On September 15, 2026, CTA filed a lawsuit against the withholding of nearly $6 billion in constitutionally guaranteed Prop. 98 funding from California public schools.

Educators across the state urged legislators to reject the governor’s proposal. Instead, the final state budget withheld $3.9 billion from the constitutionally guaranteed minimum owed to public schools for 2025-26. That came on top of $1.9 billion withheld the year before.

Our lawsuit asks the courts to:

• Return the $3.9 billion withheld in 2025-26
• Declare the $1.9 billion withheld in 2024-25 unconstitutional
• Protect against future withholding of public school funding

Read the full press release

The law is clear. We will see this lawsuit through to the very end. We believe in our legal standing because we believe in the Californians who passed Prop. 98 decades ago and we believe in Californians today who love our public schools.
— CTA President David B. Goldberg

The fight doesn’t stop in court. Passing Prop. 3 this November will protect nearly $15 billion a year for public schools that would otherwise expire in 2030. Learn more about Prop. 3

Passed by California voters in 1988, Prop. 98 guarantees funding in our state budget for public schools and community colleges. This year, that guarantee is $125.1 billion.

The final state budget passed in June includes real wins educators fought for:

✅ A $2.4 billion increase in special education funding
✅ $1.5 billion for community schools
✅ Increased investment in expanding the teacher pipeline
✅ A cost-of-living adjustment totaling 6% for local educational agencies
✅ Funding for 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave for educators (AB 65)
❌ $3.9 billion withheld from the constitutionally guaranteed Prop. 98 minimum

These gains don’t excuse breaking the constitution. That’s why we’re taking this fight to court.

How is this impacting you? Hear from educators across California and share your own story.