CA AB278

Establishes the Dream Resource Center Grant Program as a four-year grant program administered by the State Department of Education to create or supplement Dream Resource Centers at high schools serving grades 9-12.

Dream Resource Centers must provide pupils, including undocumented pupils, with financial aid support, social services, state-funded immigration legal services, academic opportunities, and parent/family workshops.

Department shall award grants using a tiered point system that prioritizes applications from local educational agencies serving multiple schoolsites, underserved/rural areas, English learners, and low-income students; limits supplemental funding for existing centers to no more than 5 percent of total funding.

Grant recipients may use funds to create new Dream Resource Centers or supplement existing ones, with option to partner with community-based organizations or institutions of higher education through memorandums of understanding.

Department must submit a report to the Legislature by June 1, 2026, detailing successes, best practices, barriers, and outcomes of funded Dream Resource Centers; implementation is contingent on legislative appropriation.