guidance to County Offices of Education (COEs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) about the permissible uses of funding for the School-Linked Partnerships and Capacity Grants. As part of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), DHCS is launching the school-linked partnership and capacity grant program to provide COEs and LEAs with critical resources to promote utilization of the CYBHI statewide multi-payer school-linked fee schedule.
Ongoing State Funding
1. Extended Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) ($4 billion) - SACS Resource Code 2600, 8590 Ongoing funding. CDE recommends that funds encumbered by June 30, 2024, be expended by September 30, 2024. Any unspent funding must be returned to the state.
Ongoing ELO-P funds shall be used to support pupil access to expanded learning opportunity programs, which may include, but is not limited to, hiring literacy coaches, tutors, school counselors, instructional day teachers, and aides to assist pupils as part of the local educational agency’s program enrichment activities [EC 46120(d)(3)].
Additionally, the 2024 budget trailer bill, SB 153, authorizes funds to be used to support attendance recovery when attendance recovery is operated by a local educational agency, beginning July 1, 2025. Attendance Recovery can result in an individual student being credited for up to 10 days of attendance (or the number of absences the student accrued that school year) in a school year, provided that the ELO-P operates on the same school site the students attends school. Average Daily Attendance can be generated in 1-hour increments. Additional information can be found on the CA Afterschool Network website.
2. LCFF/LCAP Supplemental & Concentration Funds - SACS Resource Code 0000 (Unrestricted)
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) creates funding targets based on student needs and provides districts greater flexibility to use these funds to improve student outcomes. The LCFF funding targets consist of grade span-specific base grants plus supplemental and concentration grants that are calculated based on student demographic factors. The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is intended as a comprehensive planning tool to support student outcomes. School districts are required to prepare an LCAP, which describes how they intend to meet annual goals for all pupils, with specific activities to address identified local priorities.
Ongoing Federal Funding for School Counseling
1. CA Title I ($2.1 billion) - SACS Resource Code 3010
Title I - Use of Funds - The purpose of Title I, Part A federal funds is to help to meet the educational needs of students, support educational strategies that close the achievement gap, and enable the students to meet the state's challenging academic standards. ESSA Schoolwide Guidance specifically includes school counselors as an allowable expense - (see top of page 5).
2. CA Title IV ($19 million) - SACS Resource Code 4127
The purpose of Title IV, Part A funds is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of schools to (among other items):
Improve school conditions for student learning; Foster safe, healthy, supportive, and drug-free environments that support student academic achievement, which may include expanding access to school-based counseling and mental health programs
This is an updated version of a previous article to better reflect current funding sources.
