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California Public Schools Benefit
The mission of the California Lottery is to raise supplemental funding for public education.
The Lottery has generated more than $46 billion for California’s public schools since we began in 1985. For the first time in California Lottery history, we raised a record of more than $2 billion for education in the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year. While that’s an unprecedented figure, it’s a modest number for the state’s annual budget for public schools. Remember, Lottery funds are meant to supplement public education, not replace state and local funding.
Since Lottery funds are largely discretionary, they help schools do things they otherwise couldn’t, such as attracting and retaining more quality teachers, buying state-of-the-art equipment, enhancing learning environments, and keeping critical programs running.
Schools are not our only beneficiary! Did you know 95 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery games goes back to the community through contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes, and retail compensation? Thank you to our players and our retail partners for making it all possible!
Positively impacting communities across California is just part of our commitment to corporate social responsibility, and every member of the Lottery team shares this dedication.
Funding Is Based on Sales
The State Controller’s Office determines how much Lottery funds are dispersed to public education institutions. Lottery funding is based on the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) for K-12 and community college school districts and by full-time enrollment for higher education and other specialized institutions.
These are the schools that have received funds, along with their percentages of cumulative distributions:
GRADE LEVEL | DISTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE |
---|---|
K-12th Grade | 79.9% |
Community Colleges | 14.0% |
California State University System | 3.7% |
University of California | 2.3% |
Other Educational Entities | 0.1% |
Contributions to Schools
Click or tap a county on the map, or type a county name in the search box below to view the Lottery's latest contributions to education for that county. For more details see the quarterly PDF reports linked below.
Funding For Statewide Educational Systems
Some educational systems, like the California State University (CSU) and the University of California, are funded at the statewide level rather than at the county or school district level. The most recent funding for statewide educational systems is shown below.
Note: This is the most recent available data and includes all districts and statewide educational systems that have ever received funds from the California State Lottery. Data is compiled from information provided by the State Controllers Office.
Our Contribution to Education
See our most recent quarterly reports below:
- Q4 2023-24 Education Allocation (PDF)
- Q3 2023-24 Education Allocation (PDF)
- Q2 2023-24 Education Allocation (PDF)
- Q1 2023-24 Education Allocation (PDF)
How Schools Use Lottery Funds
Local and higher education administrators, along with elected school boards, decide how the Lottery funds are distributed and spent within their school systems. Schools make all spending decisions. The Lottery is never involved in these decisions. Some schools have used Lottery funds for computer labs, teacher workshops, and science programs, as well as art and music programs and much more. And each year, schools are free to use the funds for entirely different purposes.
See Lottery Funds in Action
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