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 - 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 - Florence Bouvet
-
(916) 319-8310
University of California; College of the Law, San Francisco; California State Library
Publications
Education
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Streamlining State Financial Aid: Report on Cal Grant Alternative Delivery Pilot
December 5, 2011 - Legislation in 2009 authorized a pilot program whereby college and university campuses could voluntarily administer certain Cal Grant programs that are normally administered centrally by the Student Aid Commission (CSAC). The CSAC developed regulations for the pilot in time for the 2010-11 academic year. No campuses volunteered to participate, however, due to cumbersome program requirements. This report provides background on the existing delivery model for financial aid programs; describes recent proposals for alternative delivery models; and chronicles the development, implementation, and outcomes of the pilot program. The report concludes with our recommendation, drawing on numerous studies over the last two decades, to decentralize Cal Grants through a process that includes a planning period but no pilot phase.
How Will the California Dream Act Affect Higher Education Costs?
- Format:
November 30, 2011 - How Will the California Dream Act Affect Higher Education Costs? This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
LAO Recommendations on Governor’s Proposal to Eliminate CPEC
- Format:
May 25, 2011 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
Review of Budget Reduction Options for Higher Education
- Format:
April 14, 2011 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
Streamlining Nursing Education Pathways: A Progress Report On Assembly Bill 1295 (Fuller)
- Format:
March 15, 2011 - Chapter 283, Statutes of 2009 (AB 1295, Fuller), requires our office to report by March 15, 2011 on the progress of the California Community Colleges (CCC) and California State University (CSU) in developing nursing education pathways in time for the 2012 13 academic year. We find that CCC and CSU are generally on track to implement the requirements of AB 1295, though further work is needed. Our report offers some specific suggestions for systemwide changes intended to promote seamless transfer of nursing students from CCC to CSU.
Are Entering Freshmen Prepared For College-Level Work?
- Format:
March 10, 2011 - Are Entering Freshmen Prepared For College-Level Work? (updated March 2011) This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916)319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov/highered.
Webcast: Guaranteed Regional Access Needed for State Universities
- Format:
- Video
February 17, 2011 - In this 9-minute video, the LAO's Judy Heiman and Steve Boilard answer questions about the latest installment to the Master Plan at 50 series, "Guaranteed Regional Access Needed for State Universities."
Higher Education Affordability
- Format:
February 15, 2011 - Presented to the Assembly Higher Education Committee
The Master Plan at 50: Guaranteed Regional Access Needed for State Universities
February 14, 2011 - In this report we review how the Master Plan envisioned the California State University (CSU) as part of the state’s higher education system, and assess how the university has carried out its role in the face of changing enrollment demand and funding limitations. We conclude that CSU’s regional role is an important component of the state’s higher education system, and recommend that the Legislature take steps to protect that focus in the face of enrollment pressures and efforts by some campuses to become more selective. Specifically, we recommend that the Legislature (1) formalize a regional education role for CSU in statute, (2) codify its expectations for CSU’s eligibility pool, and (3) direct CSU to adjust its enrollment policies accordingly.
Webcast: Public Retirement Benefits, Options for the Future
- Format:
- PowerPoint
- Video
February 10, 2011 - In this 15-minute video, LAO State Finance Director Jason Sisney describes why public employee retirement costs have risen substantially in recent years for California governments and the Legislature's options for creating new types of retirement benefits for future state and local employees. At the same time, as Sisney discusses, the Legislature may have to identify new funding soon to address substantial unfunded liabilities in the teachers' and University of California retirement systems, among others.
Higher Education Funding Overview
- Format:
January 27, 2011 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 On Education Finance
The 2011-12 Higher Education Budget in Context
- Format:
January 27, 2011 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 On Education
The 2011-12 Budget: California Community College Fees
January 27, 2011 - The Governor proposes to increase California Community College (CCC) fees from $26 per unit to $36 per unit beginning on July 2011. We believe that a fee increase should be an important component of the state’s budget strategy for CCC, as it would leverage more federal funds (in the form of federal tax credits) to mitigate programmatic impacts on CCC instruction and services, while having no negative effect on financially needy students (who do not pay fees). While the Governor is on the right track, the Legislature might consider going even further in the budget year to tap additional federal dollars in support of the CCC system. In future years, we recommend the Legislature ensure that CCC fee levels are pegged to the maximum amount covered by federal tax credits.
The 2011-12 Budget: Achieving General Fund Savings at UC and CSU
January 24, 2011 - The Governor’s budget solutions in higher education include unallocated General Fund reductions of $500 million for the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). As we discuss in our recent publication, The 2011‑12 Budget: Higher Education Budget in Context, while these reductions are large, in our view they do not appear unreasonable given the size of the state’s budget problem, and considering that the current-year budget imposed no program reductions on the universities. Despite some new revenue from tuition increases, the universities would have to implement a range of service reductions affecting students, faculty, and staff to absorb these reductions. This brief provides our recommendations for mitigating the impact of the reductions on UC’s and CSU’s educational missions.
LAO Recommendations on Implementation of California State University Doctor of Education Degree Programs
January 21, 2011 - Persuant to recent legislation authorizing the California State University (CSU) to independently offer Doctor of Education (Ed. D. ) degrees, the CSU, the Department of Finance (DOF), and the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) prepared a report describing and assessing the early implementation of the new doctorate programs. In this brief, we outline our recommendations to the legislature, which include placing conditions on the further expansion of CSU doctoral programs and requiring the CSU to provide additional reporting about their doctoral degrees.