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 - Ian Klein
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(916) 319-8336
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library - 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.
LAO Alternative Higher Education Budget Proposal
February 19, 2003 - The Governor proposes a 9.8% General Fund saving in higher education. We outline the main features of an alternative that accomplishes this for the University of California, the California State University, and the Student Aid Commission.
Child Care and Development
February 19, 2003 - The Governor's proposal to shift responsibility for most child care programs from the state to counties deserves legislative consideration. This realignment would give counties the flexibility to use child care funds as part of an integrated county strategy to serve low-income families.
Instructional Materials
February 19, 2003 - We recommend that the Legislature enact legislation to allow materials adopted in the interim adoptions required under Chapter 481, Statutes of 1998 (AB 2519, Poochigian), to be recognized as standards-aligned materials for the purposes of eligibility for categorical programs.
Accountability
February 19, 2003 - We recommend that the Legislature take steps to integrate state and federal sanction and intervention programs to send a clear message of expectations to schools and districts. We recommend that state interventions be focused at the school district level and that the state intervene directly at only the lowest-performing schools.
Assessments
February 19, 2003 - We identify several areas where the Legislature could reduce the assessment burden on school districts while maintaining the state's emphasis on academic content and performance standards: the NRT portion of the STAR program, the primary language test, the Golden State Exams, and the physical fitness test.
Class Size Reduction
February 19, 2003 - We review recent research on class size reduction (CSR) which uncovered three major findings: (1) the effect of CSR on student achievement is inconclusive; (2) California's CSR program contributed to a decline in teacher quality; and (3) California's CSR program generated inequitable distribution of fully qualified teachers.
Revenue Limits and Discretionary Funds
February 19, 2003 - We recommend that the Legislature (1) not fund revenue limit equalization as proposed by the Governor ($250 million), and (2) delay revenue limit equalization until a year when Proposition 98 can fund growth, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and pay off any remaining deferrals.