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May 17, 2007 - Presented to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance.
May 1, 2007 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
April 24, 2007 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 15, 2007 - Presented to the California Association of School Business Officials in San Jose, California.
April 10, 2007 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance.
March 28, 2007 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
March 28, 2007 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
March 13, 2007 - Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee Subcommittee No. 1 on Education.
March 13, 2007 - Presented to Assembly Budget Committee Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance.
March 6, 2007 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education.
February 21, 2007 - Presented to the Senate Education Committee.
February 21, 2007 - Data from several statewide assessments show a significant gap between the academic achievement of English learner (EL) students and their English-speaking peers. We recommend the Legislature fund the evaluation of the EL best practices pilot program established by Chapter 561, Statutes of 2006 (AB 2117, Coto). We also recommend the Legislature fund an evaluation of best practices in preparing teachers of EL students. In addition, we recommend improving the state’s assessment system so EL student progress can be measured and tracked.
February 21, 2007 - Our five-year forecast shows Proposition 98 funding is to increase much more than needed to cover baseline costs. Thus, we think this is an opportune time to develop an education roadmap that lays out funding priorities, coordinates investments, and implements accompanying policy improvements. Given the significant achievement gap between low-income children and their higher income peers, our suggested roadmap includes expanding early child development and preschool programs for low-income children. To help ensure success of any program expansion, we also make various recommendations relating to wrap around child care, facilities, and program quality.
February 21, 2007 - In response to a recent settlement, the state agreed to pay an additional $2.5 billion over a seven-year period for a new K-12 education reform program. We have concerns with the structure of the new program and recommend small changes that could yield big payoffs. Specifically, we recommend (1) converting the program to a pilot project in which schools could self-select one of three teacher-oriented reform options and (2) funding an independent evaluator to assess the performance of the groups over the seven-year life of the program.
February 21, 2007 - We have serious legal and policy concerns with the Governor’s transportation and Proposition 98 rebenching proposals. Specifically, we are concerned the proposal is unconstitutional and sets bad policy precedent. We also are concerned that the Public Transportation Account might not have sufficient funds to support the program in the future. For these reasons, we recommend rejecting the proposals. Instead, we recommend a series of other actions that would generate about the same level of savings but without the risk and with minimal programmatic impact.