The LCAP is a three-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services, and expenditures to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities. The LCAP provides an opportunity for local educational agencies (LEAs) to share their stories of how, what, and why programs and services are selected to meet their local needs.

The LCAP is intended as a comprehensive planning tool to support student outcomes and is an important component of the local control funding formula (LCFF). Under the LCFF, all local educational agencies (LEAs) including school districts, county offices of education (COEs), and charter schools are required to prepare an LCAP, which describes how they intend to meet annual goals for all pupils, with specific activities to address state and local priorities identified pursuant to California Education Code (EC) sections 52060(d), 52066(d), and 47605.