June 2026 Legislative Update - SCA 5

We've received several questions about Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 (SCA 5) and whether it would negatively affect homeschool charter programs.

Some advocacy groups and social media posts are claiming that SCA 5 "excludes charter school students" and would create a new funding source that charter public school students cannot access.

We'd like to provide some clarification.

SCA 5 is a proposed constitutional amendment intended to address funding disparities between California school districts. The bill creates an Equalization Reserve Account and directs additional funding to certain school districts that currently receive less per-student funding.

The concern being raised is that the bill's language focuses on school districts and does not specifically address charter public schools. Because charter schools are not explicitly included in the current language, some advocates worry that future equalization funding could flow to districts without a corresponding benefit for charter school students.

That concern is understandable. However, it is important to note that the bill does not currently state that charter school students are excluded, nor does it directly reduce funding for charter schools, including homeschool charter programs.

At this time, we believe it would be more accurate to say that SCA 5 creates uncertainty regarding how charter public school students would be treated under any future equalization funding system. We do not see language that cuts funding to homeschool charters, but we also do not see language that clearly guarantees charter students would benefit from the proposed equalization funding.

As an organization that supports all California homeschooling families, we believe that if lawmakers create a funding equalization mechanism intended to benefit public school students, they should ensure that students enrolled in charter public schools—including homeschool charter programs—are treated fairly and are clearly considered in the legislation.

We will continue to monitor this bill and share updates as additional information becomes available.

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Legislative language and bill analyses can change as a bill moves through the legislative process.

As always, you may contact your state government representatives to make your position on this and any other proposed legislation known.

Text of SCA 5: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SCA5

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Legislative language and bill analyses can change as a bill moves through the legislative process.