CA AB2944

Establishes the Schools Not Prisons Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, allowing California taxpayers to designate contributions in excess of their personal income tax liability to support academic and career readiness programs.

Contributions must be in full dollar amounts (minimum $1) and are used to fund nonprofit public charities' programs aimed at breaking the school-to-prison pipeline by serving youth who are court wards, opportunity youth, students from low-performing schools, or other disadvantaged populations.

Allocates fund revenues to the Franchise Tax Board, Controller, and State Department of Education for administrative costs, with remaining funds distributed as competitive grants ranging from $10,000 to $75,000 per nonprofit organization.

Requires the State Department of Education to oversee the grant program, evaluate applicants based on outcomes and cultural competency, and ensure grantees use no more than 10 percent of grants for administrative expenses.

Fund automatically becomes inoperative and repeals on December 1 if estimated annual contributions fall below $250,000, or on December 1 of the seventh calendar year after the fund's first appearance on tax returns, whichever comes first.