Staff
Sara Cortez
(916) 319-8348
Special Education, Preschool, Child Nutrition, and Facilities
Kenneth Kapphahn
(916) 319-8339
Proposition 98, School District Budgets, School Transportation
Lisa Qing
(916) 319-8306
California Community Colleges
Michael Alferes
(916) 319-8338
Local Control Funding Formula, Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, High School Career Technical Education
Ian Klein
(916) 319-8336
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library
Natalie Gonzalez
(916) 319-8320
California State University, Student Financial Aid
Dylan Hawksworth-Lutzow
(916) 319-8308
Child Care, Expanded Learning, Teachers, and Education Technology
Edgar Cabral
(916) 319-8343
Deputy Legislative Analyst: K-12 Education
Jennifer Pacella
(916) 319-8332
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Higher Education


Publications

Education

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.



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Overview of Federal Relief for K-12 Education and Child Care

April 29, 2021 - Since March 2020, the federal government has passed three relief packages that assist K-12 schools and child care providers in their response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This post provides a brief summary of how the three federal relief packages affect K-12 education and child care and describes how the state has used these federal funds, as of April 2021.


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Early Budget Actions to Support In-Person K-12 Instruction and Address Learning Loss

April 23, 2021 - On March 5, 2021, the Governor signed Chapter 10 (AB 86, Committee on Budget), which provides additional one-time Proposition 98 funding to schools for providing in-person instruction and addressing student learning loss due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This post describes the major components of the legislation.


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The 2021-22 Budget: “Cradle to Career” Data System

March 26, 2021 - Provides background on process to date toward creating an integrated education data system and other related data tools (collectively referred to as the "Cradle to Career" data system), describes the Governor's proposals to fund the development of specific components of this system, assesses these proposals, and makes associated recommendations.


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The 2021-22 Budget: Various CSU Proposals

March 9, 2021 - This post analyzes four of the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University (CSU). Specifically, the post covers proposals relating to CSU Stanislaus’s off-campus center in Stockton, the Computing Talent Initiative based at CSU Monterey Bay, CSU’s ability to transfer funds among its accounts, and summer-term student financial aid.


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The 2021-22 Budget: University Capital Outlay

March 5, 2021 - In this post, we focus on university capital outlay projects. We first provide background on university capital financing and project review. We then review capital outlay proposals for the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC). Next, we raise some concerns with the previously authorized UC Merced medical school project and make an associated recommendation. We end the post by offering several other recommendations intended to strengthen legislative oversight of university projects.


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The 2021-22 Budget: California Institutes for Science and Innovation

March 2, 2021 - In this post, we describe the Governor’s proposal relating to the California Institutes for Science and Innovation (hereafter referred to as “the institutes”), which are administered by the University of California (UC). We first provide background on the institutes’ activities and budget. Next, we describe the Governor’s proposal. We then offer our assessment of the proposal and make an associated recommendation.


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The 2021-22 Budget: Public School Restrooms Feminine Hygiene Products Mandate

March 1, 2021 - The Commission on State Mandates recently found new requirements to offer feminine hygiene products in certain public school restrooms to be a reimbursable mandate. In this post, we provide background on state mandates and the recent decision, share our assessment, and provide an associated recommendation.


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The 2021-22 Budget: UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

February 26, 2021 - In this post, we analyze the Governor’s proposals relating to base funding for the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) at the University of California (UC). We first provide background on ANR’s operations and budget. Next, we describe the Governor’s ANR proposals and the additional ANR funding included in the February early action package. We then offer our assessment of the proposals and make associated recommendations.


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The 2021-22 Budget: UC Programs in Medical Education

February 26, 2021 - This post analyzes the Governor's proposal to provide a General Fund augmentation to the University of California's Programs in Medical Education. These programs provide medical education focused on health equity and clinical experiences focused on underserved communities.


Report

Updating Special Education Out-of-Home Care Funding

February 23, 2021 - In the Supplemental Report of the 2020-21 Budget Act, the Legislature tasked our office with convening a work group and providing recommendations for updating the special education Out-of-Home Care formula by March 1, 2021. This report provides background on the issue, describes the assessment and recommendations of the work group, and includes our office’s comments for the Legislature as it considers updating the formula.


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The 2021-22 Budget: Hastings College of the Law

February 22, 2021 - This report analyzes the Governor's proposal to provide the Hastings College of the Law a General Fund base increase in 2021-22.


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The 2021-22 Budget: Educator Workforce Proposals

February 19, 2021 - In this post, we analyze the Governor’s proposals to address teacher shortages, as well as his proposals to provide additional professional development for school staff. For each, we provide background, describe the Governor’s proposals, assess these proposals, and offer associated recommendations.


Report

The 2021-22 Budget: California Community Colleges

February 16, 2021 - This report analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the community colleges, covering base apportionments, enrollment, students’ basic needs, online tools, apprenticeships and work-based learning, instructional materials, and faculty professional development.


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The 2021-22 Budget: School Mental Health

February 12, 2021 - In this post, we provide background on school-based mental health services, describe the Governor’s proposals aimed at increasing such services, provide our assessments of the proposals, and offer associated recommendations.


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The 2021-22 Budget: Community Schools

February 12, 2021 - In his January budget, the Governor proposes to allocate $265 million to support the establishment of new, and the expansion of existing, community schools. In this post, we provide background on community schools and funding allocated in the current year to support expansion of existing community schools, describe the Governor’s proposal, assess the proposal, and describe our recommendations to the Legislature.