The state of California is making it easier for community college students to claim funds for educational expenses such as books, laptops and school supplies.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a partnership on March 5 between CalKIDS, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the California Cradle-to-Career Data System to identify eligible community college students and connect them with CalKIDS Scholarships.

Through the partnership, state education leaders are leveraging existing systems to help community colleges connect eligible students to funding mechanisms. The coordinated effort has already identified 40,000 community college students eligible for $20 million in scholarships.

“Through CalKIDS, we created free college scholarship funds for millions of children in the state. This new partnership will connect more community college students with the scholarships already set aside for them,” Newsom said.

CalKIDS, administered by the ScholarShare Investment Board and chaired by State Treasurer Fiona Ma, was created to expand access to college and career training. Eligible California public school students automatically receive up to $1,500 in CalKIDS Scholarships and must claim their account to use the funds for qualified educational expenses until age 26. Students can visit calkids.org to confirm eligibility and claim a scholarship.

Since CalKIDS launched in 2022, the program has supported nearly 70,000 students with more than $37 million for expenses at community college. As part of the initiative, CalKIDS participant information is securely matched through the California Cradle-to-Career Data System, which has an existing data-sharing arrangement with the Chancellor’s Office. The matched eligibility report is now available to authorized college staff through the Data on Demand platform.

For information, visit calkids.org.