The School Facilities Aid program provides financing for school construction, modernization, relocatable classrooms, deferred maintenance, and other K-12 school facility-related activities.

With the passage of the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, Chapter 407, Statutes of 1998 (SB 50), the School Facilities Program (SFP) was established to streamline the state's school construction funding process. The program provides grants to school districts to match local contributions for new construction and modernization projects, based on "unhoused pupils", from revenues obtained through the sale of State General Obligation Bonds when approved by voters in statewide elections. The Charter Schools, Critically Overcrowded Schools, and Joint-Use Programs also fall under the auspices of the SFP.

The State School Deferred Maintenance Program, established by Chapter 282, Statutes of 1979 (AB 8), provides state matching funds, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, to assist school districts with expenditures for major repair or replacement of existing school building components. Typically, these components include: roofing, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, electrical systems, interior/exterior painting, and floor systems. Funds are also provided for emergency hardship projects where the work must be completed within one year.

Chapter 900, Statutes of 2004 (SB 550), and Chapter 899, Statutes of 2004 (SB 6), established the Emergency Repair Program (ERP) and the interim definition of good repair standards in response to a settlement agreement in the case of Williams vs. California. One of the main purposes of the settlement was to ensure that all California school children have equal access to adequate school facilities. As part of the settlement, the School Facilities Needs Assessment Grant Program appropriated funds for a one-time comprehensive assessment of school facilities needs for school sites ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, on the Department of Education 2003 Academic Performance Index. In order to help meet the emergency repair costs, the School Facilities Emergency Repair Account is funded from the Proposition 98 Reversion Account at a minimum of $100 million per year until a total of $800 million has been disbursed for the purpose of addressing emergency facilities needs at those school sites. As a continuation of the provisions of the settlement, Chapter 704, Statutes of 2006 (AB 607), adopts and encourages participation in the ERP and changes the ERP from a reimbursement program to a grant program, effective January 1, 2007, and provides for a permanent state standard of good repair.