Committee approves bill to let charter schools apply for state facilities hardship relief

Assemblymember Hoover presented AB 23 16 to the Assembly Education Committee as a measure to allow charter public schools to apply for the same financial hardship relief that traditional school districts can seek when they cannot meet the 50% local match to access state facilities bond funding.

Carson Eads of the California Charter Schools Association, the bill’s sponsor, described the measure as "a simple fairness measure," saying charter schools often cannot access local bond revenue or developer fees and are therefore excluded from the state facilities bond program unless they resort to private financing. "Facilities access is one of the most significant challenges that charter public schools face," he said, noting charters serve over 700,000 students in California.

Marcus Malarkey, a charter CFO, described projects that became infeasible under today's 50% match requirement and urged the committee to advance the bill. Opposition concerns raised in the hearing focused on how "hardship" would be defined and whether regulatory guidance would be adequate; Cassie Mancini (California School Employees Association) said the amendments improved the bill but asked to see regulatory guidance in print.

Procedural outcome: the committee moved AB 23 16 as amended to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and recorded favorable committee action. The roll call recorded 'aye' votes and the motion passed at the time recorded as 6–0; the file was left open for add‑ons and later recorded as 7–0 after add‑ons.

Why it matters: Supporters said AB 23 16 could make permanent facilities financially possible for smaller and lower‑income charter public schools and keep operational dollars focused on students rather than debt service.

Next steps: The bill was referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The committee left the roll open for add‑ons.