California 20252026 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate 1 D cosponsors

SB 494 — Charter schools: establishment prohibition and renewal procedures.

Last action — Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 19, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Assembly.

Prognosis

Advancing 48% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Moderate

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 8 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

(1) Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, authorizes the establishment, operation, and governance of charter schools. Existing law authorizes a charter school that has an approved charter to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education, as specified. The act prohibits, from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction, as specified. This bill would extend that prohibition to continue through January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law, until January 1, 2026, sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school, including, among other things, the use of verified data, as provided. Existing law sets out revised standards and procedures that are operative on and after January 1, 2026, that, among other things, no longer requires a chartering authority to use verified data and instead requires a chartering authority to use only the data reported on the California School Dashboard in making a renewal decision, as provided. This bill would extend, until January 1, 2027, the operation of the performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools that would otherwise be inoperative on January 1, 2026, and would delay the operation of the revised standards and procedures until January 1, 2027. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry.

  2. Joint Rule 61(a)(13) suspended. (Ayes 60. Noes 20. Page 3128.)

  3. Ordered to third reading.

  4. Read third time and amended.

  5. Assembly Rule 78 suspended.

  6. From inactive file.

  7. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  9. Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 3.) (August 29).

  11. August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  12. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 3.) (July 8).

  14. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HIGHER ED. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.

  15. Referred to Coms. on P. E. & R. and HIGHER ED.

  16. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  17. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 27. Noes 10. Page 1394.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  18. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  19. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 1202.) (May 23).

  20. Set for hearing May 23.

  21. May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  22. Set for hearing May 5.

  23. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 865.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  24. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ED.

  25. Set for hearing April 23.

  26. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on ED. (Ayes 4. Noes 1. Page 568.) (March 26). Re-referred to Com. on ED.

  27. Set for hearing March 26.

  28. Referred to Coms. on L., P.E. & R. and ED.

  29. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.

  30. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 15 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Do pass.

Passed 11 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 11000
Republican 0301
Total 11301
% of votes cast 73%20%0%7%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Ahrens, Patrick Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Caloza, Jessica Democratic Yea
Elhawary, Sade Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
González, Mark Democratic Yea
Pacheco, Blanca Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Solache, Jr., José Luis Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Nay
Sanchez, Kate Republican Nay
Ta, Tri Republican Not Voting
Tangipa, David J. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 6 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 6001
Republican 0300
Total 6301
% of votes cast 60%30%0%10%
How each member voted (10)
Member Party Vote
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Patel, Darshana R. Democratic Not Voting
Rodriguez, Celeste Democratic Yea
Sharp-Collins, LaShae Democratic Yea
DeMaio, Carl Republican Nay
Gonzalez, Jeff Republican Nay
Tangipa, David J. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Higher Education]

Passed 5 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Republican 0002
Total 5002
% of votes cast 71%0%0%29%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Elhawary, Sade Democratic Yea
Garcia, Robert Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Not Voting
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

3rd Reading

Passed 27 Yea · 10 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 27003
Republican 01000
Total 271003
% of votes cast 68%25%0%8%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Not Voting
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Arreguín, Jesse Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Blakespear, Catherine S. Democratic Yea
Cabaldon, Christopher Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Not Voting
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
McNerney, Jerry Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Pérez, Sasha Renée Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Not Voting
Richardson, Laura Democratic Yea
Rubio, Susan Democratic Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wahab, Aisha Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Alvarado-Gil, Marie Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Niello, Roger W. Republican Nay
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Nay
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Republican 0200
Total 5200
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Cabaldon, Christopher Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Pérez, Sasha Renée Democratic Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

labor education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 494 do?
(1) Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, authorizes the establishment, operation, and governance of charter schools. Existing law authorizes a charter school that has an approved charter to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education, as specified. The act prohibits, from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction, as specified. This bill would extend that prohibition to continue through January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law, until January 1, 2026, sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school, including, among other things, the use of verified data, as provided. Existing law sets out revised standards and procedures that are operative on and after January 1, 2026, that, among other things, no longer requires a chartering authority to use verified data and instead requires a chartering authority to use only the data reported on the California School Dashboard in making a renewal decision, as provided. This bill would extend, until January 1, 2027, the operation of the performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools that would otherwise be inoperative on January 1, 2026, and would delay the operation of the revised standards and procedures until January 1, 2027. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Who sponsors SB 494?
SB 494 is sponsored by Cortese, Dave (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 494?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 19, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 494?
Track SB 494 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 494

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 494

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →