Bill
AB 640
LEA officials must complete state-approved training on K–12 school finance laws to improve budget oversight, compliance, and reduce fiscal penalties.
Status: Chaptered — approved by the Governor on October 11, 2025 (Chapter 618, Statutes of 2025).
Introduced: February 13, 2025.
Code reference added: Education Code — Article 6.5 (commencing with §35220), Chapter 2, Part 21, Division 3, Title 2.
Note on document inconsistency: the bill package provided concerns governance training for K–12 local educational agencies (school finance training). An initial title line referencing judicial age limits appears to be a mismatch and is not reflected in the bill text or legislative history below.
Purpose / intent
- Require members of local educational agency (LEA) governing bodies to receive training on K–12 public education school finance laws so they can better oversee budgets, comply with fiscal rules, and avoid fiscal penalties.
Key provisions
- New Article 6.5 added to the Education Code (§§35220–35221 and §35220.5).
- Definitions (§35220):
- “Local educational agency” (LEA) = school district, county office of education, or charter school.
- “Local educational agency official” = any regular member of a school district governing board, county board of education, the governing body of a charter school, or an entity managing a charter school.
- “K–12 public education school finance laws” is defined broadly and explicitly cites statutes and regulations related to budget creation/approval and fiscal penalties (examples cited include Chapter 6 of Part 24 [§42100 et seq.], Chapter 7 [§42238 et seq.], provisions in Part 26 and Part 26.8, and related regulations such as Title 5 §11960).
- Curriculum development (§35220.5):
- The County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (COF-CFMA Team), in consultation with the Department of Education, must develop a curriculum covering the listed school finance topics on or before October 1, 2026. The curriculum must be posted online and periodically updated to reflect statutory changes.
- Training requirement and delivery (§35221):
- Each LEA official must complete training using the curriculum developed by the COF-CFMA Team.
- Permitted delivery methods (examples): training offered by LEA staff or contracted counsel with demonstrable experience; arrangement with entities whose primary function is providing technical assistance to LEAs (with demonstrable experience and qualified trainers); training through the COF-CFMA Team (which may charge a fee); training via a nonprofit statewide education association led by LEA officials; or other LEA-offered or arranged courses that meet the statute’s standards. The bill distinguishes required provider experience depending on whether trainees serve school districts/county offices or charter schools.
- Recordkeeping and implementation: LEAs must maintain specified records documenting completion of the training (details provided in the bill text). The COF-CFMA Team is required to solicit expert and public input when developing the curriculum.
Who is affected
- Primary: Regular members of governing boards of school districts and county boards of education; governing body members of charter schools and nonprofit entities that manage charter schools.
- Secondary: School districts, county offices of education, charter schools (administrative duty to arrange/offer training and to retain records); COF-CFMA Team and Department of Education (curriculum development/maintenance); eligible training providers (entities with fiscal/technical assistance expertise).
Fiscal/mandate considerations
- The bill imposes new duties on local educational agencies (a state-mandated local program). If the Commission on State Mandates finds the bill imposes reimbursable costs, reimbursement procedures under existing state law would apply.
- The COF-CFMA Team may charge LEAs fees to provide the training.
Legislative history highlights
- Passed both houses with strong bipartisan (often unanimous) votes in 2025.
- Governor approved October 11, 2025; chaptered as Chapter 618, Statutes of 2025. (Check the enacted text for any specified effective date; otherwise California bills typically take effect Jan 1 following enactment unless otherwise stated.)
Sponsors / supporters
- Authored by Assemblymember Muratsuchi; sponsors/coauthors listed in the provided materials include several legislators (e.g., Dittrich, Murphy, B. Jacobson, O'Connor, Gustafson, Krug, Penterman, Maxey).
Practical impact
- Elected/appointed LEA board members will be required to receive standardized training on budget formation, fiscal oversight, and compliance with fiscal penalty statutes.
- The requirement aims to improve local fiscal stewardship, reduce audit findings and penalties, and standardize knowledge across LEAs.
- LEAs will need to budget staff time (and possibly fees) to deliver or obtain training and maintain training records.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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