Staff
- Sara Cortez
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(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, Child Nutrition, and Facilities - 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 Community Colleges - Michael Alferes
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(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education - Natalie Gonzalez
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(916) 319-8320
California State University, Student Financial Aid - Dylan Hawksworth-Lutzow
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(916) 319-8308
Child Care, Expanded Learning, Teachers, and Education Technology - 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.
The 2025-26 Budget: California Student Aid Commission
February 28, 2025 - In this brief, we provide an update on Cal Grant and Middle Class Scholarship cost estimates, as well as analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for California College of the Arts and California Student Aid Commission’s state operations.
The 2025-26 Budget: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan
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February 27, 2025 - Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
The 2025-26 Budget: Transitional Kindergarten Multilingual Learner Screeners
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February 26, 2025 - In this post, we provide background on the state’s English learner identification process, describe and assess the Governor’s proposal to provide $10 million for a multilingual learner screener in transitional kindergarten, and provide our recommendations to the Legislature.
Child Care Funding Rates and Transition to an Alternative Methodology
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February 19, 2025 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 On Human Services and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 On Education Finance
The 2025-26 Budget: Proposition 98 Guarantee and K-12 Spending Plan
February 13, 2025 - This brief examines the estimates of the Proposition 98 guarantee in the Governor’s budget and assesses the overall structure of the Governor’s plan for K-12 funding. It also examines a few of the larger spending proposals and the proposal to delay a $1.6 billion settle-up payment.
Update (2/21/25): This brief has been updated to reflect our office’s estimate of the K-12 COLA (2.26 percent).
The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget
January 13, 2025 - Update (1/16/25): A set of tables detailing various solutions and proposals has been appended to the online version of this report. They are available using the HTML link above.
On January 10, 2025, Governor Newsom’s administration presented its proposed state budget to the California Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the Governor’s budget based on our initial review as of January 12. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release many additional issue-specific budget analyses. For those additional analyses, please see our budget page.
Trends in Higher Education: Faculty and Staff
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December 4, 2024 - This brief is the fifth of a six-part series covering higher education trends in California. This brief focuses on the higher education workforce and how it has changed over time. The brief tracks changes in the number of faculty and staff, their demographic composition, compensation, recruitment, and retention. The brief also raises key issues for the Legislature to consider as it makes related policy and budget decisions.
CalFacts 2024
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December 2, 2024 - CalFacts presents a wide range of facts and trends about the state's economy, finances, and programs.
UC Merced at 20: Campus Developments and Key State-Level Takeaways
November 7, 2024 - Beginning operations 20 years ago, the University of California (UC) Merced has grown to a campus of approximately 9,100 students and 2,500 faculty, staff, and student employees. In this report, we explore major campus developments related to UC Merced's enrollment, student outcomes, faculty and staff, facilities, and finance. We then assess the extent to which UC Merced has fulfilled certain key objectives, including raising educational and economic outcomes in the San Joaquin Valley. We conclude the report by identifying key state-level takeaways from the UC Merced experience that could help inform the Legislature as it undertakes future higher education planning.