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.
Assessing California's Charter Schools
January 20, 2004 - We recommend that the Legislature (1) remove the cap on the number of charter schools that may operate in the state, (2) restructure the charter school categorical block grant, (3) strengthen charter school oversight by permitting school districts to opt out of charter authorizing, allowing for multiple authorizers, and creating safeguards to promote stronger accountability and (4) modify fee policies by delineating more clearly between facility fees and oversight fees, capping these fees, and eliminating the mandate-claims process for oversight costs.
Overview of Outreach Programs and Funding
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January 7, 2004 - Presented to Senate Select Committee on College and University Admissions and Outreach, Senate Education Committee, and Assembly Higher Education Committee.
The Distribution of K-12 Education General Purpose Funds
December 22, 2003 - The K-12 revenue limit formula distributed more than $28 billion in resources to school districts in 2002-03. We document the components of the revenue limit formula and how they affect the distribution of general purpose funds to school districts. We also recommend that the Legislature consolidate most of the existing revenue limit adjustments into one new general purpose grant which would make K-12 funding much easier to understand.
Impact of Governor's Spending Cap Proposal on Proposition 98
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December 2, 2003 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee on December 2, 2003.
Flexible Facility Utilization Standards: Higher Education
November 12, 2003 - Current state standards for utilization of higher education instructional facilities can be simplified and made more flexible. We recommend restating these standards on the basis of "annual hours of station use per year." This would both simplify the standards and accommodate year-round operation.
Use of Design-Build for K-12 School Construction: Interim Report
October 24, 2003 - Chapter 421, Statutes of 2001 (AB 1402, Simitian) authorizes school districts to enter into "design-build" contracts for specified construction projects and to submit specific information about these projects to the LAO upon completion of construction. This interim report describes the design-build process and reports that, thus far, no districts have reported to the LAO that they are using the design-build authorization provided by Chapter 421.
Charter School Operations and Performance: Evidence from California (RAND Policy Brief)
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July 14, 2003 - Charter schools generally do as well as traditional public schools in fostering reading and mathematics achievement even though they receive fewer state funds and employ fewer teachers with full state credentials, according to a report prepared by RAND. The LAO contracted with RAND to perform this evaluation, which was required by Chapter 34, Statutes of 1998 (AB 544, Lempert). See http://www.lao.ca.gov/2003/RAND_charter/053003_RAND_Charter_Schools.pdf for the full report (1.3 MB) and http://www.lao.ca.gov2003/RAND_charter/surveys.pdf for the surveys (42 MB).
High Priority Schools Grant Program Expansion
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May 6, 2003 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on May 6, 2003.
Integration of State and Federal Accountability Programs
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May 6, 2003 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on May 6, 2003.
Class Size Reduction (CSR) Overview
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April 29, 2003 - Presented to the Latino Legislative Caucus, California Legislative Black Caucus, and Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus on April 29, 2003.
Child Care Budget for 2003-04 Without Realignment
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April 28, 2003 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on April 28, 2003.
Integration of State and Federal Accountability Programs
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April 21, 2003 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on April 21, 2003.
High Priority Schools Grant Program Expansion
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April 21, 2003 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on April 21, 2003.
Overview of No Child Left Behind Title VI Assessment Funding
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April 21, 2003 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on April 21, 2003.
Child Care Realignment
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April 10, 2003 - Presented to the Children's Roundtable on April 10, 2003.