Governor affirms commitment to distributing CARES Act funding to neediest students, expresses support for juvenile justice reforms, and pledges masks for educators and child care workers

Gov. Newsom said during his news briefing Friday that he stands by his budget proposal to distribute $4.4 billion in CARES Act funding to schools based on a Local Control Formula Funding formula that prioritize districts with high percentages of low-income students – who are largely “black and brown” – as well as English learners. He said he would reject any proposal by the state Legislature that dilutes this funding in an attempt to distribute it more “equally” to all districts because he want to focus instead on “equity.” “I won’t budge on that budget proposal,” he said. “We have to do more and do better.”

Newsom cited the achievement gap as a core reason for his funding priority, citing recent research showing that learning loss due to Covid-19 is estimated to amount to 10.3 months for black students and more than one year for low-income students, compared to seven months on average for all students nationwide.

He also said he has proposed eliminating the Department of Juvenile Justice to instead focus on probation, rehabilitation and higher education opportunities for youth offenders. In addition, Newsom said state leaders should discuss affirmative action and “study more broadly what that means.”

And as portions of the state begin to reopen, Newsom said he is prioritizing the distribution of masks to sectors including the public education and child care systems to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.