Staff
- Jackie Barocio
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(916) 319-8333
Child Care, Expanded Learning, School Facilities, and Teachers - Sara Cortez
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(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, and Child Nutrition - Kenneth Kapphahn
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(916) 319-8339
Proposition 98, School District Budgets, School Transportation - Lisa Qing
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(916) 319-8306
California State University, Student Financial Aid - Paul Steenhausen
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(916) 319-8303
California Community Colleges - Ian Klein
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(916) 319-8336
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library - Michael Alferes
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(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education - Edgar Cabral
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(916) 319-8343
Deputy Legislative Analyst: K-12 Education - Jennifer Pacella
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(916) 319-8332
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Higher Education
Publications
Education
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Webcast: Public Retirement Benefits, Options for the Future
- Format:
- PowerPoint
- Video
February 10, 2011 - In this 15-minute video, LAO State Finance Director Jason Sisney describes why public employee retirement costs have risen substantially in recent years for California governments and the Legislature's options for creating new types of retirement benefits for future state and local employees. At the same time, as Sisney discusses, the Legislature may have to identify new funding soon to address substantial unfunded liabilities in the teachers' and University of California retirement systems, among others.
Higher Education Funding Overview
- Format:
January 27, 2011 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 On Education Finance
The 2011-12 Higher Education Budget in Context
- Format:
January 27, 2011 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 On Education
The 2011-12 Budget: California Community College Fees
January 27, 2011 - The Governor proposes to increase California Community College (CCC) fees from $26 per unit to $36 per unit beginning on July 2011. We believe that a fee increase should be an important component of the state’s budget strategy for CCC, as it would leverage more federal funds (in the form of federal tax credits) to mitigate programmatic impacts on CCC instruction and services, while having no negative effect on financially needy students (who do not pay fees). While the Governor is on the right track, the Legislature might consider going even further in the budget year to tap additional federal dollars in support of the CCC system. In future years, we recommend the Legislature ensure that CCC fee levels are pegged to the maximum amount covered by federal tax credits.
The 2011-12 Budget: Achieving General Fund Savings at UC and CSU
January 24, 2011 - The Governor’s budget solutions in higher education include unallocated General Fund reductions of $500 million for the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). As we discuss in our recent publication, The 2011‑12 Budget: Higher Education Budget in Context, while these reductions are large, in our view they do not appear unreasonable given the size of the state’s budget problem, and considering that the current-year budget imposed no program reductions on the universities. Despite some new revenue from tuition increases, the universities would have to implement a range of service reductions affecting students, faculty, and staff to absorb these reductions. This brief provides our recommendations for mitigating the impact of the reductions on UC’s and CSU’s educational missions.
LAO Recommendations on Implementation of California State University Doctor of Education Degree Programs
January 21, 2011 - Persuant to recent legislation authorizing the California State University (CSU) to independently offer Doctor of Education (Ed. D. ) degrees, the CSU, the Department of Finance (DOF), and the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) prepared a report describing and assessing the early implementation of the new doctorate programs. In this brief, we outline our recommendations to the legislature, which include placing conditions on the further expansion of CSU doctoral programs and requiring the CSU to provide additional reporting about their doctoral degrees.
The 2011-12 Budget: Prioritizing Course Enrollment at the Community Colleges
January 20, 2011 - In recent years, community college enrollment has been constrained by two major factors: (1) reductions in course-section offerings as a result of state budget cuts, and (2) strong demand for CCC services by adults seeking retraining and other skills at a time of weak state and national economic growth. Given limited resources, we believe that the state should target funds that best meet the state’s highest priorities for community college services. We recommend the Legislature: (1) adopt statewide registration priorities that reflect the Master Plan’s primary objectives, (2) place a limit on the number of taxpayer-subsidized credit units that students may earn, and (3) restrict the number of times that a student may repeat physical education and other classes at taxpayers’ expense. Our recommendations would (1) help increase opportunities for high-priority students to enroll in courses they need to progress toward their educational goals, and (2) reduce funding for lower-priority enrollment by approximately 50,000 FTE students—for savings to the state of about $235 million.
The 2011-12 Budget: Higher Education Budget in Context
January 19, 2011 - The Governor’s proposed 2011-12 budget includes sizable General Fund reductions for the state’s university systems and the community colleges totaling about $1.4 billion. While the administration does not provide many specific proposals as to how those reductions would be accommodated, they could affect access to higher education programs, the price paid by students, average class size, and the availability of various related services, among other things. The budget assumes fee and tuition increases at all three public segments. At the same time, the Governor’s budget would fully fund financial aid programs, thus helping to ensure that cost does not prevent enrollment by financially needy students. The budget also includes General Fund augmentations to backfill one-time federal funds received by the universities in 2010-11, pay for increased retirement costs, and cover other workload adjustments.
Webcast: Using Distance Education to Increase College Access and Efficiency
- Format:
- Video
October 25, 2010 - Analyst Paul Steenhausen discusses the LAO report "The Master Plan at 50: Using Distance Education to Increase College Access and Efficiency."
The Master Plan at 50: Using Distance Education to Increase College Access and Efficiency
October 25, 2010 -
While distance education is not—and is not intended to be—suitable for everyone (students as well as faculty), we find that it offers an important alternative means of providing instruction that can complement existing formats and expand options for the state’s students and segments. In order to take fuller advantage of this potential, we believe that the Legislature should guide a clearer statewide vision that specifies data which the segments should collect and report on distance–education students, and which clarifies expectations concerning intercampus collaborations and other partnerships. To that end, we make a number of recommendations.
(Video Summary)
Do University Students' Fees Support Financial Aid?
- Format:
August 6, 2010 - Do University Students' Fees Support Financial Aid? This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
How Does California’s Support for Higher Education Compare With Other States?
- Format:
July 12, 2010 - How Does California’s Support for Higher Education Compare With Other States? This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
How Do Student Fees Contribute to Community College Funding?
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July 12, 2010 - How Do Student Fees Contribute to Community College Funding? (updated December 2006) This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
What Is California’s Master Plan for Higher Education?
- Format:
July 12, 2010 - What Is California’s Master Plan for Higher Education? This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
What Is the Status of Tuition Waivers for Undocumented College Students?
- Format:
June 30, 2010 - What Is the Status of Tuition Waivers for Undocumented College Students? (November 2010) This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our Web site at www.lao.ca.gov/highered.