California’s 2013-14 Budget Act included landmark legislation that greatly simplified the state’s school finance system. The changes introduced by the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) represented a major shift in how California funds public schools. For nearly 40 years, California has relied on a system that included general purpose funding and more than 40 tightly defined categorical programs to provide state funding to school districts. Under LCFF, California funds school districts per student with adjustments based on grade levels and demographic characteristics.

This major change comes with state mandates for new accountability measures that include the development of a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that requires parent and community input prior to adoption.  The LCAP strives to connect resources to goals and accountability for performance expectations in a transparent and seamless process. The plan includes a description of annual goals for all students, as well as for various student groups.   Furthermore, the plan includes a description of the specific actions that the district will take to achieve these goals.