AMIM Grant funds are allocated to LEAs for five purposes enumerated in Section 134(a) of Chapter 2 of the Statutes of 2022, as amended by Section 56 of AB 185, which may be briefly summarized as: (1) obtaining standards-aligned professional development and instructional materials for specified subject areas; (2) obtaining professional development and instructional materials for improving school climate; (3) developing diverse, culturally relevant and multilingual school library book collections; (4) operational costs, including retirement and health care cost increases; and (5) COVID-19-related costs necessary to keep pupils and staff safe and schools open for in-person instruction. Specific information and additional guidance regarding these five purposes is set forth below:
Standards-Aligned Instructional Materials and Professional Development
AMIM Grant funds may be used to acquire standards-aligned instructional materials and professional development in 10 specified subject areas:
The links above direct to California Department of Education (CDE) web pages containing standards and various other resources.
For the first six subject areas, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopts standards-aligned basic instructional materials for kindergarten through grade eight (not for grades 9–12).
The links below direct the user to the instructional materials web pages dedicated to these content areas, which identify the adopted programs and provide contact information for the publishers.
Pursuant to Education Code Section 60210, an LEA may choose to use instructional materials that have not been adopted by the SBE if they are aligned to state standards. In such a case, the LEA must ensure that a majority of the participants of any review process conducted by the LEA are classroom teachers who are assigned to the subject area or grade level of the materials being reviewed.
For additional information, access the Guidelines for Piloting Textbooks and Instructional Materials and Implementation of Instructional Materials Not Adopted by California available on the Instructional Materials Adoptions web page.
Improving School Climate
AMIM Grant funds may be used to obtain instructional materials and professional development aligned to best practices for improving school climate, including training on de-escalation and restorative justice strategies, asset-based pedagogies, antibias, transformative social-emotional learning, media literacy, digital literacy, physical education, and learning through play.
Diverse, Culturally Relevant and Multilingual Libraries
AMIM Grant funds may be used to develop diverse book collections and obtaining culturally relevant texts, in both English and pupils’ home languages, to support pupils’ independent reading. In this regard, AB 185 notes that it is the Legislature’s intent “that these book collections and culturally relevant texts be used to provide support for pupils through the establishment of site-based school and classroom libraries that are culturally relevant to pupils’ home and community experiences and be available in English, pupils’ home language, or a combination of more than one language.”
California teachers and educators are encouraged to seek recommendations from their district or county office of education as they may have criteria for selecting reading materials.
The CDE maintains a list of recommended books in a range of languages. Access the Recommended Literature List web page and search for books using the Recommended Literature List Search tool.
Operational Costs
AMIM Grant funds may be used for “operational costs, including but not limited, to retirement and health care cost increases.”
Costs Related to COVID-19
Finally, AB 185 provides that AMIM Grant funds may be used, as follows:: “As related to the COVID-19 pandemic, acquire personal protective equipment, masks, cleaning supplies, COVID-19 tests, ventilation upgrades, and other similar expenditures, if they are necessary to keep pupils and staff safe from COVID-19 and schools open for in-person instruction.”
