Education Publications

The 2022-23 Budget: California State University

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February 15, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University. The brief covers base support, enrollment, foster youth programs, deferred maintenance, and climate-related initiatives.

The 2022-23 Budget: Analysis of Major CCC Proposals

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February 11, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor's major budget proposals for the California Community Colleges, with a focus on apportionments increases, enrollment, modifications to the Student Centered Funding Formula, part-time faculty health insurance, and deferred maintenance.

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: Analysis of Major UC Proposals

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February 2, 2022 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the University of California, with a focus on base support, enrollment, and deferred maintenance. Also, see our companion piece to this report: The 2022‑23 Budget: UC Climate-Related Proposals.

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: Overview of the Governor's Higher Education Budget Proposals

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January 26, 2022 - This brief provides an overview and initial assessment of the Governor’s higher education budget package.

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).

An Analysis of the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resource Programs

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January 6, 2022 - The University of California (UC) operates Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension—two programs that together focus on research and outreach involving agriculture and natural resource issues. This report provides an overview of these programs—discussing their statutory origin, structure, employees, and budget. The report also raises a few concerns with the state’s oversight of these programs and concludes by providing recommendations to enhance oversight.

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.

Overview of Mental Health Services for College Students

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December 10, 2021 - This post describes the mental health services available to students attending California’s public colleges and universities, highlights recent developments in student mental health since the start of the pandemic, and assesses the data currently available on student mental health issues. It concludes with a recommendation to enhance related reporting requirements applying to the three public higher education segments.

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