SCA 5, Championed by Senator Cortese, Would Place First-Of-It’s-Kind School Funding Equity Measure Before California Voters
SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Dave Cortese’s Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 (SCA 5), the Education Equalization Act, passed the California State Senate today, advancing a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at closing persistent funding disparities across California’s public education system.
SCA 5, known as the Education Equalization Act, would ask California voters to amend the state Constitution to create a new Education Equalization Reserve Account dedicated to increasing per-pupil funding for historically underfunded “non-basic aid” school districts and community colleges without reducing funding for any existing school district.
If approved by two-thirds of the Legislature, SCA 5 would be placed before California voters on the 2028 statewide ballot.
“A child’s ZIP code should never determine the quality of education they receive,” said California Senator Dave Cortese. “SCA 5 is about finally closing school funding gaps that California has allowed to persist for decades. We can invest more in historically underfunded schools without taking a dollar away from any district and without raising taxes. Every student deserves access to the resources they need to learn and succeed, no matter where they go to school.”
Under SCA 5, the state would establish a dedicated Education Equalization Reserve Account funded through future growth in General Fund revenues tied to Proposition 98 calculations. The proposal explicitly protects existing school funding streams and does not reduce Proposition 98 guarantees for K-12 schools or community colleges. Importantly, SCA 5 would not raise taxes on Californians or reduce any existing school funding. The proposal would create a new funding reserve for schools without raising taxes or cutting funding from any existing district.
Today, some wealthy “basic aid” school districts receive tens of thousands more per student annually than neighboring districts serving higher-need student populations. According to California Department of Education data cited by Senator Cortese, Palo Alto Unified spends nearly $30,000 per student annually, while nearby Milpitas Unified spends roughly $16,500 per student. Similar disparities exist across California, including in Fresno and Kern Counties, where funding gaps exceed $16,000 per student.