May 2018

K-12 Education

Summary of K-12 Education Recommendations

Issue

May Revision Proposal

LAO Recommendation

One‑time discretionary grants

Increases by $286 million (raising total funding to $2 billion).

Modify. Link additional one‑time discretionary grants to a strategic plan to pay off remainder of K‑12 mandates backlog.

LCFF funding

Provides $277 million ongoing.

Adopt. Approve total funding amount but could consider alternative ways to augment rates.

LCFF COLA

Changes statute to continuously appropriate LCFF COLA increases.

Reject. Proposal would limit legislative discretion in future budget cycles.

Computer‑based ELPAC

Provides $22 million to convert ELPAC from pencil to computer based.

Reject. Proposal seems unreasonably expensive. Revisit issue next year.

Alternate ELPAC

Provides $5.9 million to create alternate ELPAC for students with disabilities.

Withhold Recommendation. Request additional information from CDE concerning relevant federal requirements and project costs.

Charter School Facility Grant Program backfill

Provides $21.4 million one time to fully fund 2017‑18 awards under administration’s estimates.

Modify. Provide either (1) $24 million to fully fund 2017‑18 awards or (2) $3 million to ensure all recipients receive at least as much as they received in 2016‑17.

Charter School Facility Grant Program augmentation

Decreases by $3.6 million, bringing the total augmentation to $24.8 million.

Modify. Provide either (1) $50 million to fund program under rules enacted last year or (2) $8 million to fund program under its historical rules.

School Climate initiative

Provides $15 million for a pilot program for addressing “school climate” issues.

Reject. Proposal has few details and is poorly justified.

K‑12 Strong Workforce

Provides an additional $2 million for program administration.

Reject. Support high school CTE either through LCFF or through an approach similar to the CTE Incentive Grant Initiative.

County offices of education (COEs)

Decreases January augmentation by $1 million and clarifies COEs’ role in supporting low‑performing districts.

Modify. Require COEs to help districts identify and respond to performance issues. Require COEs to use existing LCFF funds.

COE lead agencies and special education lead agencies

Makes modest changes to lead agencies’ roles.

Reject. Role of lead agencies is duplicative of COEs and CCEE. Additionally, core function of special education lead agencies is unclear.

California Collaborative for Educational Excellence

Increases by $234,000 ongoing.

Adopt. Funding aligns with CCEE’s proposed roles.

Community Engagement Initiative

Provides $13 million one time for CCEE and a lead agency to jointly administer professional learning networks focused on community engagement.

Reject. CCEE could use existing resources to administer professional learning networks focused on this topic.

LCFF = Local Control Funding Formula; COLA = cost‑of‑living adjustment; ELPAC = English Language Proficiency Assessments for California; CDE = California Department of Education; CCEE = California Collaborative for Educational Excellence; and CTE = career technical education.