Assemblymember Bonta presents AB 1969 to strengthen community‑school Promise Neighborhood partnerships

Assemblymember Bonta presented AB 1969, the "It Takes a Village Act of 2026," to the Senate Education Committee, saying the bill would strengthen coordination between community schools and place‑based Promise Neighborhood lead organizations and allow local education agencies to serve as network leads for multiple community school sites.

"AB 1969 helps ensure that California's historic investments in our children are supported by the village necessary to make them successful," Bonta said, framing the bill as a means to align early learning, behavioral health, school meals and other supports around school‑centered community hubs. He noted a recent $1,000,000,000 ongoing Proposition 98 investment in community schools as context for the proposal.

Supporters registered in favor of the bill, including representatives of Hayward Promise Neighborhood, Mission Economic Development Agency (San Francisco), Marin Promise Neighborhood and the Strive Together Network. Tiffany Mok testified on behalf of the California Federation of Teachers in support.

The committee had a motion from Senator Gonzales to return the measure to the Senate floor for consideration. The roll call ultimately recorded unanimous support among members present and the chair put the bill on call; clerks later reported the file item moved out of committee with a favorable tally.

The bill's text would explicitly recognize Promise Neighborhood lead organizations as cooperating agencies and clarify that an LEA may use existing community‑schools administrative funding to act as a network lead across eligible community school sites. The committee did not adopt amendments on the floor during this hearing; the author requested an aye vote when appropriate.