Education

The 2022-23 Budget: K-12 Early Literacy Proposals

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February 15, 2022 - This post provides background on school funding and literacy, describes the Governor’s K-12 early literacy proposals for schools, and offers associated assessments and recommendations to the Legislature.

The 2022-23 Budget: Green School Bus Grants

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February 10, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s proposal to provide $1.5 billion in one-time Proposition 98 funding for electric school buses. It provides background on school transportation and school bus fleets, describes the advantages and limitations of electric school buses, and makes recommendations to the Legislature.

The 2022-23 Budget: School Nutrition

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February 8, 2022 - This post provides background on various child nutrition programs and requirements, describes the Governor’s child nutrition proposals, and offers associated assessments and recommendations to the Legislature.

The 2022-23 Budget: Local Control Funding Formula

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January 28, 2022 - In his January budget, the Governor proposes to provide a 5.33 percent cost-of-living adjustment to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and change the formula to soften the impact of declining attendance on school districts. In this post, we provide background on LCFF, describe and assess the Governor’s proposals, and provide our recommendations to the Legislature.

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of Proposition 98 Proposals

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January 27, 2022 - This analysis describes the overall structure of the Governor's plan for school and community college funding, including the major spending proposals and underlying estimates of the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee.

The 2022-23 Budget: Special Education Proposals

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January 25, 2022 - This post provides background on various special education programs, describes the Governor's proposals related to these topics, and offers associated recommendations and issues for the Legislature to consider.

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

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January 13, 2022 - On January 10, 2022, Governor Newsom presented his proposed state budget to the Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the proposed budget based on our initial review. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release several additional budget analyses.

Update (1/21/22): Includes a corrected estimate of Governor’s Budget proposals that are excludable under the State Appropriations Limit (SAL).

Overview of Special Education Funding Models

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December 17, 2021 - This brief provides background on the state’s current funding allocation formula for special education, describes funding formulas used in other states, establishes a framework for evaluating these formulas, and offers some issues for the Legislature to consider.

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Child Care and Preschool

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December 17, 2021 - This post summarizes the state’s 2021-22 spending package for child care and preschool. It is part of our Spending Plan series, which contains posts focused on each major sector of the state budget.

Attendance-Based Funding for Schools

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November 30, 2021 - Assembly Committee on Education and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance

Overview of Recent State and Federal Funding for Schools

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November 30, 2021 - Assembly Committee on Education and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No.2 on Education Finance

Update on the Progress of the CalSTRS Funding Plan

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November 18, 2021 - This post provides an update on the progress of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) funding plan. The post: (1) describes the changes to unfunded actuarial obligation and contribution rates in 2021-22, based on the most recent actuarial valuation; (2) describes the potential effects of the 2020-21 investment returns; and (3) revisits the recommendations we raised in our March 2021 publication, Strengthening the CalSTRS Funding Plan, using the extreme volatility in investment returns to illustrate how those recommendations would strengthen CalSTRS’ ability to successfully pay down unfunded actuarial obligation—both the state’s share and employers’ share—by 2046.

The 2022-23 Budget: Fiscal Outlook for Schools and Community Colleges

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November 17, 2021 - Each year, the state calculates a “minimum guarantee” for school and community college funding based upon a set of formulas established by Proposition 98 (1988). Based upon revenue projections that are significantly above the June 2021 estimates, we estimate the guarantee in 2022‑23 is $11.6 billion (12.4 percent) above the 2021‑22 enacted budget level. After accounting for various adjustments—backing out one‑time expenditures, funding a 5.35 percent cost‑of‑living adjustment, and making required reserve deposits—we estimate that $9.5 billion is available for new commitments. In addition, we estimate that $10.2 billion in one‑time funding is available due to increases in the guarantee in 2020‑21 and 2021‑22. In total, we estimate nearly $20 billion is available to allocate in the upcoming budget cycle. To help the Legislature prepare to allocate this funding, we outline several options that would build upon existing programs, expand services in targeted ways, and address future costs and uncertainties.

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Proposition 98 and K-12 Education

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October 25, 2021 - This post summarizes overall Proposition 98 funding and K-12 education spending in the 2021-22 budget package. It is part of our Spending Plan series, which contains posts focused on each major sector of the state budget.

The 2021-22 Budget: Overview of May Revision K-12 Education Proposals

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May 18, 2021 - This handout analyzes the overall architecture of the Governor's May Revision plan for school funding, including major spending proposals and underlying estimates of the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee.