Work for a public school? You get more down payment help than everyone else.

"School employee" means far more people than you think

The program's name leads with "School Teacher," and that one word costs a lot of people a lot of money — because they assume it's teachers only. It isn't. The full name is the School Teacher and Employee Assistance Program, and the "employee" half is broad. If your paycheck comes from a California K-12 public school district, you're likely in scope:

• Teachers — credentialed classroom teachers at any grade level, K-12
• Administrators — principals, vice principals, program coordinators
• Classified staff — office staff, registrars, attendance clerks, front-desk personnel
• Instructional aides and paraprofessionals
• Custodians, groundskeepers, and maintenance staff
• Cafeteria and food-service workers
• Bus drivers, campus security, counselors, librarians, nurses
• Public charter school staff — charters count as public schools here
• District office, county office of education, and continuation school employees

The line that matters is public versus private. Employees of California public K-12 schools — including public charter schools, district offices, and county or continuation schools — qualify. Private school employees don't, though they can still use MyHome like any other first-time buyer.

4% vs. MyHome's 3.5%: what the extra half percent is worth

The School Program is an alternative to MyHome, not an add-on — you use one junior loan or the other, and school employees simply get the bigger one. Both are deferred-payment "silent seconds" with no monthly payment. Here's the difference in real dollars at typical Southern California price points:

Since FHA's minimum down payment is 3.5%, the School Program's 4% can cover the entire minimum down payment with money left over for closing costs. That leftover half percent — $3,000 on a $600,000 condo, $4,250 on an $850,000 townhome — is cash you don't have to pull from savings at the closing table.

How repayment works: no payment, no surprise

Like MyHome, the School Program is a deferred-payment junior loan. You make normal monthly payments on your first mortgage only. The junior loan sits quietly behind it, accruing simple interest at a low rate, and comes due when you sell the home, refinance the first mortgage, or pay it off. There's no monthly bill, no payment shock, and no balloon that ambushes you mid-ownership — it's disclosed plainly at closing and repaid out of your equity at a time when you have equity.

For a buyer weighing "save for three more years" against "own now and repay the assistance later," the math almost always favors owning sooner: three more years of Southern California rent typically costs more than the accrued interest ever will.

Eligibility checklist

• Qualifying school employment. You work for a California K-12 public school district — teacher, administrator, classified employee, or other staff, including public charter schools, district offices, and county or continuation schools.
• First-time homebuyer. You haven't owned and occupied a home in the last 3 years.
• CalHFA first mortgage. The School Program junior loan pairs with a CalHFA first mortgage — it's not a standalone loan you can attach to any lender's mortgage.
• Income under the county limit. Household income within CalHFA's 2026 limits — see the table below.
• Credit generally 660+. Plus debt-to-income within program guidelines; exact thresholds depend on the loan type and automated underwriting.
• Homebuyer education. One borrower completes an approved course and gets a certificate before closing.
• Owner-occupied primary residence. Single-family homes, condos, and townhomes qualify.

One quietly powerful detail: only one borrower needs to be the school employee. If your spouse or co-borrower works outside education, they can be on the loan — the income limits simply apply to the household file as a whole.

How it pairs with a CalHFA first mortgage — and ZIP

The School Program junior loan rides on top of a CalHFA FHA or CalHFA conventional first mortgage. FHA pairings are popular with school staff because the 4% assistance more than covers FHA's 3.5% minimum down payment. Conventional pairings can make sense for stronger credit profiles.

Then there's ZIP — CalHFA's 0% deferred closing-cost loan of roughly 2–3% of the first loan amount. Whether ZIP, seller credits, or lender credits do the closing-cost work on your file depends on the first mortgage and the numbers on your specific purchase — we structure the right stack for your file rather than forcing one template onto every buyer.

2026 income limits for school employees

These are CalHFA's household income limits effective June 30, 2026. They're generous enough that a two-income household — say, a teacher married to a nurse — often still qualifies:

See all 2026 income limits for other counties.

School districts we serve

We work with school employees across Southern California — from San Diego Unified, Sweetwater Union High School District, Poway Unified, and Chula Vista Elementary in San Diego County, to Santa Ana Unified in Orange County and Los Angeles Unified, the nation's second-largest district. Whichever district's badge you carry — including the public charter schools operating within those districts — the program works the same way, and we know the price points and inventory in the neighborhoods where district staff actually buy. Start with your area: San Diego, Chula Vista, Orange County, Los Angeles, or the Inland Empire.

School Program FAQ

Program details summarized from calhfa.ca.gov as of July 2026. CalHFA sets and may change all program terms, including income limits and assistance percentages. Home prices shown are approximate market figures for illustration. This page is educational and not a loan commitment; not all applicants will qualify.