California Gov Newsom promotes CalKIDS, which can be used alongside Trump accounts for children

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the California Golden Start Challenge, an effort with Invest America to boost children’s savings for the future and highlight the state’s CalKIDS program, which provides accounts worth up to $1,500.

California launched CalKIDS in 2022. The state-funded program provides eligible children with money that can be used for higher education or a career.

At a press conference last week, Newsom said the California program can be used alongside Trump Accounts. Referring to President Donald Trump, Newsom said the federal program is “one of the best things he’s done.”

Newsom added that these programs are not about the politics, but about investing in the future of American children. “It's not Trump’s money. It's your child's money.”

California has funded over six million CalKIDS accounts, which is more than $2.3 billion in savings. Currently, only about one million of those accounts have been claimed by families, according to the Newsom administration.

“It's really up to Newsom to not just praise the program, but also to make sure that people take advantage of it, because if people don't take advantage of it, it's almost as if it never was passed in the first place,” Lance Izumi of the Pasadena, Calif.-based Pacific Research Institute told The Center Square.

Izumi said he has no criticism of the CalKIDS program. He questioned, however, why Newsom opposes education savings accounts for K-12 students.

ESAs are publicly funded education funds given to parents to pay for K-12 learning expenses. California is one state that has not opted in to Trump's school choice initiative.

“Right now, with California public schools failing to teach kids to read and to write and to do basic mathematics in large proportions,” Izumi told The Center Square. “Why wouldn't you make that same education savings account concept available to kids at a much younger age so they can get that education as a foundation for higher education, and they can also use the CalKIDS account to then get into college?”

Through the California Golden Start Challenge, California and Invest America are asking private-sector leaders to contribute to both CalKIDS accounts and federal 530A accounts, which are also known as Trump accounts.

The Center Square reached out to Newsom’s office and Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, for comment but did not receive a response.